Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Uncle Eddy

Dear Albert,

There is an old Latin phrase that can help solve your dilemma: “quid est hoc ad aeternitatem?”  “How does it look in the light of eternity?”  Spring break with your fraternity brothers at Daytona Beach will certainly have some enjoyable moments (though I don’t think you need your uncle to tell you that it will also submerge you in temptations).  But that’s it.  Spring break on the missions in Mexico will be uncomfortable, demanding, full of hard work, unpredictable, and probably somewhat dangerous.  But every moment of it will be a deposit in the bank of eternity, a deposit that will go on chalking up interest for the rest of your life, for you and for the people you serve.  If that observation doesn’t help you decide, maybe a glance at today’s saint will.

He was a member of England’s greatest missionary generation.  If you recall, the faith took root in Ireland and England before it took root in northern Europe (Holland and Germany included).  In the 600s, the burgeoning English Church steadily exported missionaries to bring the Good news to those lands.  The first groups returned to England empty-handed.  But that only increased the missionary fever.  Little by little, the Word took root in those violent, dangerous lands.  It required bloody and un-bloody martyrdoms, but in the end, the faith began to flourish.

Swithbert was one of these tireless apostles.  He started out as a monk in northern England, under the tutelage of the great St Egbert, with whom he took a trip to Ireland and learned the arts of holiness.  Around 690 he crossed the Channel with twelve other missionary monks, under the leadership of St Willibrod.  The field had been plowed by their predecessors, and the dedication of this second missionary wave yielded great success.  Just six years after their arrival, Willibrod was consecrated bishop of Utrecht, and the hundreds of converts won over to the faith by Swithbert called for his consecration as well, which occurred back in England in 697.

Upon returning to southern Holland, he consolidated the existing churches, and pressed on into hitherto unevangelized zones.  His initial progress there was reversed by the invasion of the Saxons, who wreaked havoc among the native peoples.  Soon after, Swithbert retired to an island hermitage to prepare for his death.  There he built a monastery and a church, which survive to this very day.

The only reason you and I have received the blessing of the faith is because men and women like Swithbert were willing to put their lives on the line to spread it.  Now, in our day and age, the torch has passed to us.  I suggest, therefore, that you make your vacation decision in light of the Light.

Your interested uncle,

Eddy

Uncle Eddy Introduces the Saints

Navigating today’s world is tough and all of us could use a nudge in the right direction. Figuring out the right path to take at work, at college, or in social situations is not always easy. Looking to the lives of the saints can give us the insights we need.

Written by Fr. John Bartunek, LC, Uncle Eddy’s Saint of the Day is a fictional series of letters written by a man who has been imprisoned for the Catholic Faith. Using the saints of the day as examples, Uncle Eddy pens a daily letter with spiritual advice to his many nieces and nephews.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!