SAINT OF THE DAY
WITH UNCLE EDDY
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, 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.
St Catherine of Siena
Dear Cathy, Stop it! You are causing yourself unnecessary grief. Your vocation, whatever it is, is not God’s way of torturing you; it is a gift of his love. The process of discovering it ought to be joyful, like a courtship. If it isn’t, then it’s probably because you are afraid of what your Divine Lover has in store for you, which is just plain dumb. Don’t you remember how your namesake (happy Saint’s Day, by the way) stumbled across her vocation? She was only six-years-old when our Lord appeared to her in a vision (she was walking down the ...
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St Catherine of Siena
Dear Cathy, Stop it! You are causing yourself unnecessary grief. Your vocation, whatever it is, is not God’s way of torturing you; it is a gift of his love. The process of discovering it ought to be joyful, like a courtship. If it isn’t, then it’s probably because you are ...
St Peter Mary Chanel
Dear Pete, I daresay there is an easy explanation of why your COMPASS group is not growing so quickly as you would like. As a matter of fact, I can put it in one word: charity. I don’t mean just putting a few coins into the Salvation Army box outside ...
St Maughold
Dear Maude, Preaching to the choir again? It’s so easy to get comfortable, isn’t it? You have a nice group there going to your Bible study: good young men and women, trying hard to follow Christ, a solid core group of friends. Uh huh. And what about the girl down ...
St Richarius or Riquier
Dear Rick, I am glad that you have decided to run that boys’ camp again this summer. I am sure those internships were quite alluring, but your choice to serve needy boys instead of serving yourself will certainly add to your treasure in heaven – more than you’ll ever know ...
St Mark the Evangelist
Dear Marcia, If they ever let me out of this absurd confinement, I would very much like to take you and your brother on a pilgrimage to Venice. Three cities in Italy defy description: Florence, Rome, and Venice. I won’t tell you which is my favorite. But I will tell ...
St Fidelis of Sigmaringen
Dear Fidelity, Don’t change majors for the wrong reasons. You have always wanted to be a lawyer (and for the right reasons, too: to defend justice), and pre-law is a logical way to attain such a goal. If you abandon it for physical education just because it’s more fun and ...
St George
Dear George, Sometimes you just can’t be popular and be faithful. If your involvement in the Newman Center and in COMPASS is making you the pariah of the philosophy department, well then, you either have to suffer through the scorn and ridicule (and prove them all wrong by your excellent ...
St Epipodius and St Alexander
Dear Alexis, Nothing would break my heart more than to see your collegiate success lure you away from friendship with Christ; they should go together! Of course, I am not naïve; I know it’s tough. You’re so busy, and you keep falling head over heels for guys who don’t share ...
St Anselm
Dear Anne, I think you should reconsider your decision. I am convinced that you can stay involved in student government, dominate your double-major, keep up with your violin, and still have plenty of fun, if (and that’s a very BIG ”if”), if you do one thing: keep your prayer time ...
St Marcellinus
Dear Marc, Since you always forget, I’ll remind you: today is the anniversary of your baptism. If I weren’t cooped up in this blasted solitary confinement, I would buy you a cake and throw you a party. I have always wondered why we don’t make as big a fuss over ...
St Leo IX
Dear Leon, In your last note, I detected a most displeasing tinge of disdain for your spiritual mother, the Catholic Church. I understand that many influential people around you (some professors, for instance) would gladly obliterate the Church at the slightest opportunity. Some such persons cloak their real reasons for ...
St Apollonius the Apologist
Dear Polly, I have been thinking about you a lot lately. I much admire your gift of easy and lively conversation, which would be a welcome respite for me, doomed as I am to this inhuman solitary confinement (but as long as God wants me here, here I will gladly ...
