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 Laurence O’Toole
Dear Larry, Do I detect an air of surprise in your last note? But why are you surprised? Are you the first to be spoken badly of by the very people you are trying to help? Hardly. If they are trying to brand you “arch conservative” and “homophobic” and “misogynist” and “hypocritical” simply because you are doing what you can to get the Church’s teaching aired in that relativism-infested atmosphere on campus, that’s par for the course. “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you on my account…” (Matthew 5:11), ...
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St Peter Chrysologus
Dear Crystal, Every time I write your name (even though it is quite beautiful, don’t get me wrong) I have flashbacks to your mother’s early days, when she and my brother (that’s your dad) were living in that log cabin in Wyoming (do you remember it?). The experiment in primitive ...
St Martha
Dear Martha, I was heartened to receive your note asking for some pointers on prayer; it clearly showed that you have made that most auspicious of activities a priority in your life, even during the time of year when most young people deplorably neglect it (to the great sorrow of ...
St Nazarius and St Celsus
Dear Chelsea, My dear and misguided young niece, I do not wish to sound callous, but the simple truth is that you are wasting your tears. When our Lord said, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,” he did not mean that we should feel sorry for ...
St Pantaleon
Dear Leo, I can tell that you are more interested in being popular than in being happy (they are not, by any stretch of the imagination, the same thing). You know that true happiness, true meaning, and satisfaction in life comes from a deep, lively friendship with Christ and the ...
St Joachim and Ann
Dear Joe, Well, once again you have proved that you’re no angel – thanks be to God. If you did act like an angel, I’d be worried. As it is, I’m not worried at all. If you are surprised at your tendency to fall into sin, you deluding yourself. It ...
St James the Greater
Dear Jaime, I am not surprised that you lost another job (of course, I considered your caddying job a bit of a pansy position anyway – attractive just because of the perks). If a man can’t control his temper, he won’t be able to do much else. I am surprised, ...
St Christina the Astonishing
Dear Kristen, Your last note edified me terrifically. An internship in the high-brow professional sector has a lot of perks, and frankly, I thought you might be seduced by the glitz and chic posturing. Your deprecation of the rampant selfishness, superficiality, backbiting, gossip, and general immaturity of these corporate climbers ...
St Bridget
Dear Birgitta, As you say, following Christ is onerous indeed (that’s why so few people do it), especially in the middle of the summer when you have spent the last seven weeks giving in to your selfish desires for pleasure and comfort more and more. To follow Christ we must ...
St Mary Magdalene
Dear Max, Feeling frazzled and overworked again? Stressed out? Can’t seem to manage your time well? Funny that that should start happening in the summer as well as during the school year. I am glad I received your note last night since today’s saint has the antidote to your turmoil. ...
St Laurence of Brindisi
Dear Laurie, Sometimes we think we have to do extraordinary things in order to become saints. We read about those monks and hermits who slept sitting on the edges of cliffs and fasted every day till sundown and disciplined their bodies so severely that just reading about it makes us ...
St Wilgefortis
Dear Willy, Your recent note was most disappointing. It reminded me how little I have done to extend our Lord’s Kingdom in the hearts of my nephews and nieces. Ah me! May the Lord have mercy on my soul! I refer to your positively juvenile complaint about not getting ...
St Arsenius the Great
Dear Nigil, I can picture you busily preparing your lessons, now that you have returned from your extended vacation (well earned, I might add, after your conscientiously laborious four years of college) and are getting ready to take up your first full time teaching position. I had a feeling you ...
