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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The Birth of John the Baptist
Dear Biff, How propitious that you are entering seminary on the Solemnity of the Birth of St John the Baptist! I detect the hand of Providence in the unanticipated delay. Why? Simple reason. You know how hard it is to be a faithful priest and religious in today’s world, so ...
St Etheldreda
Dear Audrey, How they ever derived “Audrey” from “Etheldreda” I’ll never grasp, but derive it they did. When I was younger (and still free), I had the opportunity (which I will savor forever) of visiting the English island of Ely, which this saint received as her wedding gift, and to ...
St Thomas More
Dear Tom, I am sure you are making today a bit special – being sure to get to Mass, making an extra visit to the Blessed Sacrament, having an above-average quality lunch and dinner… As a legal intern for the summer and heading into your last year of pre-law studies, ...
St Aloysius Gonzaga
Dear Al, So the eagerly expected moment has finally come: high school is over and college is imminent. I myself can almost feel the surge of excitement stirring inside you (and spilling into the words of your notes). A cusp, a transition, a closing of one beautiful (though at times ...
St Silverius
Dear Cindy, Have you heard the old Latin phrase, “Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia”? You should have, but by your latest note, I would guess that you haven’t. It is no light thing to accuse the Pope of leading the Church away from the true faith; if you set yourself (instead ...
St Romuald
Dear Ronnie, I am a little concerned that your work for the forestry service may preclude your attendance at Mass this summer. Are there any chapels up there in the mountain fir woods? Hmm. Well, I will pray to St Romuald to take good care of you. He liked the ...
St Elizabeth of Schonau
Dear Eleazar, I do so wish that I could tell you where I am. I am certain that as you backpack across Europe this summer (a generous graduation present, if I might say so – my sister always was one for nice gifts) you will very nearly pass by my ...
St Bessarion
Dear Bess, How’s life on Madison Avenue? I was glad to hear that you roped such a prestigious summer job/internship (your talents will be shrewdly and fully exploited by those ravenous professionals, but they will also be developed by the rigorous work), but I frowned when I heard how much ...
St Lutgardis
Dear Liddy, Back home for summer, eh? It must be a bit trying to take up that old life-guarding job again; I know how fervently you were hoping to land a glamorous internship in the city. You did your best, though, and nothing panned out, so you can rest assured ...
St Vitus
Dear Vicky, Glad to hear that you’ll be doing summer stock theatre during this vacation – no better way to get a taste of what the acting life is really like. I do hope you’re producing some decent shows, though, not some horrible and sin-ridden theatrical events. In any case, ...
St Methodius I
Dear Theo, I chuckled when your dad told me that you have a summer job working in the local cemetery. I imagine no one bothers you there. Actually, it reminds me a bit of today’s saint. Methodius was a well-educated Sicilian who moved to Constantinople as a young man, hoping ...
St Anthony of Padua
Dear Toni, Don’t waste your commutes. Think about it. You have to take the train into the city and then back home every weekday for the next two months. That’s 20 minutes twice a day. That’s 40 minutes every day for 40 days. That’s 1600 minutes. That’s almost 30 hours ...
