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 Albert the Great
Dear Alice, I do so hope you are able to take a break from your grueling work in the lab and get a chance to read this before midnight; today is the feast day of your patron saint, my dear niece, and you ought to do something special in his honor. Don’t be confused; I know that you are not named after Albert the Great, but do you know that he is patron of all students of the natural sciences? And since your biochemistry fetish still qualifies as a natural science, he is your patron. There you have it. I ...
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St Marina
Dear Maurice, I commend you on your latest endeavor. Organizing an impromptu NGO out of your Catholic student union in order to make waves at the UN meeting to discuss overpopulation and social justice is a tall order; that you pulled it off at all testifies to your fortitude, courage, ...
The Appearing of Our Lady at Lourdes
Dear Laura, Your last note made me sadder than I have been in a long time. Your defense of your “boyfriend,” as you call him (an odd name for someone who is acting as if he were courting you), claiming how upright he is, how Christian in his morals, how ...
St Scholastica
Dear Scott, So you’re “restless and pessimistic” in “this dreary winter desolation which these barbaric Yankees call New England,” are you? I was glad at least to see that you didn’t leave your eloquence back home in sunny Arizona. I hope you realize that feeling restless and pessimistic is morally ...
St Apollonia
Dear Lana, Great to hear that your training is paying off. You can bet I’ll be rooting for you during the Olympic trials (they’re coming up pretty soon, aren’t they?), even though I will unfortunately not be able to watch you in person this time. It’s funny that I got ...
St Jerome Emiliani
Dear Jerry, Don’t give up on Clarence. Though he persists in his irreligion and immorality, your prayers, example, and friendship (as long as you don’t get sucked into his sinful frolics) will bear fruit in the end. I would recommend redoubling your prayers to the Blessed Virgin on his behalf; ...
St Richard “King”
Dear Roy, I was shocked by a note I recently received from your sister. She dutifully informed me that you are living like a squalid caliph – sloppy, slovenly, and self-indulgently. My dear nephew, if you can’t keep your clothes clean and your room in order now, when you alone ...
St Paul Miki and Companion
Dear Michelle, Your latest note contained a large amount of gossip. It makes interesting reading for me, and I will certainly not be passing on anything you said to anyone else (one advantage of solitary confinement), but it has me a little worried about you. Have you fallen into the ...
St Agatha
Dear Ann, I just received the horrid news. I knew that Steven was traveling in Europe during these months, but I didn’t know that his travels were in response to his grandfather’s unexpected death. If I had known that he was on an existential pilgrimage, I would have done my ...
St Joseph of Leonessa
Dear Leo, I have no doubt at all that the difficulties you are facing and the hidden, interior suffering you have to endure are only the beginning. A soul as sensitive as yours, a heart as loving, a mind as supple… These are gifts that God has not given you ...
St Blaise
Dear Blanche, God is into ecology. Actually, he made ecology – he made the earth too, and everything in it. But he is really into conservation; he lets nothing go to waste, not even something so seemingly purposeless as your current bout with bronchitis. As you suffer through it and ...
The Presentation of the Lord
Dear Priscilla, If you have complained about your studies to me, I assume it’s because you want me to give you a firm rebuke, and not a soft pat on the back. Of course, your studies are challenging! Didn’t you go to college in order to learn something, to train ...
St Brigid
Dear Bridget, Over the course of the first months of your college career, I have noticed a disturbing trend in your correspondence. At first, you wrote mostly about the wonderful opportunities for intellectual, spiritual, and personal growth that such a distinguished university affords. You were excited about those possibilities. Little ...
