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 Isaac Jogues and St John de Brebeuf and Companions
Dear Jake, I commend your responsibility. Of all my nephews, you will be the least likely to find yourself at the end of your senior year (just eight months away now) not knowing your next step in life. Your foresight and prudence are praiseworthy. But as you sift through your ...
St Luke
Dear Kasi, I always think of you on today’s Feast. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s your mother’s fault. We are only distant cousins (so your calling me “uncle” is a bit rhetorical), but we used to spend a lot of time together at a common relative’s farm during the ...
St Ignatius of Antioch
Dear Nathan, I am not your grandmother, so I will not tolerate your whimpering. You are a junior now. You have had two years of college to whine and simper. Now you have to start taking a stand. Your fellow Compass members need you to. It would be a different ...
St Hedwig
Dear Heidi, I have always been able to speak plainly to you. I will not stop doing so now. Your last note was utterly illogical, sacrilegious, and, well, foolish. I am sure it was written in a moment of thoughtless rebellion spurred on by your ultra-popular and charismatic women’s studies ...
St Theresa of Avila
Dear Daniela, I commend you for your efforts to find the shortest route to holiness and happiness. Would that my other nieces and nephews made such a priority switch! But I have to chide you a bit anyway. As I have often said, the fastest route to inner strength, peace, ...
St Angadrisma
Dear Angie, I am afraid I don’t have much time to write, but I wanted to assure you of my continued prayers for your special intention. Fear not, God would never put in your heart such a deep desire to give your life to his service just to frustrate you. ...
St Colman of Stockerau
Dear Stacy, To be honest, even though they pain you, I can’t say I regret the difficulties you are currently facing. The way you react to mockery and adversity is a great thermometer of your love for Christ. You remember how he reacted, don’t you? With humility, with meekness, staying ...
Our Lady Aparecida
Dear April, I know how difficult it must be for someone like yourself to still be wondering what you will be doing after graduation. I also know that if I tell you it’s only October and you have plenty of time to work things out, it won’t reassure you in ...
St Maria Soledad Torres Acosta, S.M
Dear Sally, I’m sorry to hear that you’re still so sick. I’m not just saying that. It pains me to think of you, the swimmer and dancer and life of the party last year, confined to bed. You might think that God changed his mind: as if he endowed you ...
St Daniel Comboni
Dear Dan, I can’t seem to read the last sentence in your note. It looks like hieroglyphics – must have run into some digital splotches on its way. I can’t figure out if it says, “We are giving up our plans for evangelizing college culture” or “We are lifting up ...
St Cirilo Bertrán and Eight Companions, Martyrs of Turón
Dear Bert, If your Compass chapter is really doing its job, you’re not going to be able to avoid a few potholes and speed bumps. You just have to keep going, that’s all. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t want to be out there looking for opposition, but if it ...
St Thais
Dear Theo, I detected a trace of comfort-seeking in your last note. Could it be that you have become a bit self-satisfied now that you’re a senior? True, you have accomplished a lot in three years working with Compass and Campus Ministry. No one can fairly doubt it. But if ...
