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 Matthias
Dear Maddy, I only have a minute to answer your latest missive. Something’s going on in the prison today, and in a matter of mere moments they will be escorting me into some kind of temporary cubicle for an undetermined amount of time. Pray that it is more temporary than ...
St Mary Mazzarello
Dear Mariza, I owe you my most heartfelt congratulations. You are now a graduate of one of the world’s finest institutions of higher learning, and the first of your family to earn a college degree. It is no mean accomplishment. You can be sure that here in the buzzing shadows ...
St Pancras
Dear Pam, True, growth in holiness does take time. But it seems like you’re using that truth as an excuse to cling to your comfortable, self-indulgent ways. Frankly, the only thing stopping you from being a saint is, I hate to tell you, yourself. Why put it off? Why not ...
St Francis di Girolamo
Dear Frank, You are understandably looking forward to a well-earned vacation. But I can’t help thinking that you are looking forward to it a bit too much. Is it possible that you have fallen victim to the rampant “weekend mentality”? It’s the mentality that “lives for the weekend” (or for ...
St John of Ávila
Dear Joanne, I am sorry, but I disagree with you. You say you are doing everything within your power to grow in faith, put order in your life, and discover God’s will. But that’s not true. You have neglected the most practical and one of the most ancient Catholic ...
St Beatus of Lungern or Beatenberg
Dear Beata, Well, it’s been quite a year. I can’t say that I’m glad you had to struggle so much, but I can say that I am glad you struggled so courageously. You never let anything take precedence over Christ. Your many hidden victories in the spiritual battle will bear ...
St Magdalena of Canossa
Dear Lynn, Think about it objectively for just a minute. (I know that objective thinking is not your strong point; bold and rash action are more becoming of your adventurous spirit, but try it, please, just this once.) So your Chapter didn’t achieve its goals for the year. You made ...
St Agostino Roscelli
Dear Rose, You don’t have to go to a galaxy far, far away to find work to do for Christ. There is work aplenty right where you are, right there in your little home town where you are going to spend another summer, life-guarding six days a week. Every single ...
St Petronax of Monte Cassino
Dear Pete, Discouragement, my disheartened young nephew, never comes from God. It’s always a product of our own overblown self-image. The humble person never gives in to discouragement, because he accepts his limits, gets back in the saddle, and trusts that God will eventually make his efforts fruitful. The closing ...
St Maurontius of Douai
Dear Maura, I have to say something that won’t be pleasant for you to hear. Look, you need to remember that your work for the Catholic Student Center is not about you. It’s about Christ. And if someone else has come around who is doing a great job, you don’t ...
St John Houghton
Dear Jake, I find it distressing that your faith is getting colder as the weather gets warmer. I understand it, however. When spring comes, and summer peeks over the horizon, we start to feel that familiar sense of exuberant self-sufficiency. As if we no longer need God. And in that ...
St Philip and St James
Dear Jim, The intellectual life is important, especially for someone like yourself, who has received so much talent in that area. But for a Christian, it is not life’s be-all and end-all. Remember, we are at war. Christ is establishing his Kingdom, and the Devil is trying to frustrate that. ...
