Dear Fernando,<\/p>\n
I am having difficulty controlling my anger after reading the articles you sent me.\u00a0 It is bad enough that the older politicians over there continue to show their moral vacuity, but it infuriates me to see the same kind of self-seeking shenanigans among the younger generation.\u00a0 It\u2019s our fault, you know.\u00a0 If a country where there are so many Catholics lacks political leadership, it\u2019s the Church\u2019s fault.\u00a0 Let me explain.<\/p>\n
A career in politics is thankless.\u00a0 To protect the common good requires constant vigilance and self-sacrifice.\u00a0 It also means putting up with all the petty, dangerous, and humiliating criticisms of the ignorant as well as the knowledgeable.\u00a0 Because it\u2019s so tough, most of the people who are actually endowed by God with the talent for it shy away from it.\u00a0 We who are Catholics, however, ought to know better.\u00a0 This life is for fighting and working for God and neighbor; comfort and ease are for Heaven.\u00a0 Today\u2019s saint is a perfect example.<\/p>\n
Ferdinand inherited the Kingdom of Castile (in central Spain) when he was 18 years old.\u00a0 Things were a mess at the time \u2013 most of Spain was still under oppressive Moslem rule, and intrigue was disturbing peace and justice in the Christian sectors.\u00a0 Although he was so young, his 35-year reign (which eventually included dozens of other towns and cities, as well as the Kingdom of Leon) began and continued with unbroken prudence, strength, and devotion.\u00a0 His mother, Queen Berengara (older sister of Queen Blanche of France, King St Louis IX\u2019s mother), and his top advisor, Archbishop Rodriquez of Toledo (whom Ferdinand made Chancellor of Castile), provided wise guidance to bolster his innate sense of justice and efficacy.<\/p>\n
He became known as \u201cthe saint\u201d even in his lifetime, and it wasn\u2019t because he spent all his time on his knees (though he did often spend whole nights in prayer, especially before important battles).\u00a0 Ferdinand reformed the legal system, established peace between competing ruling families, granted clemency to rebels (after subduing the rebellions), founded myriad schools, hospitals, Cathedrals, monasteries, and even a University (in Salamanca), resisted Moslem sorties, and steadily rolled back the tapestry of Islamic Kingdoms that had overrun Christian Spain ever since the eighth century, never giving in to the temptation of unjust recriminations or excessive punishments.<\/p>\n
His army was almost always outnumbered and out-resourced, but he relied on God\u2019s favor to bolster his intelligent tactics and undaunted courage, and even the greatest Moslem kings came to admit that his success could only be attributed to supernatural intervention.\u00a0 (The King of Seville, the greatest of the Moslem kingdoms at the time, gave in after a ten month siege, and as he departed stopped on top of a hill from which he could see the ocean to the south and the lost city to the north.\u00a0 There, looking back, he admitted, with tears, that only a saint could conquer such a kingdom with so small an army.)<\/p>\n
And to top it all off, Ferdinand enjoyed the just pleasures of a faithful and fruitful family life, untainted by any of the typical sins that men of power tend to fall into.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the kind of civil servant the Church knows how to offer this needy world: someone who pours out his life for the good of his brothers and sisters, leaving all selfish interest behind, as hard as it may be, for as long as it takes.\u00a0 Let\u2019s pray that God raise up that kind of leader over there \u2013 fast!<\/p>\n
Your angered uncle,<\/p>\n
Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Fernando, I am having difficulty controlling my anger after reading the articles you sent me.\u00a0 It is bad enough that the older politicians over there continue to show their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n