Dear Tom,<\/p>\n
I can sympathize with you.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing more frustrating for someone as active and creative as yourself than not being able to find work.\u00a0 It\u2019s a pity the company that hired you before graduation went out of business after graduation.\u00a0 But that\u2019s how the world works sometimes.\u00a0 It seems that God is testing you somewhat.\u00a0 That\u2019s a good sign.\u00a0 \u201cI am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love,\u201d as our Lord put it in Revelation 3:19. \u00a0You reaction needs to be that of a true Christian: \u201cRejoice in hope, persevere in prayer, be patient under trial.\u201d (Romans 12:12).\u00a0 And in the meantime, you may want to ask today\u2019s saint to intercede for you.\u00a0 He is the patron saint of job seekers and the unemployed.<\/p>\n
Cajetan was the son of noble Venetian parents.\u00a0 His father died when he was a boy.\u00a0 As a youth he studied civil and canon law at the famous University of Padua, then become a senator in the Vincenzan government.\u00a0 Although he lived in the thick of the Italian Renaissance, and although he learned to appreciate the many achievements of that effervescent culture, his love for the Church gave rise to a desire to do something to reform the corrupt clergy and serve the needy faithful.\u00a0 He saw the same problems as his contemporary Martin Luther, but he opted to reform from within, not divide and rebel.<\/p>\n
His first move was to relocate to Rome and live a humble, quiet existence in which he could serve the poor.\u00a0 Pope Julius II would have none of such low-profile lifestyles, however, and brought him into the papal court as protonotary (one of 12 clerks in charge of registering important papal proceedings).\u00a0 The corruption of morals in the Vatican only increased his desire to stir up the true Christian spirit, and he spent all the time he could serving the poor, especially the incurably sick and foundlings.<\/p>\n
When Pope Julius died Cajetan retired his post, received ordination, and moved back north to Venice, where he tended his sick mother until she died, then formed a small oratory to continue his works of mercy.\u00a0 A few years later he joined forces with some other notable churchmen and founded a new Congregation of priests whose sole objective was to provide a positive example of priestly life for the diocesan priests \u2013 who weren\u2019t getting any good examples or instructions from their bishops, for the most part.\u00a0 The Congregation grew quickly and spread throughout Europe, and Cajetan was eventually made superior of the community in Naples.\u00a0 There, in addition to tending the needs of his Congregation, he continued his backbreaking work for the poor, even starting a bank that would lend money fairly to the down-and-out so they could get back on their feet.\u00a0 This bank has survived until today; it is called the Bank of Naples.<\/p>\n
Cajetan was a man who never let discouragement keep him from serving Christ with all his mind, heart, and strength, even though he had plenty of reasons to be discouraged.\u00a0 I hope his example inspires you, and I know his intercession will assist you.<\/p>\n
Your loving uncle,<\/p>\n
Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Tom, I can sympathize with you.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing more frustrating for someone as active and creative as yourself than not being able to find work.\u00a0 It\u2019s a pity the […]<\/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-142549","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