Saint Luke, Evangelist (entered heaven in the first century)
From Uncle Eddy’s E-mails
Dear Lu,
Your note about the religious studies classes you are taking intrigued me. I have always been interested in great intellectuals who try to reduce man’s thirst for God to neat sociological formulas. Do keep sending me articles and updates; I’ll look forward to following along.
As for yourself, I issue a humble, avuncular warning. Don’t let all the ideas that you bat around from 9 to 9 every day interfere with your personal, heart-to-heart relationship with Christ. He is more than an idea, you know – he is a person. A living person, whose friendship alone will give true and lasting meaning to your life. You need to make a constant effort to keep that in mind, so you don’t succumb to the temptation of intellectual pride – thinking that your own brilliance is enough light for your journey into eternity.
Today’s saint could be a big help for you. He was a medical doctor, a writer, and an artist (probably from Greece, maybe from Antioch in Turkey), so he had an avid mind and a sensitive heart. God set him aside as one of the four Evangelists, the only four people in the history of the world chosen to record (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) the life and words of Jesus Christ, God become man. He was also entrusted with giving us the inspired narration of the very first days of the Church. His Gospel and his “appendix” to the Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, almost form a complete picture of Christian revelation. In their pages, you will find the person of Jesus Christ and the living faith of the Church masterfully described. If you take some time to dip into them every day, it will help you keep your faith fresh (it will help even more if you dip into them while making a visit to our Lord himself in the Blessed Sacrament – nothing like the Real Thing to counteract vapid ideologies like the ones you mention in the note).
Since you’re planning on going on to get your PhD, you might even want to make St Luke into a kind of personal patron – he is the official patron of “doctors,” after all (strictly speaking, medical doctors). May he help you stay humble and simple (remember, the Kingdom of God belongs to the childlike), even as you scale the dizzying heights of intellectual achievement.
God bless, Uncle Eddy
Fr John Bartunek, LC, writing under the alias “Uncle Eddy”, gives spiritual advice based on the lives of the saints to imaginary college students
Biltrix 
There is so much wisdom in what “Uncle Eddy” has stated here. We shouldn’t let the complexities of philosophy and theology interfere with our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can get so caught up in the weeds but miss the main point. Just because a person has a few degrees doesn’t necessarily mean that they have a good relationship with our Lord.
Great post! God Bless.
I think you summed it up nicely, Teresa. If we had to choose between theoretical knowledge and a personal intimate relationship with Jesus as our Lord and God, we should certainly prefer the latter.
Thank you for your comment and God bless!
The second line of the second paragraph is my favorite. I think I will carry this thought with me throughout the day. It is a good one!
Blessings ~ Wendy
Thanks, Wendy.
Uncle Eddy’s got some good gems to share in his store of wisdom; and plenty of wisdom from the saints.
God bless you and have a great day!
This kind of reminds me when I was in RCIA. Though helpful, it was not until I received our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, that I truly understood what all the teachings in RCIA was about. Intellect and knowledge can only take us so far, as it is our “hearts” our Lord wants and desires. When we unite our hearts with His, only then can we truly understand what it is to have a “relationship” with Christ. Good post and God Bless, SR
Thanks, SR.
I think it’s safe to say that knowing Christ is not just a relationship; it’s more than that. More than that, one cannot even say one knows Jesus Christ without having that deep, personal relationship. Like friendship, we don’t know a person as a friend by studying their history and profile. We know them by sharing our heart with them and letting them into our heart.
As you pointed out, there is way more to it than that, still. Communion with Christ is inexpressible with words; but we know what it is through our heart once we’ve had him there. May we always have Jesus in our hearts!
God bless!
A post I have avidly devoured and the words of which I have taken to heart. Thought-provoking as ever! God bless!
Thanks, Ivan. I’m glad you liked it!
Loved this post. I hope to hear more from “Uncle Eddy”. It’s always good to remember that one connects to God more through the heart and not the intellect. In fact, the intellect sometimes gets in the way.
Thanks, Reinkat.
Yep. The intellect not only gets in the way sometimes, it also confuses things from time to time. Uncle Eddy has a good one for the North American Martyrs today. I’ll share my own reflection on Isaac Jogues and Jean de Brebeuf later today. Thanks a lot and God bless!
I’ve been meaning to stop for a moment and share how much we love your header photo. We really enjoy the work you bring, fantastic encouragement and enthusiastic praise for our Lord. Thanks a lot good friends and blessings (still, I wonder, “Is it the gorilla who writes these good words?”).
Ha Ha Ha ha! No, I’m not the gorilla. The gorilla is a missionary volunteer named Jonah (the one Fr Jason strikes out in the video on the “behind the cover” page explaining the cover photo). But I’m flattered. Seriously.
God’s blessings to you too!