Friar Jack's E-spirations: The Cause of Father Solanus Casey (Continue

 

The Cause of Father Solanus Casey (Continued) by Friar Jack Wintz, O.F.M.

(Photo by Jack Wintz, O.F.M.) Last February, I began a two-part E-spiration on Father Solanus Casey, asking whether this saintly Capuchin friar would be beatified soon. Now with the 50th anniversary of Father Casey’s death almost upon us, I offer you an updated response to that same question. When Father Solanus died in St. John’s Hospital in Detroit, on July 31, 1957, at the age of 87, the simple Capuchin friar’s funeral drew such a crowd that the monastery chapel of St. Bonaventure near downtown Detroit could not contain it. His influence has only grown larger in the following years. Events scheduled this month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Father Solanus’s death will no doubt stir up added interest in Detroit and in the larger Catholic world regarding this popular friar and his cause for beatification.   Entering the Franciscan Order Father Solanus was born in Wisconsin in 1870 to Irish immigrant parents. He entered the Capuchins at St. Bonaventure’s on January 14, 1897, completing his novitiate on July 21, 1898, and taking his first vows. Immediately, he left Detroit for Milwaukee to begin studying for the priesthood at the Capuchin seminary. After ordination in 1904 and serving 20 years in New York parishes, Father Solanus returned to Detroit and St. Bonaventure’s as priest and popular porter (doorkeeper) from 1924 to 1945. The people in Detroit discovered that they had a holy friar among them: Stories of healings resulting from his prayers were as numerous there as they had been in New York. His efforts on behalf of thousands who sought his help in Detroit continued. It time, however, Solanus’s health began to wear down and, after some years of semi-retirement in Huntington, Indiana, he died in Detroit in 1957. (Photo by Jack Wintz, O.F.M.)   Detroit’s Solanus Casey Center My own personal interest in the cause of Venerable Solanus Casey began in earnest when I went to Detroit last August (2006) to begin preparing an article for St. Anthony Messenger on the Solanus Casey Center built in Detroit by the Capuchin friars. The center stands adjacent to the Monastery of St. Bonaventure where Solanus lived for some 20 years and where his body was buried.     (Photo by Jack Wintz, O.F.M.) I was amazed at the beauty and creative concept of the center and the spiritual impact it was having on the growing number of visitors coming to this pilgrimage site from the Detroit area and beyond. A key feature of the center is the tomb of Father Solanus. His burial place is now located inside the center near the monastery chapel and marked by a simple wooden monument that sits directly above the saintly friar’s interred remains. Pilgrims can kneel alongside either side of the monument and pray for Father Solanus’s intercession or leave written petitions lying on top of it. The St. Anthony Messenger article mentioned above is entitled “The Solanus Casey Center: An Invitation to Grow.” It has just been published and is now available on our Web site. It provides a fuller account of Father Solanus’s life as well as updated information on his beatification cause. You can access the online article here.   Update on TV programming Let me also update you on TV programs appearing on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) regarding Father Solanus Casey, as his 50th anniversary approaches. EWTN lists the following TV presentations and times (All times below are Eastern Time) : Solanus Casey: Priest, Porter and Prophet July 21 (8 p.m), July 22 (2 a.m) and July 26 (1 p.m.) (90-minute program). The Healing Prophet: Father Solanus Casey July 25 (10 p.m) and July 28 (5 a.m.) (60-minute program). They Could Be Saints: Father Solanus Casey, presented by Father Benedict Groeschel July 31(1 p.m.) (30-minute program).  You can check these listings on EWTN's Web site. Click here for special programs in July. If you wish, you can order a print copy of the July 2007 issue of St. Anthony Messenger, which contains the seven-page article on Father Solanus, illustrated with 15 color photos taken by Friar Jack at the center ($2.25 + S&H).   Friar Jim’s Inbox Readers respond to Friar Jim’s “Catechism Quiz: Mary, the Mother of Jesus.” Dear Friar Jim: Just signed up last night and looking forward to some great news. I have to laugh as God is very comical in my life. Just last night my wife, who by the way is working on becoming a Catholic, asked a question of me: Why was Mary chosen to be the mother of Jesus? Any thoughts? I kindly await your response. John   Dear John: Thanks for your question. Actually, any woman could have been chosen to give flesh and blood to the Word of God (Jesus). But obviously God would choose the most perfect person for that role (it was only appropriate). And it seems that Mary was the one person most perfectly seeking the will of God. Mary was conceived without sin (Immaculate Conception); this was a gift of God and not merited by Mary. It was Mary's gift of herself to God and his will that made her the perfect person to give birth to Jesus and to raise him. Friar Jim   Dear Friar Jim: Could it be said that Jesus received his human nature from Mary alone and his divine nature from God, or were Mary and God co-equal partners in the Incarnate Word made flesh? Thank you in advance. Jere   Dear Jere: Your first statement is correct: Human nature from Mary; the eternal divine nature always was. Jesus is only one person (the Word, Son of God) but (and this is a mystery) he has two natures, human and divine. Mary gave Jesus only his human nature. Friar Jim