Venerable Solanus, pray for us

Next Tuesday, July 31, is the 50th anniversary of the death of Fr. Solanus Casey, one of my favorite religious.

I stumbled upon him 2 years ago by accident. It was July 31 and I was flipping channels. I stopped at EWTN, something I never did at the time. A week or so prior I had discovered Rosary Army - and the Rosary - and was catching a fire about returning to the Catholic faith.

On EWTN was a documentary about Solanus. I caught the last hour and was truly moved by his life story. Solanus was a Capuchin who didn't fare well enough in seminary to be ordained a full priest (the seminary that accepted him taught in German, which he had to learn along the way!). Instead he was ordained as a simplex priest, meaning he couldn't hear confessions. Despite this, Solanus was incredibly humble and never complained about his status.

For his entire life Solanus was a porter - he answered the door at the rectory. This meant he was often the first person to see people who needed help or prayers from the Capuchins. He listened and counseled parishoners until all hours of the night and advised many to enroll in the Seraphic Mass Association as a favor to God and thanks (in advance) for their prayer being answered. Soon, many of the people Solanus counseled reported their prayers being answered and miracles being performed. It was also said Solanus was something of a mystic and knew, once asked, if the person's prayer request would be granted.

Solanus soon became known as a miracle maker, something he never took credit for and always attributed to God. He was moved several times in his life from parish to parish (often across the country) because he became too popular, worked himself to exhaustion and needed rest. Like many holy people, he was plagued by chronic illness but tirelessly gave himself to God's people.

I've read two books on his life (Meet Solanus Casey and Solanus Casey: The Official Account of a Virtuous American Life) and the thing that moves me the most about Solanus is his humility. I struggle with it daily, and Solanus was an amazing example of incredible humility. He was also very human. He played the violin - badly, they say. He loved baseball. He had a wicked sense of humor. (One couple reported traveling to Solanus on a Friday. They had been on a trip and the only food they had left were two hot dogs in a cooler. They were starving and asked Solanus if it would be a sin if they ate the hot dogs on a Friday. Solanus said, "I don't think so. Those hot dogs have been floating in that melted cooler water so long, they're fish.")

The Father Solanus Guild is offering free prayer cards and relic badges. Get one and learn about this great 20th century hopefully-some-day saint!

A 1-hour special about Fr. Solanus will be on EWTN this Saturday, July 28, at 5 a.m. Eastern. A half-hour special, hosted by Fr. Benedict Groeschel (who knew Fr. Solanus) will be on at 1 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, July 31, on EWTN. Set your Tivo!