Helping Catholics know & love the Lord and his Church
Advertisement

Tag: Saints

10 min read
Saints

How does the canonization process work?

10 min read
3892 views
Comments Off on How does the canonization process work?
10 min read

It would not be atypical in contemporary parlance to describe a significant friend or other person we know as a “living saint.” What do we mean when calling one a…

It would not be atypical in contemporary parlance to describe a significant friend or other person we know as a “living saint.”

What do we mean when calling one a “saint” and how that person is so recognized by the Church? Catholicism’s 2,000-year history has seen the process for the proclamation of saints develop significantly. Religious historian and journalist Kenneth Woodward, quoting a popular history of the Vatican in his book “Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn’t, and Why” (Touchstone), commented on the mysterious nature of the canonization process: “The mystery of Sainthood and the canonization process, with all its spiritual dimensions of divine intercession, relics and miracles, probably is the Church’s greatest enigma outside the Mass itself.”

Canonization in the Early Years

The concept of honoring Christian men and women and developing cults to their memory started as a direct result of the Roman persecutions perpetrated on the early followers of Jesus. Public veneration of many of these martyrs, generally celebrated on the date of their death, was in evidence as early as the second century. While Christians regarded all the baptized as saints, dying for the faith was particularly noteworthy and was awarded with special veneration. Sanctity and martyrdom were virtually indistinguishable in the Christian consciousness. As Jesus died obedient to the Father, so the saints died for and in obedience to Christ.

Cults to individual saints, almost exclusively local in nature, arose. In this era there were generally no inquiries, tribunals or judgments concerning saints; rather the martyrs were denoted as saints by public acclamation. This was a period of popular canonization, when spontaneous reputation for sanctity could lead to sainthood.

The medieval period of Church history saw a significant centralization of the procedures for declaring martyrs and men and women of heroic virtues as saints. Greater control was deemed necessary in order to eliminate local abuses and move toward some universal standards. Centralization of the canonization process led to greater hierarchical control and, consequently, a more formalized process. The basic procedure began when a cult arose from the people. This was based not only on miracles but holiness of life. The greater the authority of the Church official who performed the rights of elevatio and translatio, the more God was glorified and the more the saint was recognized. This was the initial reason why bishops often requested intervention of the pope to formally proclaim one a saint. In turn, papal confirmation accentuated the pope’s authority.

The shift to a more centralized canonization process brought a consequent change in the types of individuals who were canonized. Members of religious orders and royal houses in favor with a particular pope were given priority. Most notably was the obvious diminution of martyrdom as the litmus test for sainthood. Servants of God who combined radical poverty, chastity and obedience, such as Francis of Assisi (canonized only two years after his death), were favored. The learned cleric, such as St. Dominic, canonized in 1234, and Thomas Aquinas, canonized in 1323, was another favored category.

The centralization of the canonization process continued apace throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. During the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII (1623-44) the papacy gained complete control over the declaration of saints. One of Pope Urban’s decrees forbade any form of public veneration, including the publication of books of miracles or revelations attributed to a supposed saint, until the person was beatified or canonized by solemn papal declaration. His one exception was if a cult had existed “from time immemorial” or could be justified on the strength of what the Fathers or saints had written about the individual.

Reforms and Codification

Beginning with the publication of the Code of Canon Law in 1917, the canonization process became codified. Specifically, 143 canons that dealt with beatification and canonization were present in the 1917 code. The aforementioned means to centralize the canonization process was made even more formal through codification. Canonization became known as an act by the Supreme Pontiff to declare in a definitive and solemn way that a Catholic Christian was actually in the glory of heaven, interceding for humanity before God. The two categories of martyrdom and heroic virtue, however, did continue to be the avenues one could traverse to be declared a saint.

The procedures defined by the 1917 Code of Canon Law were utilized until Pope Paul VI modified them in March 1969. In his motu proprio, Sanctitas clarior, the pope simplified the norms for beatification. Instead of repeating the informative process on both episcopal and Roman levels, the pope called for the diocesan bishop to initiate the process once it received approval of the Holy See.

Similarly, there was to be only one process to investigate the Servant of God’s writings, life of virtue or martyrdom and absence of a public cult. The bishop was also allowed to investigate purported miracles once he had received instructions from the Sacred Congregation of Rites on how to proceed. These changes greatly simplified the process.

While the canonization process has seen significant development over time, the work of Pope St. John Paul II (r. 1978-2005) produced not only the most beatified and canonized individuals of any pope in history, but also appropriately was the source of the most recent transformation (streamlining) of the canonization process.

In 1983, a wholly revised and simplified system for the canonization of saints was inaugurated. That year an updated Code of Canon Law was promulgated with only one canon (1403) dealing directly with the process of beatification and canonization. The major change came on Jan. 25, 1983, when Pope St. John Paul issued the apostolic constitution Divinus Perfectionis Magister.

While continuity of purpose was maintained, the pope’s 1983 constitution mandated a thorough reform of the entire canonization process inaugurated by Pope Urban VIII in the 17th century and codified in 1917. The goals of this reform were to make the canonization process simpler, faster, less expensive, more collegial and, ultimately, more productive.

The changes were manifested in two fundamental ways: (1) The entire responsibility for gathering evidence in support of the cause was placed in the hands of the local bishop. Instead of two canonical processes, episcopal and the Roman, there would be one, directed by the local bishop. (2) Divinus Perfectionis Magister abolished the entire series of legal dialectics between the postulator and the Promoter of the Faith. A new group of officials, “the college of relators,” supervised the writing of the historical-critical account of the candidate’s life and virtues. The chief sources of information for those reviewing the Servant of God’s cause would be historical, especially a well-documented critical biography. Additionally, the pope said that an updated process was needed as the bishops had asked for a simpler procedure while maintaining “the soundness of the investigation in matters of such great import.”

Divinus Perfectionis Magister created a paradigm shift in how saints were declared. No longer did the process use a courtroom model for determining a truth concerning the saint’s life, but rather it employed the academic model of research and writing. Replacement of the postulator and Promoter of the Faith with the college of relators was arguably the most significant change, because it transformed the process from a trial to an investigation. The criteria for initiation of a cause were also modified. First, the 50-year waiting period was reduced to five years, although even this could be waived by the pope for pastoral reasons. Additionally, the cause was not to be introduced unless there existed a true and widespread acclamation — namely, spontaneous, genuine and broadly held — among the faithful that one was in heaven either through an active martyrdom or because of living life in a heroic manner over and above the actions of upright men and women.

The Modern Process

Today, as a result of St. John Paul’s changes, the process of canonization proceeds in three phases. It begins with the institution of a diocesan inquiry, which consists of a series of investigations initiated by a competent diocesan bishop who wishes to raise a cause of canonization. This inquiry has as its goal the collection of information concerning the life, heroic virtue, reputation of sanctity or martyrdom of the Servant of God, as well as proof of any possible miracles. Second, after the information has been collected, it is sent to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, presided over by a cardinal prefect, which conducts a study of the case, concluding with the preparation of the positio. Last, the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints discusses and passes judgment on the merits of the cause leading, with the approval of the pope, to beatification or canonization.

In May 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued Sanctorum Mater (Instruction for Conducting Diocesan or Eparchial Inquiries in the Causes of Saints), which clarified the rationale for canonization. Heroic virtue, reputation for holiness and martyrdom were the three principle criteria for investigation of a cause.

The document also provides greater clarity on the role and duties of the postulator, stating that he or she should be an expert in theology, canon law and history, as well as understanding the work of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

Historical Significance

The celebration of those recognized as saints is an integral part of the Church’s liturgical life. Throughout the liturgical year, a journey that begins with the season of Advent and moves through Christmas, Lent, Easter and Ordinary (ordinal) Time, canonized saints are celebrated. Depending on several factors, including significance of the saint in Church history and tradition, saints have been assigned a certain day that is celebrated as that individual’s “feast” day. A hierarchy of celebrations, moving from greatest to least, is assigned to each saint. Thus the feast days of saints are celebrated as solemnities, feasts, obligatory memorials or optional memorials. In each case, specified prayers pertinent to the saint’s life and work are used in the celebration of Mass and the daily recitation of the Divine Office. In this way the saints become an almost daily example of the qualities one should seek in being a follower of Jesus Christ.

A popular Christian hymn begins, “For all the saints who from their labors rest, who thee by faith, before the world confess.” The lyrics of this song aptly describe the basic foundation upon which Catholicism has built its tradition of sainthood.

Saints, those men and women who have gone before us, marked by the sign of faith and recognized as martyrs or people of heroic virtue, stand as models for people of faith today. The unraveling of this perceived mysterious process, by examination of its historical development, can bring greater appreciation to those who have been so recognized as saints, validity to the whole process, and greater understanding to the Catholic Church, under which the process is conducted. Solving the puzzle of the canonization process and bringing one to greater appreciation of this procedure benefits people of faith, both now and in the future.

Father Richard Gribble is a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a professor of religious studies at Stonehill College. He holds a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America.

Continue Reading
Comments Off on How does the canonization process work?
3 min read
Saints

Father Augustus Tolton, a man for our times

3 min read
1264 views
Comments Off on Father Augustus Tolton, a man for our times
3 min read

Although he died more than 120 years ago, Father Augustus Tolton is a man for our times whose story deserves telling. Father Tolton is America’s first recognizably black Catholic priest,…

Although he died more than 120 years ago, Father Augustus Tolton is a man for our times whose story deserves telling. Father Tolton is America’s first recognizably black Catholic priest, and his story revolves around faith, perseverance and holiness.

The legacy of Father Tolton has spread in recent years, mostly due to the opening of the cause for his canonization in 2010. The late Cardinal Francis E. George stated in 2014 that introducing Tolton’s cause was “one of the most important, if not the most important” ecclesiastical actions he had taken in his nearly 17 years as archbishop of Chicago.

Telling Tolton’s story is no easy task as much about his life is unknown. Records are especially poor because of his early status as a slave and as a man of color in a post-Civil War society. As research into Tolton’s life continues, more can be told. Much of what is known has been compiled in his official biography, called a “positio,” which was submitted in 2018 to the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes as part of the ongoing effort toward his canonization. His cause cleared a major hurdle on the path to canonization when he was declared “venerable” on June 11, 2019.

Tolton’s life, which began as a slave in eastern Missouri, is just as much harrowing as inspiring. After escaping slavery with his mother and siblings, Tolton reached maturity in Quincy, Illinois, amid the inherent racism of postwar society. Since no American seminary would accept him, he was forced to work arduous, low-level jobs instead of fulfilling his desire to study for the priesthood.

Alongside his labors, though, Tolton pursued many of the studies needed to prepare for seminary, useful when he at last was accepted to the Roman college that trained priests for foreign missions.

Tolton’s first assignment as a priest — which likely took an unexpected turn of events because of a then-ongoing debate on race among American hierarchy — changed Tolton’s trajectory from the African missions to which he had been prepared to go. Instead, he was sent to his Quincy hometown — an assignment that proved to be a crucible for the first identifiably black man wearing a priest’s cassock in America. Tolton was maligned and mistreated by many, including his own brother priests. In Tolton, though, like the scourged Christ, none of the hatred shown toward him was ever reciprocated. Rather, it was transformed by love.

Eventually, Tolton requested a transfer to Chicago, not so much to make his life easier, as to allow his ministry to be more effective. A growing population of Black Catholics there became his new flock. His work to establish a parish for Black Catholics in Chicago, combined with a good deal of travel for speaking engagements on the plight of his people, however, took a toll on the priest. After returning from a retreat by train, Tolton collapsed on a Chicago street corner in record-breaking heat on July 9, 1897, and died shortly thereafter.

Tolton left a lasting legacy by which he is remembered in two specific ways: as a believer who always trusted in God’s plans, never allowing the hardships and obstacles he faced to keep him from attaining holiness; and as a model priest who spent himself in service to his flock, never seeking personal gain.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael.

 

Continue Reading
Comments Off on Father Augustus Tolton, a man for our times
9 min read
Joy

On The Importance of Humor

9 min read
2939 views
Comments Off on On The Importance of Humor
9 min read

Some years ago a noted scientific journal published an article on the geometry of humor. The author pointed out that all humor follows a certain geometric pattern, which was both…

Some years ago a noted scientific journal published an article on the geometry of humor.

The author pointed out that all humor follows a certain geometric pattern, which was both described in a mathematical formula and illustrated as a triangle. A joke, a riddle, a pun all conceptually lead a person up an incline and give the impression that the incline will continue, but with the punch line the path drops off like a cliff. In listening to or reading a joke, or in contemplating a riddle, a person’s mind begins to project where the story line is headed, but the surprise trajectory — an unexpected and rather sudden change in direction — is what causes the reaction: laughter.

Parables

There’s something sterile about describing humor in a mathematical formula, even if one might find the effort humorous in itself. Even so, it seems that the parables of Jesus follow the same geometry: presenting a scenario, leading the listener to project an ending, then suddenly delivering a punch line that surprises or shocks. Several authors have suggested that those who first heard Jesus’ parables in first-century Palestine might actually have found them humorous, in part because of the surprise endings, but mostly because of the fanciful or unusual situations Jesus depicted. The master parable teller painted a story with familiar details that may have led the hearers to look forward to a predictable ending, only to see the story’s trajectory changed to an unforeseeable conclusion.

As soon as you recognize that a joke is in the works, you know you’re no longer on safe ground. The punch line could come at any moment: a twist, a surprise, a play on words. In the telling of a joke, everything changes for a moment. Assumptions aren’t safe. The familiar becomes unfamiliar. The listeners are anxiously expecting the surprise at the end.

It’s difficult to imagine anything that comes closer to an encounter with the Jesus of the Gospel.

Humor, however, has not always been a laughing matter in the history of the Church.

Although Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us that there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh,” and although Sarah famously laughed when angelic visitors told her husband Abraham that she would bear a son within the year, most biblical references to laughter do not bring a smile to the face. When the Bible refers to laughter it is often the scornful laughter of a sinner reviling God, or — since God gets the last laugh — the response of God to such scorn.

Similarly, the Church Fathers give short shrift to laughter, seeing an incongruity between the awareness of one’s sins and the willingness to laugh. St. John Chrysostom, one of the dour Fathers, suggests that weeping is preferable to laughing in this vale of tears.

Yet the shared experience of every human is one of both weeping and laughing, of mourning and of dancing. The author of Proverbs reminds us that laughter and sadness abide together, one never far from the other. Together with the pain of separation from God, humanity’s experience of God is replete with joy: the delight of Adam discovering Eve; the unbounded glee of King David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant; the happy leap of John the Baptist in the womb; heaven’s elation at one repentant sinner; and, ultimately, the words we all long to hear, “Come, share your master’s joy” in heaven, where “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain” (Rv 21:4). A walk through the Bible shows that references to joy far outweigh the mention of sadness.

Part of God’s Love

Without disagreeing that our sins are cause for sadness and repentance, serious Christian thinkers such as Søren Kierkegaard and Reinhold Neibuhr suggested that the ability to laugh at ourselves and at the foibles of the world is both a prelude and a result of true contrition for our sins. The influential 20th-century theologian Father Karl Rahner saw laughter as a gift from God, a tutor to help us understand God’s love for us. Humor helps to keep us humble, recognizing and admitting our imperfections before God.

G.K. Chesterton, a prolific essayist and author of fiction, biography, poetry and plays, finally converted to Catholicism in 1922 after his faith grew in a lengthy germination. He valued humor as a sign of wonder, and wonder as a doorway of spirituality. No reader of Chesterton’s essays can come away without a smile and perhaps a hearty laugh. And no one can doubt his faith in God’s goodness. Another convert to Catholicism late in life, Malcolm Muggeridge, saw humor as God’s therapy and looked forward to hearing “the unmistakable sound of celestial laughter” in heaven.

Joy and laughter are part of our heritage as children of God, just as they are part of our experience as human beings. Together with weeping and sadness they frame our experience of life.

Though the Gospel writers note the tears of Jesus as He wept over Jerusalem, at the tomb of His friend Lazarus and certainly in Gethsemane’s garden, no one can doubt the joy which permeated Jesus’ public ministry. It’s impossible not to picture Jesus and His apostles as joyful at the wedding feast in Cana. Joyful feasting was a common image of the Lord in His parables.

Indeed, in His priestly prayer in John’s Gospel, the Lord is clear about His mission: “That my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete” (Jn 15:11).

Joy Is First

St. Paul reminds the Galatians that joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, a sign and symptom of a life lived in the Spirit of God. He also gives us an instruction toward the end of his First Letter to the Thessalonians, a practical lesson for how to live in a world that is passing away. After urging the Christians in Thessalonica to “cheer the fainthearted” who worry unduly about the final judgment, he gives a three-part instruction for life: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks” (5:16-18).

Notice, joy is first.

The ability to find joy in all circumstances — to laugh at the vicissitudes of life knowing that God has conquered all in Christ Jesus — is indeed a sign and symptom of sanctity. The saints show us this.

St. Lawrence, deacon of the church of Rome, was arrested three days after the seizure and martyrdom of his bishop, Pope St. Sixtus. When the pagan prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence, who as a deacon was responsible for providing aid to the poor and needy, produce the hidden wealth of the Church, Lawrence asked for three days to assemble it. At the appointed hour he gathered the poorest and neediest persons from around the city and told the prefect, “This is the Church’s treasure.” The prefect saw no humor in that and ordered Lawrence be tied to an iron grill and burnt slowly over a fire. God gave Lawrence the gift of humor in the midst of his torture, such that he is said to have joked with his torturers, “Turn me over, I’m done on this side.”

The humor of Teresa of Jesus, the Spanish Carmelite reformer from Ávila, is well known. Among the quotes attributed to her is a smiling retort to God when the saintly nun was thrown off a cart into a mud puddle as she traveled to visit a monastery. Looking up from the muddy road, Teresa said to God, “If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few!” St. Teresa is also said to have given the following advice to a young novice who admitted falling asleep every day at prayer: “If you go to prayer and find yourself falling asleep, accept it as a gift from God. If, however, you fall asleep at prayer every day, find another time to pray.”

Indeed, it may be the deep holiness of St. Teresa that allowed her to maintain a sense of humor even in the midst of turmoil. Only one with a deep and passionate trust in God’s goodness could seek and treasure humor in the midst of travails and disappointments such as Teresa experienced. She wrote: “Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who possesses God lacks nothing: God alone suffices.” Such confidence buoys the soul and produces a light heart. It is the truest font of joy and humor for the believer.

Why is humor important? Principally because it keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously. If we recognize that here on earth we have not a lasting city, it’s perhaps best to laugh at the incongruities while joyfully accepting God’s grace to act as agents of His redemption. In other words, perhaps a believer’s best attitude in life is to change what we can change and laugh at what we cannot, completely confident that God has already bested whatever tries to keep us from joy.

Msgr. William King is a priest for the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Pope Francis on Joy

“Instead of imposing new obligations, [Christians] should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet.”

“Be courageous in suffering and remember that after the Lord will come; after, joy will come, after the dark comes the sun. May the Lord give us all this joy in hope.”

“Christianity spreads through the joy of disciples who know that they are loved and saved.”

Continue Reading
Comments Off on On The Importance of Humor
4 min read
Saints

St. Clare of Assisi

4 min read
926 views
Comments Off on St. Clare of Assisi
4 min read

‘Love that cannot suffer is not worthy of that name.’ In St. Clare’s day, society was shifting, there was greater disparity between rich and poor, migration was on the rise,…

‘Love that cannot suffer is not worthy of that name.’

In St. Clare’s day, society was shifting, there was greater disparity between rich and poor, migration was on the rise, and urban centers were booming. The world around her looked quite chaotic and seemed to have lost its way, particularly where Christianity was concerned.

Clare (1193-1253) found her way, however, when she first encountered St. Francis of Assisi, a holy man who preached a way of life so contrary to the world that it was surely the way to bring true joy to the human heart. Having resisted marriage for years, despite much family pressure, Clare was drawn to the Gospel’s simplicity when, at age 18, she first heard it preached by Francis. Like him, she wanted to transform the world, and he had convinced her it was through total abandonment to Christ through poverty.

Clare and Francis mutually inspired each other. Francis was the visionary, and Clare was a loyal disciple in whom he found a kindred spirit. Together they adopted a revolutionary way of life set to transform the Church and the world.

After their initial encounter, Clare and Francis met for secret conversations. They discussed what ailed society and the Church, and what it would take to break free from worldly desires consuming them. They had a shared disdain for wealth, power and honor; a matching love of radical poverty; and a total love of God above all.

Clare entered religious life at the conclusion of a lengthy discernment. In March 1212, she ran out at night to Francis’ Portiuncula and renounced her finery, cut off her hair and took on the habit of penitence. She found fulfillment and peace in Francis’ way.

Attempts by family and friends to take her away from her vocation were reprised when her sister, Catarina (later St. Agnes of Assisi), joined her in the Franciscan life. Eventually, Francis drew up a rule for them and set Clare as superior. She was named abbess against her wishes.

Among the many other women who came to join the Order of Poor Ladies was their mother. Within a few years, convents of Clare’s nuns were established all over Europe. Eventually Clare wrote a new rule, the first woman to do so for a community of other women. It is said she never left her convent after 1215.

Clare’s nuns adopted an austere and severely penitential way of life: extreme fasting, bare feet, and the ground for a bed. They only spoke when required by charity so their minds maintained focus on things above. In an age when many within the Church were concerned with amassing property and fortune, the Franciscan way refused to even own property and to survive on the generosity of benefactors.

A woman of independence and authority, Clare was known to have sharp disagreements with various popes who tried to weaken the strictness of her rule by imposing another. Nonetheless, intent on radical poverty, when once offered a dispensation from it by the pope, she responded, “I need absolution from my sins, but not from having to follow Christ.”

Their rejection of worldly values was quite countercultural for the age, and it brought much mockery and ridicule. But Clare and her nuns offered the chaotic world — so similar to ours today — another way: the way of peace through sacrifice.

Abandoning her life to God’s will meant exercising leadership through service to the other sisters. “Do what you want with me,” she said, “I am yours because my will is no longer my own. I have given it to God.” In this way she found true peace and joy.

St. Clare bore a life of sickness patiently and lovingly, dying in 1253. Her feast is Aug. 11.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of OSV’s Simply Catholic and a graduate of The Catholic University
of America. He writes from Indiana. This article is taken from the ‘Saints in Times of Crisis’ booklet from Our Sunday Visitor.

Continue Reading
Comments Off on St. Clare of Assisi
4 min read
Saints

Blessed Solanus Casey: A saint for those seeking wisdom

4 min read
3646 views
Comments Off on Blessed Solanus Casey: A saint for those seeking wisdom
4 min read

Early in life, Blessed Solanus Casey was caught up in a clash of cultures, and it did not make life easy for him. But, in the end, God used those…

Early in life, Blessed Solanus Casey was caught up in a clash of cultures, and it did not make life easy for him. But, in the end, God used those circumstances for his good and produced a saint.

Born Bernard Francis Casey to Irish immigrants in Wisconsin in 1870, Blessed Solanus first considered the priesthood after he witnessed a brutal murder while operating a street car as a young man. Wanting to make a difference in the world, he decided to try to do so through ordained ministry. Prior to entering the seminary, Blessed Solanus performed a variety of odd jobs and even came close to getting married. God, though, had other plans.

When Blessed Solanus entered the seminary in Milwaukee, his difficulty with studies in general was exacerbated by trouble mastering languages. Because of his poor grades in German, as well as other subjects, Blessed Solanus was dismissed from seminary.

Even though they had turned him away, those in charge of his seminary formation in Milwaukee believed that Blessed Solanus did indeed have a religious vocation. To fulfill this dream, they sent him to the Capuchin Franciscans, a community also very much conditioned by those of German heritage. Anxious about repeating history with the emphasis on German and, thanks to a dislike for their long beards, Blessed Solanus hesitated at first to give them serious consideration. Eventually, though, aft er receiving vocational counsel from a Capuchin friar, he decided to give entrance to the community a second thought. Turning over his heart’s anxiety to the Blessed Mother, he was divinely inspired. The Blessed Mother answered him when he heard “go to Detroit.” The Motor City was the home of that Capuchin province’s novitiate at the time, and a certain urgency compelled him to set out for the metropolis quickly.

Despite further doubts and fears, Blessed Solanus continued to turn to the Blessed Mother for assistance. As a result, he felt a sense of peace about his call. With the Franciscan habit, Blessed Solanus’ name officially changed from Bernard Francis to Solanus, after the 17th-century Franciscan missionary to South America, who, like Blessed Solanus, also loved to play the violin. Franciscan life fit like a glove for Blessed Solanus, but continued academic difficulties caused his superiors to decide he would remain a “simplex priest” after ordination, meaning he could hear no confessions nor preach a formal sermon.

Most of his priesthood, then, was spent as the monastery’s porter. Serving at monasteries in the greater New York City area as well as Detroit, this ministry put Blessed Solanus in touch with the real problems and situations of ordinary people. He easily forged relationships and was known for his wise counsel, humor and gentleness. Thus he was a most suitable counselor to the many who came seeking his guidance about their problems — availing himself to whomever needed him — in person, or by phone or letter. His reputation as a wonderworker grew thanks to his generous intercession and miraculous healings. When the Great Depression hit, Father Casey was instrumental in founding the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which to this day tends to the needs of Detroit’s poor.

Because of his renown and reputation for the supernatural, Blessed Solanus’ Capuchin superiors attempted to distance the priest from the crowds and eventually assigned him to retirement at the remote Capuchin novitiate in Huntington, Indiana. But the correspondence continued — and so did the miraculous activities.

Blessed Solanus’ last years were spent suffering from arthritis and especially a skin disease that had plagued him for decades. His last days were spent hospitalized in severe pain. Those around him testified that he never complained or asked for anything to take away the pain. Blessed Solanus died in Detroit on July 31, 1957, and more than 20,000 people lined up to view his body before burial. Thousands more have sought his intercession ever since.

Beatified in 2017, Blessed Solanus’ liturgical memorial is July 30.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic.

Continue Reading
Comments Off on Blessed Solanus Casey: A saint for those seeking wisdom
1 min read
Saints

St. Maximilian Kolbe

1 min read
1165 views
Comments Off on St. Maximilian Kolbe
1 min read

Franciscan Father Maximilian Kolbe was born at Zdunska-Wola, near Lodz, Poland, and baptized Raymond. Joining the Conventual Franciscans, he took the name Maximilian, pronouncing temporary vows in 1911. In 1917,…

Franciscan Father Maximilian Kolbe was born at Zdunska-Wola, near Lodz, Poland, and baptized Raymond.

Joining the Conventual Franciscans, he took the name Maximilian, pronouncing temporary vows in 1911. In 1917, one year before his ordination, he founded the Militia of Mary Immaculate in Rome to advance Marian devotion.

In 1941, Father Kolbe was arrested by the Gestapo when the Germans invaded Poland, and he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. On Aug. 14, 1941, he took the place of a married prisoner, who had a family and was one of 10 inmates selected to be executed in a retaliatory punishment in the camp.

It was the Nazis’ policy to kill 10 prisoners every time one inmate escaped. Father Kolbe volunteered to die in the place of the married prisoner. After long and terrible sufferings that he faced with such equanimity and concern for his fellow victims, he was give an injection of carbolic acid by the SS guards to end his tortures.

He was beatified in 1971 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982 and declared a martyr of charity. His feast day is Aug. 14, and he is the patron of drug addiction; drug addicts; families; imprisoned people; journalists; political prisoners; prisoners; pro-life movement.

Continue Reading
Comments Off on St. Maximilian Kolbe
Advertisement

Instagram

Type on the field below and hit Enter/Return to search

Bitnami