Blessed Solanus Casey
One
Solanus Casey was born on November 25, 1870, and grew up in Wisconsin. He joined the Franciscans in 1894 but even though their seminary was in Wisconsin, everything was taught in Latin and German, two languages, Casey could not grasp.
Because of his difficulty with new languages, they concluded he was not very intelligent. Therefore, they would not give him permission to preach homilies or hear confessions once he was ordained. He was allowed to pray Mass privately and do the duties of the other Franciscan brothers, but that was it. Even more humiliating, they made him the doorman at the monastery in downtown Detroit.
Casey was misunderstood and treated unjustly.
Faced with something he could not change he had two options: quit and leave or wait and trust. He chose the latter and He thanked God ahead of time that God would work this in his favor. This became his Motto – Thank God ahead of time!
Two
God did work this for the good of Casey and for tens of thousands of others.
During the Great Depression, when people faced every type of suffering, loss, or difficulty, they would come to the Franciscan Monastery in downtown Detroit, and knock on the door looking for someone to talk with and help them. And who do you think answered the door – Fr. Solannus. He would listen to their story and help them materially if he could. Often, however, it was not a material problem, such as cases of terminal cancer, addictions, broken marriages, and so on.
Fr. Solanus would write down their problem in his journal and promise to pray for them at Mass. He always encouraged them to do as he did, to thank God ahead of time, for whatever God would do. Then, miracles began to occur. People came back to the Monastery with tales of cures, reconciled marriages, addictions overcome, and all manner of problems miraculously solved.
When Fr. Solanus died in 1957 more than ten thousand people came to his wake and funeral, almost all with some story of a miracle attributed to Casey and his motto to thank God ahead of time.
Three
During the Great Depression, the monastery where he lived, St. Bonaventure’s in Detroit, ran a soup kitchen where thousands of people lined up each day.
One day the food ran out with many still waiting in line. Fr. Solanus Came outside, and gathered the people, saying, “In this moment that looks very uncertain, we will thank God ahead of time for taking care of us.”
He then began to lead them in praying the Our Father. At the very moment when he got to the words “Give us this day our daily bread,” a bakery truck pulled up and provided bread for everyone.
Solanus Casey was absolutely confident that the God who created and sustains the universe is our Father. If we do our best to do our part, then our Father will provide for all our needs.
Therefore, we too can thank God ahead of time because God turns all things to good for those who love him.
Now, we may have to wait and hope patiently until we see how God worked it for our best, and we may not get to see it until we are in heaven, but the fact remains: God works all things for good for those who love him.
Four
The first step Solanus took with each person was to listen, care, and pray. That is where the miracles began.
That is where we should begin.
Many times, when we are talking with people, they share some concern, either personally or about someone they love. It might be an illness, an addiction, the seeking of a new career path, or difficult decisions to make. The needs are endless and sometimes overwhelming.
Be like Casey. Listen, and then tell them you will pray for them. But don’t make it idle words. Immediately get out your phone, pull up our Daily Rosary App, click on Prayer intentions, add their concern, and tell them you and more than fifty-thousand others will be praying for them. Then ask them if you can share the Rosary Podcast with them.
Fr. Solanus Casey made himself available to people and then directed them to put their trust in God through prayer and miracles took place.
We can do the same and we should all begin by Thanking God ahead of time!
Five
Not all evil and suffering were miraculously changed by the prayer of Fr. Solanus Casey.
For some their situations were changed, for others they were not. A friend came to visit him with a child who was suffering from what appeared to be a cold. Fr. Solanus looked at the child and told the father, “Go to the chapel and tell God he can have her.” The child died of undetected pleurisy a few days later. It is a mystery why God heals some and not others. But we can know with certainty that no matter what happens, the only way God can allow evil, suffering and loss is if He is going to bring about an even greater good though the thing is bad, even very bad.
But how can we thank God for the evil that happens to us? We don’t have to thank Him for the evil that has happened and we certainly don’t have to like or be happy with the evil. That would be ridiculous. But we can thank God ahead of time that He will turn even the greatest evil to be the greatest benefit in our life.
CCC 312 From the greatest moral evil ever committed - the rejection and murder of God's only Son, caused by the sins of all men - God, by his grace that "abounded all the more", brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. But for all that, evil never becomes a good.
Jesus knew God the Father would allow his suffering and death. He knew it at the Last Supper when he took bread and wine and gave thanks, eucharist, ahead of time, thanking God His Father ahead of time that God would turn what the evil that was about to happen to the greatest good for Jesus and the whole world.
That is why we can thank him ahead of time no matter what! That is what Hope is. Hope is the absolute confidence, the certainty that God works all things for good, and I mean ALL things, for those who love him.