Hi Friends! We continue this week with a multi-part evangelical biography on the life of Fr. Solanus Casey, God bless you! Fr. Solanus, pray for us!
Fr. Solanus Casey: An Icon of the Gospel Unleashed
(Part 6)
Through the witness of Fr. Solanus, we remember that people aren’t obstacles, that they are made in God’s image and likeness, and that they need the divine life-giving love of God for which they were made. And like Fr. Solanus, each disciple carries Jesus and his divine life-giving love to the world. As St. Paul famously wrote, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20) Fr. Solanus longed to live in God’s love and share it with all. During his assignment at Our Lady of Sorrows in Manhattan, he wrote in his notebook five points about how to acquire the love of God. They are a gift still and a great aid for growing in love of God and neighbor:
- Detachment of oneself from earthly affections; singleness of purpose.
- Meditation on the passion of Jesus Christ.
- Uniformity with the Divine Will.
- Mental prayer – meditation and contemplation
- Prayer – “Ask and it will be given to you.” (Mt 7:7)
What people encountered in Fr. Solanus led them to tell others, which led to lines of people wherever Fr. Solanus went. The gift he gave to the world was the gift all disciples of Jesus have to give to the world. This gift is the gospel: the good news that God loves you and that you were worth the Father sending His Son; that you were worth Jesus laying down His life on the cross; that God has always loved you and that the arms of Jesus are always open to you and ready to embrace you and lead you; that God longs for you to live in an intimate relationship with Him. The care that Fr. Solanus took to ensure that each person he counseled experienced God’s love for them gave people a living experience of Jesus, the Gospel Himself.
God Bless! – Fr. Patrick