Michael Sullivan, Pro Minister

29 November 2017 Special Issue Issue Number 1117

Blessed Solanus CaseyOn Saturday, 18 November 2017, our brother

Solanus Casey was beatified during a

liturgical celebration at Ford Field in Detroit.

Over 60,000 individuals were present for the

Mass, including over 500 concelebrants. The

friars of the St. Joseph Province did not

concelebrate, however, continuing our

tradition of expressing the equality of all of

our brothers regardless of canonical status.

On behalf of the St. Joseph Province, we want to thank the brothers for their

presence and support, both from our province and all the provinces all over

the world. Gratitude is especially due to those who worked tirelessly on the

preparation of the liturgy: the music and the ambiance.

Solanus Casey was known for his steadfast

devotion to the needy, and has an

extraordinary following, decades after his

death in 1957. Pope Francis acknowledged

Solanus’ rank of “blessed” after Paula Medina

Zarate of Panamá was cured while praying at

his tomb in 2012. Zarate had a formal role at

the liturgy, placing a cross in front of a portrait

of Solanus near the alter. Cardinal Angelo

Amato read a decree by the pope, who described the friar as a “humble and faithful disciple of Christ, tireless

in serving the poor.”

Solanus can be canonized in the years ahead if a second miracle is

attributed to him. He's only the second U.S. born man to be beatified by

the church, joining Stanley Rother, a priest killed in Guatemala's civil war,

who was beatified in Oklahoma in September. One U.S. born woman has

been beatified and two others have been declared saints.

Solanus, born in Prescott, Wisconsin, joined the Capuchin Franciscans in

Detroit in 1897 and was ordained a priest seven years later. But there were

conditions: because of academic struggles, he was prohibited from giving

homilies at Mass and couldn't hear confessions.

"He accepted it," said Martin Pable. "He believed whatever God wants,

that's what he would do."

Solanus served for 20 years in New York City and nearby Yonkers

before being transferred back to St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit in

1924. He ministered as a doorkeeper for the next two decades, but his

reputation for holiness far exceeded his modest title.

"He had a gentle presence. He left people with a wonderful feeling of

peace inside their hearts," Pable said. "He would say, 'Let's just pray

about this and see what God wants to do.’ Some people were not healed. He told them to bear their problems

with God's help.”

In 1929, Solanus co-founded the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which serves

up to 2,000 meals a day in Detroit.

All souls in Heaven are saints. Formerly, the church declared “saints”

as people who were outstanding in holiness, either because they died

as witnesses for the faith (martyrs) or they lived a life of heroic virtue.

For the first half of the church’s history, saints were canonized in

various ways. Today, the process of canonization is complex and

thorough.

The official process of canonization, called a “cause,” does not begin

until five years after the death of the candidate. This period of time permits the church to verify whether the

candidate enjoys a true and widespread reputation of holiness. When the cause is officially begun, the

candidate receives the title “Servant of God.”

The next step toward canonization begins when the evidence is studied

by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the evidence reveals

true holiness, the congregation informs the pope that the Servant of

God was either a true martyr or has lived a life of extraordinary and

heroic virtue.

When the Servant of God has been declared to have lived a life of

heroic virtue, it must be proven that a miracle has been granted by God

through the intercession of the Servant of God.

For those beatified to be canonized one miracle is required. When

proven, the pope proceeds to the canonization process. By this act, the church declares that he or she is a saint.

It also means that the saint is worthy of public veneration by the universal church, and held up as a model for

imitation and a powerful intercessor for all.

(The above text was culled from an article by the Associated Press and from the souvenir booklet published for the

beatification liturgy.)

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Friars dined at the Soup Kitchen

the evening before the event!

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The Capuchin Soup Kitchen...evolved!When the Great Depression began in 1929, Solanus Casey helped start the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Today, that

ministry serves between 1,600 and 2,000 meals per day. While most individuals initially come to the Soup

Kitchen seeking food to feed their bodies, the ministry also stimulates minds, nourishes spirits, and attempts

to address the root causes of social injustice through a variety of innovative programs.

The Conner Kitchen opened in 1998 as a response to Michigan’s welfare-to-work

initiative. As many as one-third of the meals served here are for children 12 and

under. The evening meal provides a nourishing meal to children after school and

adults after work.

The Meldrum Location on Mt. Elliott St. serves the chronically poor. Guests

are typically male, homeless or poorly housed, often diagnosed with mental

illness and/or substance abuse addiction. This facility provides showers and

clothing for about 30 people each day to give those in need a fresh focus

and an increased sense of dignity and self-worth.

The Capuchin Services Center distributes emergency food and clothing, and has recently re-engineered its food

pantry to resemble a small grocery store, complete with reach-in freezers and coolers, vegetable and fruit

islands, and bread and pastry racks. Guests are granted a designated amount of food based on family size.

All guests are interviewed by an emergency assistance worker. Families are eligible for food

assistance once a month.

Earthworks Urban Farm is a 2.5 acre certified organic farm located in the City of Detroit. The program seeks to

build a just, beautiful food system through education, inspiration, and community development. As a working

study in both social justice and in knowing the origins of the food we eat, Earthworks strives to restore our

connection to the environment and community.

On The Rise Bakery Café is a program of the Soup Kitchen’s ROPE (Reaching Our Potential Everyday) ministry.

The bakers have recently been released from prison and have completed a substance abuse treatment program.

Each purchase of baked goods helps make possible the provision of supportive housing, training, counseling

services, educational opportunities, and self-help programs.

Jefferson House is an accredited residential treatment facility for impoverished males seeking to reclaim their

lives from addictions. Residents normally complete their rehab in six to nine months. During that time they

learn to practice honesty, courage and other virtues essential to recovery and to the development of a sober,

healthy and happy life. The program also provides opportunities to work at other Capuchin Soup Kitchen

locations, for which the men are paid a modest stipend.

The Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program seeks to stretch the minds of young people, stimulate their creativity,

and explore with them alternatives to violence, through tutoring and art therapy sessions, a lending library,

seasonal family activities and a counseling program focusing on youth leadership development. A three week

summer peace camp for all children features art, drama, music, dance,

peacemaking classes and field trips.

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Friars dined at the monastery after the eventFollowing the beatification liturgy at Ford Field, friars were invited to a dinner reception at St. Bonaventure

Monastery, hosted by local minister Larry LaCross. This was another way in which the friars offer hospitality

to those visiting Detroit. It was a time of fraternity with friars from many different provinces with many

different cultures. And from looking at the photos, it was a very fraternal experience!

We are grateful for photos submitted to Weekly re:Cap by MJ Groark, Phil

Gardner and David Hirt. There were so many photos forwarded to us that we

could not reprint them all. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos.

Solanus Casey stood quietly apart from the haste and indifference of modern society tending to thousands in

trouble, pain and sorrow. Together they witnessed his monastery door become their gate of heaven.

At the close of his earthly journey, just minutes before passing through that gate, he sat up in bed and

exclaimed, “I give my soul to Jesus Christ.” On the day of beatification, the church affirms that he certainly

did, and that Jesus received him. How fitting, how simple, that the doorkeeper should enter through Christ,

the Door. How necessary that we receive the grace to follow him.

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In 2015, global leaders signed up to the Sustainable Development

Goals, with the aim to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by

2030. The UHC framework now lies at the center of all health

programs.

To complement the global World AIDS Day 2017 campaign which

promotes the theme "Right to health," the World Health Organization

will highlight the need for all 36.7 million people living with HIV and

those who are vulnerable and affected by the epidemic, to reach the goal of universal health coverage.

Under the slogan "Everybody counts," WHO will advocate for access to safe, effective, quality and affordable

medicines, including diagnostics and other health commodities as well as health care services for all people in

need, while also ensuring that they are protected against financial risks.

Wear a red ribbon on December 1st to remind everyone who sees you that HIV/AIDS is still an epidemic!

Dec. 1st, 1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat

for the sake of justiceKnown today as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks helped

to set in motion a series of events that would eventually secure equal

treatment under the law for all black Americans. For those who lived through

the unsettling 1950s and 1960s and joined the civil rights struggle, the soft-

spoken Parks was more than the woman who refused to give up her bus seat

to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. She was a symbol of social justice

and an embodiment of human dignity and the quest for human rights.

37th anniversary of the martyrdom of El Salvador’s church womenDecember 2nd, marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Ursuline

Sister Dorothy Kazel, lay missionary Jean Donovan and Maryknoll

Sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, the four churchwomen of El

Salvador who were savagely brutalized and killed for spreading the

good news and teaching people to read and pray.

On 2 December 1980, guardsmen stopped the four women's vehicle

after they left the airport in Managua, Nicaragua. They were taken to

a relatively isolated spot where they were beaten, raped and

murdered by the soldiers.

We remember these four church women each year in the hope that their legacy will inspire all of us to work

for justice and peace for all those who suffer persecution.

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29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Veik (B)

29-30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pro Council, Chicago

30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerry Smith (B)André Weller (N)

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Yaroch (B)

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Schmitz (B)

5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Focus Group Zoom Conference

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicholas (F)

Nicholas Widhammer (N) PR Video Conference

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerome Campbell (B)Ambrose Simon (N)

11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Nguyen (B)

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Our Lady of Guadalupe (F)

Paul Koenig (B)

Irene (Iris) Gonzales, long time parish secretary for

St. Francis Parish in Milwaukee, died recently.

Cecilia Schmitz (sister of John Gau) died recently.

I would like to thank everyone who attended and

sent cards for my affiliation to the Providence of St.

Joseph. I hope I can live up to this great honor.

Special thanks to Mike, Steve, Gary, and Dave for

your time to make this special for all.

Sincerely, Esther Boehnlein

Rememberby Joy Harjo

Remember the sky that you were born under,

know each of the star’s stories.

Remember the moon, know who she is.

Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the

strongest point of time. Remember sundown

and the giving away to night.

Remember your birth, how your mother struggled

to give you form and breath. You are evidence of

her life, and her mother’s, and hers.

Remember your father. He is your life, also.

Remember the earth whose skin you are:

red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth

brown earth, we are earth.

Remember the plants, trees, animal life

who all have their

tribes, their families, their histories, too.

Talk to them,

listen to them. They are alive poems.

Remember the wind. Remember her voice.

She knows the origin of this universe.

Remember you are all people

and all people are you.

Remember you are this universe

and this universe is you.

Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.

Remember language comes from this.

Remember the dance language is, that life is.

Remember.