Simple

When the word simple is used with a person, it is more often than not derogatory.  Think of the old verse titled "Simple Simon."  But being simply is not always bad.  Two men, who were said to have a simple faith, but they went on to achieve greatness, and will soon be one step from sainthood.  Last week, on May 4, while much of the geek world was celebrating Star Wars Day, the Vatican announced a little recognized decision by Pope Francis.  The decision involved a miracle being attributed to a Franciscan monk named Solanus Casey, and that this monk upon his beatification, anticipated in Detroit later this year, will notch up his title from  Venerable to Blessed.  Also little known, but a decision that received somewhat larger coverage in the press, was a decision by the Pope last December 1 to declare Fr. Stanley Rother as a martyr, who died "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith); he will be beatified in Oklahoma in September.   These two individuals share similarities which place each an attributed intercession of a miracle away from being declared a saint.  This post will explore a little bit of the history of each of these men, and what took them from being farm boys from the midsection of the nation to a rank few people in 2000 years of population achieve.

Fr. Solanus Casey

 Both men, have been termed to have had a simple faith. This term can be interpreted in a manner of ways, but neither were considered to have even been near the sharpest knife in the drawer.   Both were poor students while doing seminary studies.  For a time neither thought they would be ordained a priest. In fact, Fr. Solanus was ordained as a simplex (talk about a pejorative term) priest, meaning he could not hear confessions or preach on doctrine.   Their respective paths to the priesthood showed not only an individual resolve, but is also a reflection of  deep faith. What is extraordinary about Venerable Solanus and Venerable Stanley is actually how ordinary each was.  When God works through a live person, it is sometimes the weak and the ordinary.  For example, on May 13 this year the 100th anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima, Portugal will be celebrated.  The Blessed Virgin chose not to appear to adults, or a powerful politician, or even a priest or nun much less an archbishop, but to three shepherd children. In Mexico in 1531 she chose to visit a poor peasant.

Fr. Stanley Rother

Wisconsin should take some ownership in Solanus Casey as he was born Bernard Francis Casey in the town of Oak Grove on a farm along the shores of the Mississippi near Prescott, WI.  He was baptized at St. Joseph's Church in Prescott.  He was the sixth of sixteen children born to Irish immigrant parents Bernard James Casey, and Ellen Elizabeth Murphy.  When leaving home for the United States from the old sod, the last words of his mother to her son Bernard James was "keep the faith."  The faith was passed down to the children as well.  Bernard Francis was nicknamed Barney, was one of three to become priests in the family.  Barney lacked a great deal of formal schooling, as the family seemed to often move around the northwest part of the state.  He had dated and proposed to a young women, but the mother of the girl sent her off to boarding school, putting an end to the romance.  Barney, who left the farm in 1887, worked several different jobs in Minnesota and Wisconsin--lumberjack, prison guard, hospital orderly, and was a street car operator in Superior, Wisconsin.  While in Superior he witnessed an event that would change his life--a drunken sailor stabbing a women to death.

1880 WI Census showing Casey Family
Heritage.com

This drove him to consider the direction of his life.  He entered the St Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, but with little formal schooling and classes in either Latin or German (after all it was Milwaukee, the beer capital of the nation), he was asked to leave due to poor grades.  It was suggested he consider a monastery where he could possibly be ordained as a a simplex priest. After consideration he chose this option and joined the Capuchin order in Detroit.  Even here he struggled in his studies, and it took a plea from his formation director to his brother, Sebastian Messmer the Archbishop of Milwaukee, for his ordination to occur.  Fr Messmer simply said: "ordain this guy, he is not the smartest man in the world, but has a great heart." Taking the name Solanus, Barney was ordained at St. Francis of Assisi church in Milwaukee.  His first mass was in Appleton.

Fr. Casey at Soup Kitchen he started in Detroit, MI

As Fr. Bertram, now pastor of St Francis of Assisi church has said, the order "assigned the priest limited duties, making him the latter-day equivalent of a Walmart greeter."  Most positions he served was as a porter, or keeper of the door.  He would tell persons who entered to "trust in God." He also started a soup kitchen in Detroit in 1929, which is still feeding the homeless today. Over the years, his counsel was sought, and claims of his intercessions for healing became well known.  He was so well-known that when he traveled west to Seattle to visit family for the ordination of a nephew, parishes wished him to come and say mass.  Solanus suffered from a skin disease which would end up claiming his life.  The miracle attributed through his intercession was the cure of a woman who also had a skin disease and she was cured while visiting Detroit and praying at his tomb  She was actually praying for others when she heard a voice to pray for herself.  Fr. Solanus Casey lived a humble, and simple life, with main duties as a greeter.  He realized his limitations, and recognized that he would never be a great preacher.  His greatness was achieved in how he greeted and treated others.

Fr. Solanus Casey with his  then living siblings and parents

Fr. Stanley Rother would also be in service to others.  Rother was born on a farm near the small community of Okarche, Oklahoma in 1935.  He is said to have struggled with Latin, which was a polite way of saying he flunked the required course work in the subject.  It was reported that he was "not a natural student."  His biographer noted that after having been kicked out of the seminary for poor grades, his fifth grade teacher noted similarities between him and St John Vianney.  The biographer would say "both of them (Rother and Vianney) were simple men." His bishop, realizing something beyond studies, sent him to a seminary in Maryland, where he completed his formation.  He was ordained in 1963.  Recognizing the call of Pope John XXIII to assist in Central America, Fr. Stanley volunteered to fulfill this mission, and in 1968 was sent to Guatemala.  In attending to a small remote parish in the southwestern highlands, he came to champion the indigenous population, and, according to a New York Times article (12/2/2016),  he supported groups that battled the government para-military squads during the 36 year civil war that started in 1960.

Fr. Stanley Rother photo compilation

Fr. Stanley, a man who struggled with Latin, learned not only Spanish, but the indigenous language of  Tz'utujil, which was spoken by the Mayan descendants of the region.  He would be the first to translate the New Testament into that obscure tongue.  Called Francisco by his parishioners, in deference to his baptismal name, it is said he was known for his kindness, selflessness, joy and his attention to his parishioners.  He helped them farm, opened a hospital and started a radio station.  In a 1980 he wrote a letter in which he "described his despair at seeing the abduction of a parishioner, a 30-year old father of two small boys."  As quoted in the NY Times, he wrote in the letter: "I had witnessed a kidnapping of someone that we had gotten to know and love and were unable to do anything about it.  They had covered his mouth, but I can still hear his muffled screams for help."  The man was tortured for two days and then brutally murdered.

Fr. Stanley Rother at Guatemalan Festival  

Fr. Rother would return to the United States for a few months in early 1981 when it was discovered that he was number eight on the paramilitary group hit list.  He would insist on returning to his parish for Holy Week  in 1981. He would remain in Guatemala, and that is where he met his death.  On July 28, 1981 Fr. Rother met the same fate as the man he described in the letter.  Three masked entered the rectory and shot him dead.  He was 46 years young.  Fr. Stanley Rother would not abandon his parish, or the people he served.  He died a martyr in service of his faith.  

Stained Glass Window of Fr Solanus Casey in
St. Joseph Church, Prescott, WI

This is the story of two ordinary men often described as "simple".  But, in the end they were remarkable men. They each had difficulties in their paths to the priesthood, yet neither would let difficulty in formal learning stifle their calling.  Each had his own catch phrase, Solanus Casey was "Trust God, have faith in God."  While Stanley Rother's was "A shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger."  Fr. Solanus had a following because of his common and ordinary experiences.  Fr. Stanley was loved by his parishioners in a Guatemalan outpost due to his service.  The comment by Fr. Stanley's biographer sums up the situation of both men:  that their very ordinariness is what makes them special.  She would say about Fr. Stanley, "Indeed, the fact that everything about Father Stanley was 'ordinary' makes him a special gift to the universal Church--to all of us trying to live out the call to become holy men and women within our very ordinary lives."  The same could be said for the simplex monk, born to Irish immigrants in northwest Wisconsin.  Each man being born into a farm family near a small town adds to the narrative of the simplicity of their lives in the hustle of the 21st century.  That shows us their ordinary nature, but also the grace of God at work.  Each of these men had what is termed a simple faith, and yet did amazing service to others. Today we tend to frown on a simple life, or degrade a simple person. yet, what these two men of simple faith did with their lives was extraordinary so that in the not to distant future they will both be called "blessed."  And, at some point, God willing, they will be saints.  Perhaps one will become the first American born male to be declared a saint.   To those they touched God was made visible, and in the end that is what is important.  The grace and mercy of God at work.