Feast Day Celebration week / Solanus Casey Center / St. Bonaventure
Over the last few days we have been at the Solanus Casey Center as well as St. Bonaventure documenting the Feast Day celebration of Blessed Solanus Casey.
As usual, Brother Richard Merling and the Capuchin friars of the Detroit-based province were joyous to be around, exuding a deep sense of calmness, humility, positive attitude and a wonderful sense of humor. Hundreds flocked to St. Bonaventure for the blessing of the sick. The friars greet them all with a sense of compassion and offer not only their faith but a sense of hope that so many are looking for in time of unexpected illness. You don’t have to be a devoted Catholic to see and understand the value of this deeply personal, one-on-one, compassionate attention. This is, of course, the Capuchin way and was the cornerstone of Blessed Solanus Casey’s existence.
We had the wonderful opportunity to sit and talk with Paula Medina Zarate from Panama. She shared in detail her miraculous experience that has further moved Blessed Solanus Casey through his journey to sainthood.
We also sat with a mother, Tricia and her 6-year-old little boy Finn. Mom and Finn along with Finn’s godmother, Charlotte Webb, drove up from Kentucky to have the opportunity to join in the blessing of the sick. Finn just endured his 5th open-heart surgery on July 5th since he was just 5 months old. Finn was born with congenital heart defect. The University of Michigan has become his second home.
In August of 2015 after Finn’s surgery, all went great and he went back home to Kentucky. On September 26th, 3 days after his 4th birthday, he was rushed to the hospital, he had coded. Tricia said, “I whispered in Finn’s ear that if God needed him, not to be afraid and that we would understand, but that if he wanted to stay with us we certainly wanted him to and to please fight.”
After 30 minutes of CPR, Tricia had gone into a private room and prayed to Blessed Solanus for an intercession “I didn't know God's plan, but after all we had already been through, I wasn't ready to let go of him yet.” 30 minutes later, the doctor rounded the corner and said he had a pulse. “We have quizzed him backwards and forwards and neurologically he is perfectly fine, he had no organ damage, and no bruising from an hour of CPR. This doctor said not knowing, I am not sure if you believe in miracles or not but you sure got one.”
As we continue on this journey of Blessed Solanus Casey’s Journey to Sainthood we are certain our film will speak to everyone.
