When the Ordinary is Extraordinary

Dear Friends of Brothers and Sisters:

Here at the Solanus Casey Center, stories of “miracles”- or favors, as we are careful to call them-  come to us so frequently that its sometimes easy to take for granted the wonderful favors God is granting to those who put their trust in the power of His Goodness and Mercy. They become to us something “ordinary”. Isn’t that a strange phenomenon, when the extra-ordinary becomes ordinary! Please, don’t mistake what I am saying.  Its not that we don’t marvel at all the wonderful works of God that we hear through these stories, but our reality is that there are so many of them (thanks be to God), that they have become a common part of our days and weeks. As in the time when Solanus himself greeted people at the front door of Saint Bonaventure Monastery here in Detroit- and all the other places where he ministered- people come seeking some favor from the Lord God, and so many times their prayers are answered in amazing ways.

One of the things I marvel at most about Solanus was how he believed that every moment in life was an opportunity for God to do something amazing. For him, every ordinary moment had the potential to become extraordinary! He truly believed in the transformative power of God’s Grace, which has the ability to turn the ordinary extraordinary and, even more, to turn moments of suffering, difficulty and pain into reasons to rejoice in the goodness and mercy of God. Even as life was slowly leaving his body he recognized God’s grace at work in leading him through death into new life. The day before he died, knowing his end was near, he said: “tomorrow will be a beautiful day.”

As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of Blessed Solanus at the end of this month, my prayer for all of you is that you may be able to recognize God’s grace at work in every moment of your life- in the good times and the difficult times, in times of rejoicing and times of sorrow- and help you to always see something extraordinary about to dawn! Last year we received over 700,000 prayer requests that were placed at Solanus’ tomb and prayed over by the brothers. Why so many in one place? Because God’s Grace still touches the hearts of His people through their faith and the prayers of Solanus. May you always recognize how God’s is answering your prayers, and may God’s grace overwhelm you with joy in the power of his love!

Blessed Solanus, pray for us!

Peace and all good,
Br. Steven Kropp, OFM Cap
Director of the Solanus Casey Center