Solanus Casey Center

...a Capuchin Franciscan Ministry

Detroit Michigan may be many hours away but don't let that deter you from visiting the website and learning more about the center that is devoted to the spirit of Venerable Solanus Casey.  You can take video tours of the center, hear his recorded voice, view photos and video meditations.  Browse through a cornucopia of links to Franciscan resources.

At the threshold of the St. Bonaventure Chapel pilgrims encounter the modest tomb of Venerable Solanus Casey. 

In the main foyer are eight bronze statues called the Beatitudes of Christ. 

"Life-size bronze figures of eight contemporary people represent the Beatitudes of Christ. Each of these individuals has shown through their life and ministry how to live Christianity in action. The eight individuals chosen include Blessed Mother Theresa, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Monsignor Clement Kern of Detroit, Jean Donovan, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and Takashi Nagai who endured the atomic explosion in Nagasaki."

On their blog they describe the 'Christ Doors' :

"As the visitor enters the Solanus Casey Center she/he is greeted by the stunning glass doors known as the Christ Doors. The entrance foyer which looks somewhat like a tomb is filled with radiant light as the glass doors disperse the sunshine dancing throughout the Center’s main rotunda.  The Doors beckon the visitor to come in, to go deeper into this holy place. The Doors have an almost heavenly feel to them as one stands in the cold, stone entrance way. The Doors entice the visitor to leave the tomb-like structure and be plunged into the Light."

Br. Solanus Casey, porter and doorkeeper would be pleased.

Source: Solanus Casey Center

Monastic Musings Too

We've mentioned different spiritual families within our Church.  Here's a taste of Benedictine life.  One of the blogs I follow is called Monastic Musings Too.  The author is Sr. Edith Bogue, a Benedictine Sister, and sociology teacher who writes about whatever interests her.  Needless to say, I find her thoughts interesting and so I'm introducing her to you.  Recently she presented on the future of monastic life at a Benedictine conference and was gracious enough to post her slides online.  I've embeded them below.  Hopefully you'll give her blog a try.
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Monastic Futures - Contemporary Culture I

View more presentations from E Bogue

Monastic Futures - Contemporary Culture II

View more presentations from E Bogue

Source: Monastic Musings Too

A Vision of Peace

It helps now and then to step back

and take the long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,

it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction

of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete,

which is another way of saying

that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection,

no pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

That is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted,

knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects

far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything,

and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something,

and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,

a step along the way,

an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter

and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,

but that is the difference between

the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders,

ministers not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.

___________________________________

Archbishop Oscar Romero

 

Source: ( Peacebuilding: A Caritas Training Manual, Pg.4)