Today is the feast day of possibly my favourite saint (although John Paul II is another candidate). That's Solanus Casey, the Irish-American Capuchin friar whose life was filled with extraordinary miracles. He's not actually a saint yet, he's only been beatified so far, but I fully expect him to be raised to the altars before long. (He was called Barney before he took the name Solanus.)
I like him for many reasons, but one reason is that he was a humble man who (so to speak) had a lot to be humble about. It's never easy to be humble, but I can't help thinking that it's a bit easier for people like St. Thomas More or (indeed) St. John Paul II-- people whose brilliance is quite obvious to everyone.
Solanus Casey wasn't like that. He just barely managed to be ordained. In fact, he was ordained a "simplex" priest, which meant that he couldn't hear confessions or give homilies. (I've never encountered the word "simplex", in this sense, outside his life story.) He actually had to sign this declaration: Since I do not know whether as a result of my meager talents and defective studies I am fit to assume the many-sided duties and serious responsibilities of the priesthood, I hereby declare that I do not want to become a priest if my legitimate superiors consider me unqualified.
(Admittedly, part of the reason he struggled in his seminary studies was because much of the instruction was through Latin and German. He went to seminary in Milwaukee which had a large German population.)
Solamus had to do the more menial jobs in the monastery, such as sacristan and porter-- the latter, Providentially, became the ideal context for his calling, as a never-ending stream of visitors sought his advice and prayers.
He wasn't even good at his hobby. He loved to play the violin but apparently he was terrible at it. Also, he was disappointed in love before he pursued his vocation!
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