Yesterday a group of us from the Bible study group of Christ the King Catholic Church visited the Father Solanus Casey Center. In the exhibit hall, I came across the following quote by the good father that stuck with me . . . and so I thought I’d share it here.

“We are never justified in being bitter toward anyone, except ourselves.  In every deed, if we were only one-tenth as appreciative as we have every reason to be, our gratitude for what God has done for us — directly and through his creation, most especiall through our immediate superiors–would be such that we would be perfectly content with what we are and what we have.”

Later on, I heard the story of how the good father had thousands of people come to see him, especially during the Great Depression (he served as porter at the front door of the Capuchin monastery). To each he offered this advice: to ask God to provide the need, then begin to thank him for the answer even before it arrived. He encouraged each one to make an offering of thanksgiving to the mission.

This approach to intercession — thanking God even before the answer was in evidence — is revolutionary on two counts. First, it builds up the “trust muscles,” encouraging us to look with expectation and anticipation of God’s benevolence. Second, it changes our own outlook, from desperate helplessness to confident joy.