This November, to coincide with our American History studies, we will study American saints, blesseds and venerables. One of the venerables we will study is Fr. Solanus Casey, a Capuchin Franciscan, born in Wisconsin in 1870 and died in Detroit in 1957. One of the books we’ll use as a read-aloud during November is Solanus Casey: The Story of Father Solanus (revised) by Catherine M. Odell. This book details the engaging life-story of this humble man, a simplex priest, who taught those around him not only about God’s love but about humility and joyful acceptance of God’s will. Casey, the sixth child born to Irish immigrants Barney and Ellen Casey, grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, surrounded by his nine brothers and four of his six sisters (two died during a flu epidemic). Odell describes this early life – a life filled with working and studying alongside his devout Catholic family. A life where Casey learned his faith and his faithfulness to God’s will. A life where Casey learned to trust those around him as well as to put his absolute trust in God’s kindness. Agriculture in the late 1800s suffered a downturn and Casey and his older brothers left the farm to get jobs in the bigger towns. In Appleton and Superior, Casey found employment as a prison guard (and met the infamous Younger brothers) and held jobs on the streetcars of these larger towns. He convinced his parents to bring the family to Superior and all was well in the Casey family. But Barney, as he was called by the family, began to feel the call to the priesthood and in 1891 applied for acceptance to the diocesan seminary. Casey’s grades at the Seminary were not great – he had trouble with Latin and some of the other college-level coursework. The seminary reviewed his records and suggested that maybe the religious life was not for him. But Casey wouldn’t believe that. Instead, he applied to the Capuchins. In 1897, at the age of 27, Barney Casey was invested in the Capuchins and given the name “Solanus”. After seven years of classes, health problems and worries about his future, Solanus Casey was ordained a “simplex” Capuchin priest on July 24, 1904. [Simplex priests are not able to hear confessions or preach sermons, but are truly and fully priests in all other aspects of the religious life.] Casey spent the next 53 years of his life as doorkeeper at various Capuchin monasteries in New York, Harlem, Yonkers, Detroit, and other mid-west towns. In all of these assignments, Fr. Solanus was so much more than the doorkeeper. He listened with his heart to people’s problems – to their crises in faith, their financial crises, their health crises. To each of these people – and he talked to millions over the years – he spoke to their hearts, to their faith, to each individual.

Solanus seemed to handle each need, each set of worried eyes, delicately but effectively. He radiated a sense that God cared about all those things. He often laid hands on those sick and prayed for a healing then and there. And his promises of prayer for individual intentions were more than polite words. He began to spend extended time in the chapel after office hours and his Capuchin house commitments were fulfilled. pg 108

Odell’s book details all the many little things Casey did for others. Through illnesses, painful and debilitating, Fr. Solanus continued to minister to those in need. His story, as told through Odell’s prose, is one of the most beautiful, Christ-filled books I’ve read in a long time. The reading is simple – as was this man – and yet it details a life so filled with God’s love and charity to others – a charity that had the good Father reminding everyone to “Thank God” as he showed them out the monastery door.

During the Depression, the Capuchins opened a soup kitchen in Detroit. This man of simple faith was told that there was no more bread to serve the crowd of people waiting.] “Just wait and God will provide.” Fr. Solanus said an “Our Father” after inviting the men to join him in prayer. We just turned around and opened the front door … a bakery man was coming with a big basket full of food … when the men saw they they strated to cry … Fr. Solanus in his simple way, said, “See, God provides. Nobody will starve as long as you put your confidence in God, in Divine Providence.” pg 132

This book captures the love and charity I want my own children to have; the simple faith that I’m trying to pass on to my family. I’m sure my children will remember Venerable Solanus Casey for many years to come, thanks to this book by Catherine Odell.

The subtitle of this work is: A Catholic Activity Guide That Blends History, Geography and Composition for Grades 1-8. The book includes directions for a student to put together a book over the course of the school year, which really becomes a story of the study he made of history. This requirement "to produce" is one of the best ways for students to internalize their study.

The directions, written directly to the student, are broken down into three parts: Early American History for grades 1-3, American History - Discovery through Westward Expansion for Grades 4-6, and World History -Ancient Civilizations through Modern Times for Grades 7-8. The student is directed to compile a book which will include maps, illustrations and compositions that he creates while studying the particular time period. Extensive lists of maps and illustrations to be made are included. But the lists of suggested writing activities are the best parts of the book.

Here are a few samples from each section:

Grades 1-3 - Write a prayer to St. Isaac Jogues; pretend you are George Washington at Valley Forge, write a speech to give to your soldiers to encourage them not to give up; make a chart showing three parts of our government and what they do.

Grades 4-6 - Write a newspaper article about the Louisiana purchase; write a two page expository essay comparing the French and Indian War with the Revolutionary War; pretend you are a soldier in the Civil War and write a three page letter to family at home.

Grades 7-8 - Write an expository essay describing Greek government and how it functioned; write a diamante (poem) about the early Christians just after Jesus was buried and before He had risen.

The second best thing about this book are the definitions of literary terms in the appendix. Each kind of essay required in the book is explained, many different kinds of pattern poems are demonstrated, and common literary terms, such as metaphor and personification, are defined. Your child would learn a lot about writing techniques and constructions by using this guide. The bonus is that the types of writing learned by making the history book can be applied in other learning situations.

The author includes samples of student work from each of the grade level sections. These can be valuable especially if a student is "stuck," or doesn't understand the assignment.

The student keeps the maps, illustrations and compositions he creates in a safe place until it is time to put the book together. The student can choose from several suggested methods for binding the book.

Some of the writing activities for Grades 1-3 would be difficult for a 1st grader and some 2nd graders, but they could easily be adapted. A child could dictate his work, or be required to write shorter versions of the assignment. The program is flexible and designed so that you can pick and choose the activities that best fit the child.

This kind of activity is good on many levels. It gives the student practice in needed skills while doing something meaningful (e.g. learning about metaphor by writing it instead of filling in a workbook). It requires the student to extend his thoughts about the facts he learns, moving him to a higher level of thinking. Best of all, he has a record at the end of the year of all that was learned and accomplished. That is very satisfying for a student of any age.