Courtesy of the Solanus Casey CenterFr. Solanus Casey is pictured with the parents of Bro. Leo Wollenweber, OFM Cap., his assistant and later vice postulator of his sainthood cause. Bro. Wollenweber died in 2012.
But when God does send a healing prophet, it’s not for the sake of physical healing alone.
Rather, says Fr. Larry Webber, OFM Cap., God’s blessings are always a way to awaken in the hearts of the faithful a deeper conversion toward Him.
“These signs can be seen in Jesus’ own life,” Fr. Webber explains. “When Jesus died on the cross, not every blind person was seeing, nor were all the lame walking, but many had. And when he did it, it was meant to be a sign.”
For example, when Jesus healed the paralytic whose friends had lowered him through the ceiling, “he healed the soul first,” Fr. Webber said. “He said ‘Your sins are forgiven you.’ But there was this doubt about whether he could really forgive sins. And then Jesus said, ‘Just so that you know that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins, rise and walk.’”
The same prophetic signs have taken place in every age of the Church, Fr. Webber said, though sometimes they’re more difficult to see.
“Not everyone is healed, but God does continue to give these prophetic signs of His power. And everyone wants it. Everyone says, ‘Why can’t that be me?’” Fr. Webber said.
It’s important to remember that the signs and wonders God provides are for the benefit of the whole Church, not just for the person who is healed, Fr. Webber said.
“What I think these signs need to indicate for us is that even if I’m not healed of my illness, this sign of someone else’s healing is for me,” Fr. Webber said. “For instance, the healing we’ll be celebrating at the beatification Mass shows us that the power of God is present in our world, and in the end, when Christ returns, all will be healed. That power is still here on the earth, and all will be healed. And meanwhile, we live in that hope.”
Even Fr. Solanus on occasion had to counsel people that their prayer wouldn’t necessarily be granted in the way they wanted, Fr. Webber said. But it was always accompanied by the reminder that God, in His infinite mercy, was in control.
“Fr. Solanus had this understanding of prophecy in the sense that he knew everything would turn out according to God’s will,” Fr. Webber said.
“These are prophetic signs,” he added. “It’s the same with the raising of Lazarus. Why did Jesus raise him? ‘So that these might believe that I am the one You sent.’
