(Francis Xavier Seelos, CSSR)
Francis Xavier Seelos
Just from the quote one could see why Fr. Seelos would be a good candidate for a “Model of Faith” Project. But, how did I learn of such a man?
To describe how I came to him, I must back up to my interview I had with my Uncle John. John heads up a The Mercy Foundation, a non-profit organization that creates religious documentaries. He had become aware of Fr. Seelos through an offer to create a biography on the blessed priest. After our interview I told him about my upcoming project and asked if he knew of anyone, from his professional life that would be a good choice. He immediately mentioned Fr. Seelos because my timing with the offer to do his biography. I was cautious at first because, I wanted to make sure that Fr. Seelos would be a sufficient example of faith specifically, not just religion. Just from visiting his website, www.seelos.org, I was able to calm my suspicions.
Fr. Seelos was born in 1819 near Munich in what today is Germany. His parents named him Francis Xavier after Saint Francis Xavier. He followed a vocation into the priesthood as a Redemptorist, a religious order that strives to “Proclaim Plentiful Redemption to the poor and those most in need.” www.novp.org. In his twenties’ Fr. Seelos left home and went to the latest frontier at the time, the United States. This alone shows his faith. His vocation to become a priest isn’t well documented but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he chose to come over to a strange land and live for the rest of his life serving others.
Fr. Seelos’ biography is called the Cheerful Ascetic. As confusing as the title may sound, Fr. Seelos was an ascetic: “A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion,” (Dictionary Online). However he was also a very merry man. Fr. Seelos possessed the capability to phase out material goods. I believe this really ties into to last week’s discussion on consumerism. Fr. Seelos sees, as we all should, that what people have on earth doesn’t matter to God. It is our actions as a person that God cares about.
Although he jumped from church to church, city to city, Fr. Seelos attracted people to him wherever he went. Many came from all around to receive penance. He was known to make confessions “pleasant” for people because of his capability to read people. Fr. Seelos didn’t only heal people spiritually, hearing confessions, but some accounts mention him physically healing people. All he did was pray for people and give them a blessing.
If Fr. Seelos were to exhibit one specific image of faith more than the others, I would say that “faith is a risk.” His view on life was simple. He listened to what God said and then did it. But he knew very well that faith was a risk. When he was a seminary director in Annapolis God’s message took him to President Lincoln amidst the Civil War, who he asked about not including his seminarians into the draft. His death even proved how his devout faith was a risk.
Fr. Seelos is a martyr, but not the way many people think of a martyr. He is a “martyr to charity,” for he caught the yellow fever during an epidemic from caring for those infected with the disease. He was buried in the floor of the St. Mary’s Church in New Orleans. In 2000 Fr. Seelos beautified by Pope John Paul II. He is only one step away from being canonized a saint.
I can’t think of a better way to sum up Fr. Seelos then the way Fr. John Murray did. He said, “Sometimes we think that we have to be sour to be spiritual, that to be ascetical we must be severe. Father Seelos was cheerful and gentle always, yet still the ascetic. It is not a sin to have a good laugh at times.”