Posted on 12/30/2007 2:01:11 PM PST by NYer
Amongst the many venerables, blesseds and saints, some were assigned as gatekeepers in their respective communities. One such gatekeeper was
Father Solanus Casey was a man who found God through the Catholic faith as a Capuchin Friar who ministered to the needs of all God's children, of all denominations and faiths. God bestowed upon Father Solanus the ability to administer the divine gifts of healing.
After his ordination in 1904, Fr. Solanus spent 20 years in New York, Harlem, and Yonkers. In 1924 he was assigned to St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit where he worked for 20 years.
Fr. Solanus spent his life in the service of people. At the monastery door as porter he met thousands of people from every age and walk of life and earned recognition as "The Doorkeeper." He was always ready to listen to anyone at any time, day or night.
During his final illness, he remarked, "I'm offering my suffering that all might be one. If only I could see the conversion of the whole world." His last conscious act was sitting up in bed and saying, "I give my soul to Jesus Christ." He died at the age of 86 on July 31, 1957 at the same day and hour of his First Holy Mass 53 years earlier.
St. John Masias was another gatekeeper and, IIRC, so was St. Therese of Lisieux.
I would like to compile a list of these holy men and women and hope you can assist me with this project. Many of you have read the lives of various saints and have greater insight into the various duties to which they attended. Thank you for listing any of the saintly gate or doorkeepers to this thread.
As always, I am most appreciative of any and all assistance.
All you holy men and women pray for us.
was a Holy Cross Brother and a significant Québécois religious figure, credited with thousands of reported miraculous healings....[snip] He was given the task of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in Côte-des-Neiges, Quebec. He fulfilled this function for some 40 years while at the same time doing innumerable odd jobs for the community.
I am looking for information about Father Patrick Payton, Founder of the Family Rosary Crusade. I understand he is up for a beatification soon.
Any information??
His radio shows were very popular in the Phillipines, I understand.
In case you are wondering "why" - I am trying to increase the membership at our small parish. A few weeks ago, I began asking for the intercession of Venerable Solanus Casey. That Sunday, a new face showed up. The following week, another new person arrived. At Midnight Mass on Christmas, another family came. Today, I met another new face. Some return; others do not, but the prayers are working :-).
This small church is like a beacon of light trying to shine through the darkness of the local diocese. I truly believe these saintly gatekeepers can be of great assistance. Thank you again, for your input.
St. Conrad of Altotting, Bavaria, was doorkeeper for the Capuchin monastery there.
St. Godric of Finchale (England) was never formally canonized, but he was a popular medieval saint. He was doorkeeper of St. Giles Hospital in Durham.
St. Catherine of Bologna was doorkeeper for the Poor Clares. St. Benedict himself occasionally acted as doorkeeper in his own monastery.
This sounds like a good plan to me.
I would also ask St. Anthony of Padua for help - of course I have a special devotion to him, and he has come through in many a crisis. But he is the patron of finding lost things -- and lost people -- and who is to say that there are not folks wandering and lost and looking for a place to call home?
Letter 33 - Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, 16 November 1914.
Padre Pio and the Mother Co-redemptrix(CATHOLIC CAUCUS)
Saint Padre Pio letters #29Correspondence with Raffaelina Cerase
Message, St. Padre Pio During Mass
Padre Pio and the Guardian Angel
Spiritual Counsels from Saint Padre Pio
What Does It Means To Be Canonized.(Padre Pio example)
Feast of St. Pio this FRIDAY! (Padre Pio - Pray for Texas!)
Padre Pio's Love for the Blessed Mother
Padre Pio's Shrine, as the Architect Sees It - Renzo Piano Talks about Church, San Giovanni Rotondo
Padre Pio Aid Says Saint Accepted New Mass
Padre Pio: on Spirituality, Vatican II and the Novus Ordo Missae
Remarkable Transformation: Padre Pio
Cardinal Schotte (Head of the Synod of Bishops) and his view on Dallas; Rose petals for Padre Pio
Saint Padre Pio's Body Not Found in His Tomb?
Padre Pio Now A Saint - Wrestled With Devil, Predicted Future
Padre Pio Wrestled with Devil, Predicted Future
Pope Bestows Sainthood on Padre Pio
I think Martin de Porres was a gatekeeper.
Prayers for success in increasing your parish's membership!
On Sunday, Dec. 23, two parishioners noticed a Capuchin Franciscan friar step into our Church, kneel behind the last pew, make a profound bow, bless himself and then leave. When they told me, I ran outside only to see him drive his car out of the parking lot. He waved to me and then drove up the street and out of sight. Nothing like this has ever happened before in our parish. I'm not sure what it means, if anything. In his letters, Fr. Solanus often repeated his life's message--that confidence in God is the very soul of prayer and becomes the condition for supernatural intervention in our lives. "God condescends to use our powers if we don't spoil his plans by ours". I plan to print the stories of all these doorkeepers and distribute them at our Parish Council meeting this week. As we begin a new year, a good resolution would be for each of us to select a doorkeeper and ask that individual for assistance throughout the new year.
Fr. Patrick Peyton’s ministry had a big influence on my life starting when I was a child. he came to San Francisco for a rosary crusade on Oct. 7, 1961 and 500,000 people attended in Golden Gate park just a few blocks from my house. Recently that day was judged to be the most important in the history of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Personally that day has always burned in my memory a little bit of what heaven will be like with total devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Holy Trinity. What I know is that Fr. Patrick Peyton was a Holy Cross Father born in Ireland but ordained to the priesthood in the United States. He began to recruit Hollywood stars to appear on radio and later on television for promotion of the family rosary. He founded the Family Theater productions and also the Rosary Crusade. I think all believe that Fr. Solanus Casey, Bishop Fulton Sheen and Fr. Peyton are all going to all be canonized some day, it would be wonderful if it could all be on the same day very soon.
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