One of the many great joys about the week ahead is the beautiful Easter vigil and the welcoming of Catechumens and Candidates into the fold. As most of you know, you just can't join the Catholic Church by reciting a prayer or running forward to the front of the room. For those adults who are called to become Catholic a period of instruction, prayer and discernment must take place. Many will study for longer than a year.
This year in the Archdiocese of New Orleans we are welcoming about 400 new Catholics. They will be part of a major total in the United States that will actually see many dioceses welcoming in excess of a 1,000 new Catholics. Here is just a sample: 3,000 in Dallas, 1,100 in both San Antonio and Fort Worth, 1,800 in Atlanta, 2,400 in Los Angeles, nearly 900 in Portland, 700 in Seattle. 1,200 in Detroit, 1,000 in Cincinnati, and 1,100 in Denver, Arlinton VA and Washington D.C.
And this has been the trend for several years. Amazingly, while most people moan and groan everytime someone leaves the faith, Catholicism continues to grow here in America and across the world. With over 68.5 million Catholics in the USA, a net growth of over 1.5% is expected.
Despite the many problems we humans can conjur up, the Church is an establishment of Christ Himself; and as He says, the gates of hell shall not prevail against Her.
No comments:
Post a Comment