Thousands to Join Catholic Church Holy Saturday

USCCB ^ | 4/7/06

[MNbelle]

Miss Marple, I want to congratulate you on completing your RCIA studies and becoming a Catholic this Holy Saturday! Welcome to the Catholic Church from one Catholic to another. I am sure after your studies, you know more about Church doctrine than I remember from my childhood upbringing in Catholic schools.

I am very happy for you!

[Miss Marple]

Thanks!

[Wonder Warthog]

"If I may, I would like to suggest the book that I used when I taught RCIA this year: Essentials of the Faith, Updated. A Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, by Alfred McBride"

Thanks for the reference. I'll get a copy and give it a read.

"Excellent primer on the Catechism of the Church. Has a chapter of 5 or so pages that covers roughly 50-100 paragraphs of the Catechism. It WAS my syllabus, for the most part! I highly recommend it to those who are not inclined to read the 800 page Catechism (I offer that book to the class as a reference, since I doubt many will read it cover to cover. But the "Guide", they DO read!)"

Heh! I was an oddball---I actually read the entire "800 page catechism". But in our RCIA class, the catechism wasn't touched on at all, that I could tell.

"Welcome home! Brother in Christ"

Thanks. It's good to be here in the "fullness of faith" at last.

[Wonder Warthog]

"If you get a chance, ask the following question to her: "When we Catholics come together for Mass, is it the community of Catholics together that is most important, or, worshipping and receiving the Eucharist?""

No need to ask. I already know the answer. She was ALWAYS nattering on about community, community, community.

[Wonder Warthog]

"I have a theory about the old RCIA classes -- I think they are going to swing to the right and emphasize more and more the Catholicity of the Church. Let's watch and reconnect next year."

I think you're right.

[jo kus]

Well, if you fill up on junk food, you're going to ruin your appetite.

It is clear to me that all of this New Age Movement and "search" for spirituality that Catholic theology regarding the "hole in our heart that only God can fill" is more correct and pressing then ever...

Regards

[jo kus]

Heh! I was an oddball---I actually read the entire "800 page catechism". But in our RCIA class, the catechism wasn't touched on at all, that I could tell.

GACK!!! What the heck! I'll be praying for you and those who have to battle to get into the Church DESPITE such supposed types of formation! What a travesty...

EVERY RCIA instructor should have a plaque with the following verse on it...Study it before every class they give:

"And whosoever shall be a stumbling block to one of [these] little ones that believe in me, it would be better for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea." Mark 9:42

God bless people like you.

Brother in Christ

[Conservative til I die]

My girlfriend is going to have her Confirmation this Saturday. I'm her sponsor. It's funny how it works. An agnostic not-even-C&E-Catholic getting back into religion because his girlfriend is a fallen-away Catholic studying with the International Church of Christ and then Jehovah's Witnesses, first being attracted by non-denominational faith alone Christianity, yet inevitably being pulled back to the Catholic Church, followed by said girlfriend a few years later.

God does work in mysterious ways.

[redhead]

"Thousands to Join Catholic Church Holy Saturday
+1 RabidBartender"

"I will be received into the Church on Saturday as well. I am in a class of 60, but we are a very large parish."

Way to go! God bless both of you richly, and welcome, welcome home!!

[Coming Home]

My wife and I are coming home to Christ's "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" this Easter Vigil. It's been a very rewarding and life-altering process for us. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to our conversion via your witness, your love for the Church, and your prayers.

[Calabash]

Almost 90% of the converts, as stated on Amy Welborns blog in the comment boxes, are convesions via matrimony, and I read that some Bishops have said they lose almost helf of these converts within a couple of years.

I don't know how this could possibly be shown, since no statistics are kept on it.

As for people who leave the church, most never contact their parish to say they are no longer going, so many Catholics are still on the parish/diocean rolls but havent stepped foot in a church in years.

Not true. Parishes take annual censuses and purge their rolls of those who have moved or who no longer attend. That's part of what those little offering envelopes are for. You really think they just make up all those numbers of parishoners reported every year without ever considering people who might have signed up and haven't been seen in 10 years? With the way Americans move about, it wouldn't be many years with that sort of system before the numbers were utterly exaggerated, and made no sense at all compared to the number of people recorded receiving the sacraments.

[Salvation]

Thank you for your testimony and God bless the both of you!

WooHoo!

[Salvation]

**My girlfriend is going to have her Confirmation this Saturday. I'm her sponsor.**

Congratulations to you both! Wow! What a journey!

[RFT1]

Here is an example, and it was from a few years ago. The San Jose diocese technically has 600K on its lists, and at best, weekly mass attendence is around 100K, like most diocese, it does not really purge parishioners from its lists. In Boston, the nembers who attend mass on a weekly basis make an even smaller percentage.

I know its a disturbing concept to many, but the Catholic churhces numbers overall are inflated by quite a bit.

[Calabash]

I know its a disturbing concept to many, but the Catholic churhces numbers overall are inflated by quite a bit.

The number of weekly attendees is very low, but these non-attenders still come to Church for Baptisms, Funerals, Weddings, First Communions, Parochial School attendance, etc. I know, I've taught Catechism for public schoolers and seen all these non-chalant Catholic's children.

There are 1 million infant Baptisms every year, but no more than about 20 million people attending Mass weekly. Most certainly, you do not believe that the attendees of the Church have a 5% population growth rate? That is higher than almost all 3rd world countries!