yOur prayers are being answered !!!

tens of Thousands

Joined the catholic Church in the united states

during the Easter vigil holy saturday !!!

Many Feel They Have Found a Home

WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH, 2008 (Zenit.org).  Tens of thousands of Americans joined the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil Holy Saturday through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Many of those in the RCIA program participated in the Rite of Election with their bishops at the beginning of Lent and were baptized, confirmed and received Communion for the first time at the Easter Vigil Holy Saturday. Many more, who already have been baptized, embraced full membership in the Catholic Church.

The numbers vary across dioceses. The Diocese of Orange, California, for example, baptized more than 650 people and welcomed more than 500 others into full communion at their Easter Vigil.

The Archdiocese of Detroit registers some of the largest numbers with 589 catechumens received full initiation and 497 candidates from other Christian traditions were received into full communion. Although technically not part of the RCIA, 289 baptized Catholics also received confirmation and the Holy Eucharist.

In Ohio, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati welcomed 437 catechumens and 541 candidates for a total of 978 people; another 65 candidates were brought into the Church at other times during the year.

Most of those coming into the Church through the RCIA program are adults, but in some instances children are part of both groups, usually as members of a family that enters the Church together.

According to early figures from the 2007 Official Catholic Directory, last year almost 64,500 adults were baptized in the Catholic Church and nearly 93,000 came into full communion. These numbers are supplemented by the baptisms of infants that occur in parishes throughout the year. It is estimated that more than a million infant baptisms will take place in the U.S. during 2008.

The Search is Over

The backgrounds of the people seeking to be baptized or to enter into full communion by receiving first Communion and/or confirmation vary, but many express the sentiment that they are coming home.

Mark Ma, a second year student at the University of Virginia, who has a major in economics and a minor in philosophy, was born in Beijing, to agnostic parents. A self-defined hard-line atheist through high school, he started talking to Christians of different denominations, read a few Christian works and began to pray. After soul searching and historical research he found his home in the Catholic Church.

In another instance, when Kimberly Grub moved from Texas to Rhode Island, she decided to embark up on something she’d been wanting to do for a long time -- get closer to God. Feeling the discomfort that comes in moving to a new place, she found comfort and community at St. Lucy’s Church in Middletown, and became a member of the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is an ancient rite that was reinstituted in the Church following the Second Vatican Council. It is the usual means for adults to come into the Church.

To All Fellow Prayer Warriors:

How good our God is to answer our prayers, and to let us see the great work He is doing!

Dear souls are converting to the Catholic Church, returning to the Catholic Church, and bringing their families with them!  The Archdiocese of Detroit was mentioned worldwide.  Since the beginning of two Detroit area chapters of the Saint Monica Sodality in November of 2003 and January 2004, God has wrought miracles of conversion. 

At St. Cyril & Methodius Roman Catholic Slovak Church, the church was bursting at the seams and had to be enlarged!  Baptisms take place almost every week, including adults!   The Assumption Grotto Shrine has added the Tridentine Mass and even offers it during the week!  Many souls are returning to the Faith through these two churches and many more souls are now drawn to the Catholic Church throughout Michigan and the whole country.  Holy Mother Church opens Her arms to us wherever we may be in our search for the Truth, and invites us into the fold. 

It is also predicted for 2008 that more than a million infant souls will be baptized into the Catholic Church just in the United States alone!  To say that souls are pouring into the Catholic Church would not be an exaggeration.

What a contrast to the vision given to the children at Fatima where poor souls were pouring into Hell.  We, who are faithfully living out our state of life in our daily duties, and persevering in prayer, are making a difference!  Practicing our Catholic Faith, which includes uniting our daily trials to Jesus' passion, frequenting the Sacraments and praying the St. Monica Sodality Prayer daily, is answering Our Lady of Fatima's request to pray for sinners, to save souls! 

Through our Savior Jesus Christ, His Most Holy Mother, and the intercession of St. Monica and her son, Augustine, our prayers and offerings are being multiplied just like the fishes and loaves of bread (Matthew 14: 14-21).  They become graces that are poured out not only on our loved ones but loved ones throughout the world.  People unknown to us are benefiting from our prayers and sacrifices, including the many people who have no one to pray for them. 

May we continue to be faithful and persevere in the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy, for God in His lovingkindness has poured out His mercy upon us: O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, we trust in You!