In spite of what the media might want us to believe, the Catholic Church is alive and well in spite of the rise of secularism, doubling in size in the last three decades and expected to increase by another 400 million by 2050.
Next month the Catholic galaxy will become a little brighter as the Church receives a new cluster of saints. Among the holy handful will be just one woman, a French Carmelite considered by Pope Saint John Paul II to be one the most influential mystics of his life.
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity was born as Elizabeth Catez, “Sabeth” to her friends, in 1880. She was a hot-tempered child with sometimes “furious eyes” whose father died while she was young, forcing her mother to move Sabeth and her younger sister from their home in Dijon to a smaller second-story flat. From her window, little Sabeth could look down into the garden of the Carmelite convent.
In an impassioned speech at a recent event, Father Michael Orsi, former Ave Maria Law School chaplain, warned the crowd that unless the faithful vote the right way in November, they may not have a church in which to worship much longer.
We have had numerous questions over the years from people wondering if they should continue to visit a doctor who offers New Age healing methods in his/her practice, even if the patient specifically requests that the doctor not use these methods when treating them. In this case, is there any harm in continuing to see these doctors?