Posted on 03/22/2009 5:16:39 PM PDT by Titanites
When Steve Olmstead served as a Presbyterian minister in Juneau, he would often finish his duties on Sunday, close up the church and head to Mass with his devout Catholic wife and their children.
“I had a place to worship, which a lot of pastors don’t,” Olmstead said in an interview with the Anchor. “It was nice to go to a place and worship where I wasn’t the minister.”
The Anchorage Archdiocese’s newest seminarian grew up in a Presbyterian home and always had a strong spiritual life. When Olmstead entered adulthood, he felt called to serve as a youth minister, and was later ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church.
Throughout his life, he said he had many positive contacts with people who were strong in the practice of their Catholic faith, including his wife of 22 years, Janet.
“I married the most devout and most amazing Christian I’ve ever met in my life,” Olmstead said, crediting her with his conversion to Catholicism. Before the two wed, he agreed to raise the children in the Catholic faith. Steve and Janet Olmstead were married in Juneau by then Bishop Michael Kenny.
He continued to serve in a Presbyterian church in Juneau, but over the years grew enamored with Catholicism.
“I love the devotional practices of the Catholic church, its prayers and devotions,” Olmstead said.
He says he was especially drawn to some core beliefs that are often points of contention between Protestants and Catholics; matters of faith like belief in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and devotion to Mary.
“Ultimately those core beliefs created this tug that led me to the (Catholic) Church so that I would be more congruent with myself,” Olmstead said.
His family’s faith helped with that tug. In addition to Janet’s steady faith, the Olmsteads’ seven children, ages 2-18 years, helped play a part.
The Olmsteads have three older biological children, another three they adopted, and one foster child, which they hope to adopt soon.
“My older kids started asking me questions (like), ‘How come you believe this, but you aren’t teaching it,’” Olmstead recalled. “I had this inner conflict and I had to make that decision.”
Ultimately he did, and left his position at the local Presbyterian church in Juneau to officially enter the Catholic Church in 2006, a decision that brought Olmstead much peace.
“A huge thing for me is mystery,” he said. “I really need mystery and mystery in my faith. The Catholic Church (allows) me to have that mystery — Christ held that for me.”
Having served as full-time Protestant minister, Olmstead still felt a strong call to a minsterial or religious vocation.
Last year he participated in a 30-day Ignatian Spiritual Exercises retreat to investigate how God wanted him to serve in his new church, and he felt called to serve as a priest.
“At the end of that retreat, I realized that this is where God was calling me,” he said.
While celibacy is the rule for Latin rite Catholic priests, there are approximately 100 married former Protestant clergymen in the United States who have joined the Catholic Church and received Vatican permission to become priests.
Protestants baaaaaaad
Catholics gooooood
Jesus does not continue to die for all Catholics. That is a bold and brazen misstatement of Catholic teaching.
Romans 5:
1(A) Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,(B) we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also(C) obtained access by faith[b] into this grace(D) in which we stand, and(E) we[c] rejoice[d] in hope of the glory of God. 3More than that, we(F) rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering(G) produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and(H) hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love(I) has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6For(J) while we were still weak, at the right time(K) Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but(L) God shows his love for us in that(M) while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore,(N) we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from(O) the wrath of God. 10For if(P) while we were enemies(Q) we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by(R) his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received(S) reconciliation.
Death in Adam, Life in Christ
12Therefore, just as(T) sin came into the world through one man, and(U) death through sin, and(V) so death spread to all men because(W) all sinned— 13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but(X) sin is not counted where there is no law. 14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not(Y) like the transgression of Adam,(Z) who was a type of(AA) the one who was to come.
15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for(AB) many. 16And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For(AC) the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought(AD) justification. 17For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness(AE) reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18Therefore, as one trespass[e] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness[f] leads to justification and life for(AF) all men. 19For as by the one man’s(AG) disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s(AH) obedience the many will be made righteous. 20Now(AI) the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased,(AJ) grace abounded all the more, 21so that,(AK) as sin reigned in death,(AL) grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
One reason why the Orthodox Christian Church depicts the cross without Christ upon it is because the cross, an instrument of death, could not hold Him.
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: 1Cor 1:23
The crucifix? A graven image?
It is by His crucifixion that we are saved. Why the urgency to forget this?
True (if referring to Protestantism and Catholicism and not individuals), but the reason for posting the article was for the interest amongst Catholics about married priests, not for flaming.
No, I tend to disagree. I believe a very different line of thought, based in Scripture.
We are saved through belief in His sacrifice, not His death. His resurrection signaled the end of the reign of sin in our lives. We are no longer under judgment. Show me Scripture to dispute that, not your organizations teachings.
Death could not hold Him. He is risen.
They are too busy protesting in the streets and calling Mormons murderers.
You: Sola fide is a false tradition of men.
So you are saying that asking the Lord to be your Savior is a false tradition of men???...
Are you saying Catholics don't need to mess with that stuff???
C'mon Petronski...Everytime we say you guys sacrifice Jesus Christ anew, you claim it's one, ongoing sacrifice...So now, what is it???
No of course not. Presuming you are saved solely because you have done so is a false tradition of men.
Makes sense to me...
Eh?
Christ is not sacrificed anew at each Mass. Repeating such false claims after having been corrected is an especially malignant behavior.
My organization?
His Book “The Catholic Church” tells you his relationship to The Christ. Faith and Reason go to together. Faith without reason is what the pagans practiced as do modern day Hindus.
And reason without faith confines our limitation to our senses where we remain bound to the temporal in which Divine miracles are relegated to superstition because they don’t comport with scientific reason.
Newman’s reasons that support faith is simply brilliant.
Lots of organization!
you're the only one saying that...Turn your eyes upon Jesus...Turn to Jesus, with your heart and your mind...Confess Him as THE Lord...Acknowledge you are a sinner and need to be saved...Call upon HIM to save you...That's the way to salvation...
Have you done that???
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