Catholic convert from Oregon coast becomes a priest (former Evangelical)

Florence, Oregon, Jun 17, 2009 / 08:17 am (CNA).- He grew up an evangelical Protestant in Oregon, suspicious of Marian theology. Now he’s a Catholic priest and a physicist. Dominican Father Raphael Mary Salzillo was ordained last month in San Francisco and will take up an assignment at the University of Washington Newman Center and Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle.

Born Wesley Salzillo in 1976, he grew up in Florence, a small coastal town. The family converted to Catholicism in the early 1990s.

"My family raised me with a strong Christian faith and a very clear sense that Christ should be the most important thing in my life," Father Raphael Mary recalls, explaining that his faith after conversion remained "generic."

"I was not fully open to the truth that the Catholic faith has to offer," he says.

But when he was 16, a spiritual experience at Mass gave him the strong feeling he was being called to priesthood or religious life. He was not open to it at the time, so tried to convince himself it was just his imagination.

A top graduate from Siuslaw High, he went on to Caltech, earning a bachelor’s degree in applied physics. He attended graduate school and there he felt his vocation being clarified. At the same time, this scientist wrestled with turning over his will so completely.

"I wanted to choose my own religion rather than accepting the Catholic one as a coherent whole," he says, aware that many people today pick and choose within a body of faith. "In a way, choice had become a God for me, as it has to so many in our society."

Through study of church history and theology and deepening prayer life, he discerned that his own intellect and judgment alone could not fulfill his deepest yearnings. He decided to trust Jesus and the Church fully.

"It was through submission of my power of choice in matters of faith, that I came to know Jesus Christ in a much deeper way," he says.

The last part of his faith to fall into place was an acceptance of Mary. That spiritual movement allowed him to love Jesus more, he explains.

"It was Mary who brought me to finally accept my vocation, and it has been her who has sustained me in this life," he says.

He chose the Dominicans for their emphasis on doctrinal preaching and study, as well as their strong community life with "a streak of monasticism."

He studied philosophy and theology in Berkeley, Calif. and also served at the University of Arizona Newman Center.

You don't offer any evidence that any power given to the Apostles directly from Jesus is transferable to anyone else. You guys have to believe otherwise the house of cards falls.

Jesus gave the Apostles power, but they were in a class by themselves. In John 20:23 It means “God does not forgive peoples sins because we do so, nor does he withhold forgiveness because we do. Rather, those who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearers accept or reject Jesus Christ.

Believers don't need a middleman for forgiveness of sins, it's personal, it's between the person and Jesus. A non believer does not get absolved of sins because a priest says so, they have no power to forgive. There was no sacrifice of the mass at the last supper, the one time sacrifice happened at Calvary, ONE TIME. The priests has no power to consecrate anything. Your church has taken "do this in memory of Me" and expanded it into some ceremony. Do this in memory of me means a remembrance and proclaiming of the deliverance of believers from the bondage of sin through Christs ONE TIME atoning work on the cross. There is no need for an altar, no need for any more sacrifices. The sacrifice on the cross is complete. A debt PAID IN FULL. And priests certainly have no power to bring Jesus down from Heaven, as the Rev O'Brien and the RC church believe. Jesus doesn't take orders from sinners, as we all are. And if priests DID have any power to do all the things you say they can do, they would have had power to restrain the flesh when they needed to !! Ist Cor. 11:26 Do this in remembrance of me, means remember my sacrifice, not re-represent my sacrifice over and over.

Sure it is transferable: the improper conduct at the Mass St. Paul condemns in 1 Cor. 11 did not negate the fact that it was a valid Mass, when Christ was truly present in the Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:26), yet it was evidently not celebrated by an apostle.

The two epistles to Timothy and one to Titus are instructions in how to consecrate clergy. Note that neither Timothy or Titus are themselves apostles.

I have little interest in Protestant theological fantasies regarding “middlemen” or how proclaiming the gospel is “in effect” forgiving sins. If you have further questions about the Catholic teaching or the meaning of the Holy Scripture, please ask them, and I am always happy to answer.

First, by “fixed” I mean that irrespective of all the possible switches you might have come up with along the way to your choice, He knew about those and your final choice...without error.

Now, here is the troubling matter you must deal with...If all of this is true, then the final outcome was essentially already determined prior to the events unfolding. How can we say this? Because there existed prior to your behavior of answering me, God knew (while I was asking) how you would answer. This places the fixed knowledge prior to the event. You may wish to view this as a “floating, non-time oriented knowledge” but the fact remains, it existed prior to your behavior in time.

Since no other outcome could have occurred than the one He knew prior, then it is not possible for you to deviate from that outcome. To you it may feel free. That is because you are not God and cannot maneuver events to follow the pre-known outcome. You feel free to choose, not recognizing that God is moving all reality to that destination.

This is the force behind prophecy. It is not a “good guess”, as you claimed a chess player uses on an opponent. That is still guessing. You have admitted God is not guessing...He knows absolutely. Prophecy is a prior statement of the absolute outcome of an event. The event can be the restoration of the Temple, the rise of Cyrus the Persian as a type of Messiah, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the failure of Peter, etc. But, the reasons these are true is not because God is a good guesser of all of the “free wills” that could possibly impact these events. Prophecy is true because He drives these events along to their pre-stated outcomes.

Isaiah noted this, 25:1 “O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”

Solomon noted this, 16:9 “The min of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” No question you can plan...but God will move you along to/through those events that suit Him.

This idea that it is God planning, and executing, the world’s events is sometimes frustrating, but for those who have learned to rest in His extraordinary power, it is a wonderful relief. History is not being formed by billions of “freely” operating individuals, but rather by a fully in-control God of Heaven that can honestly say that He, “...causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He alos predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son...”

That is the strength of foreknowledge; it parallels the foreordination and execution of the plans of God perfectly. You are, if you belong to Him, in His care being drawn along, in Him and by Him. This is the rescue that we really need and the Scriptures attest to...full, complete, without fail.

Because there existed prior to your behavior of answering me, God knew (while I was asking) how you would answer. This places the fixed knowledge prior to the event. You may wish to view this as a “floating, non-time oriented knowledge” but the fact remains, it existed prior to your behavior in time.

So? God knew my ultimate choice prior to my making it and prior to my knowing what it will be. It does not necessarily mean God made me make the choice; it can also and with the same logic, mean that I freely made the choice and God knows what it is.

That the Holy Ghost speaks His eternal knowledge through the prophets, and that god directs our steps is another matter entirely. That knowledge and direction, too, are based on the choices people make, as is clear from the same chapter 25 in Isaiah, and virtually all prophesies of the fate of Israel.

With all due respect, you are trash talking here, Annalex.

“That the Holy Ghost speaks His eternal knowledge through the prophets, and that god directs our steps is another matter entirely.”

You have a subject and predicate, but it makes no sense to reasonable people. If God knows what will happen tomorrow (as you readily admit), and it is impossible for that not to happen exactly as He foreknows, tomorrow is a “fixed” entity. The Apostle Paul (and all other biblical writers) is/are eminently logical about this. And Paul recognizes that this could be difficult for stubborn humans to accept (Romans 9).

But, for you to claim that the God of Israel is a passive observer in most of the events simply because you feel He has promised you “free will” is not only unbiblical, but disingenuous. There is absolutely no Scriptural support for “free will”. And your need for human “feelings” to supercede the statements of the Bible is near blasphemous.

When God makes demands on men to choose between selections, there are simply no companion assurances that these choices will be “free” from His influence and control. On the contrary, we are told everywhere that He will insure their control and maneuvering. To construe otherwise is utterly without merit.

We who hold to predestination are only reporting what the Scripture reports and displays at every turn of the page. He really is God. He really does control everything. That is why we should fear Him. Even your ability to recognize this is being controlled by Him. Your ability to trust Him is being controlled. This is the Gospel, and it is one of the great flaws of Catholicism.

It is not so much that we are “anti-Catholic” as we are vehemently pro-Bible. When the Scriptures teach something, we cling to that. When the Roman Catholic Church (or any other group or individual) claims that the ordinary statements of Scripture should mean something else (so that they may retain power), we vigorously disagree and call them what they are...wrong. This goes for errors made by Reformers and by the Roman Catholic Church. When the RCC comes into alignment with the very Bible they claim to support, we will be there to welcome them with open arms. Until then, we will note their denial of predestination and other biblical doctrines represents error that no Church of Jesus Christ should be teaching.

God knows the choices people make freely. This is not illogical and conforms to the Bible entirely. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah, for example, chose their deviance and Abraham chose righteousness. God punished Sodom and rewarded Abraham, but He did not make their decisions for them. The very meaning of the hospitality of Abraham’s episode, for example, is that God accepted the hospitality offered Him by Abraham, rather than simply helping himself to Abraham’s refrigerator.

Several things are also true:

- God leads his elect to both accepting his grace and deserving their final justification. His leadership, however, depends on their free choice, that is foreknown to God: “whom he predestinated, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rm 8:30).

- The choice that the free will accomplishes is not made in a vacuum, but rather in the environment where both God and satan have their (vastly different) roles. God speaks through His Church and his prophets and strengthens our will though the Sacraments of the church; satan tempts; we choose.

What is any of this is illogical or unbiblical, and where, exactly, am I “trash talking”?

Your statements are nonsequitor, but you continue to make them as if the sheer weight of repetitiveness will persuade. This is trash talk. You state “His leadership, however, depends on their free choice, that is foreknown to God: “whom he predestinated, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rm 8:30).” If you cannot read this to contradict everything you have said previously, we need to form a “Reading lessons Fund”.

Abraham was justified by faith, not by “choosing righteousness”. This is a basic understanding of the Gospel every reader of the letter to the Romans has, if they read the entire argument Paul sets forth. And, therein lies the problem. The Roman Catholic Church doesn't read the entire arguments presented; instead is at bottom a promoter of the “reward” system of salvation. They have inculcated their constituency into a merit program that is directly at odds with the free gift of salvation administered by Christ, through His Holy Spirit to those whom he chooses.

Acts 13:48, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” This is the Gospel.

Read the latest on the return of “indulgences”. It is classic Catholicism. You will pay your bill either by doing adequate confession here, coupled with penance, OR you will pay the final bill during an interim holdover in purgatory. By "buying indulgences" you may shorten the stay in purgatory. This is all “reward”. This is not by “...grace through faith, that is a gift.” as the Apostle Paul taught.

And, it shames the "once for all" sacrifice of Jesus. Your arguments are a patchwork quilt of work for salvation “doctrines” taught by an authoritarian group of control freaks. They have a “party line” to which you adhere, but cannot support by statements from the Scripture. So they quote other members of the club.

Please set out the passages which state: God doesn't control man's heart or mind, He does not choose whom He will rescue, He does not affect the outcome of history.

As I said, the passage you quoted denies the very concept you wish to promote. However, you continue to say, “See, predestination proves free will.” Or words to that effect. You cannot see the disparity of these claims, but seem to be stuck on repeating them.

Free will is not a Scriptural concept. The Scripture reports hundreds of calls by God to obey, listen, perform, etc. However, when you read the whole passage, you find that the people cannot obey, listen, or perform if God does not grant them the ability.

Paul writes to Timothy, “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, and with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, IF PERHAPS GOD MAY GRANT THEM REPENTANCE leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Now, this cannot possibly mean that these people who disagreed with Paul are “free” to think as they please. Paul specifically notes that they are trapped two different ways in their thinking. First, God has them trapped by way of being the only One who could allow them to gain repentance. “Grant” is the word Paul uses to describe what God will have to decide to do if they are to be able to gain repentance. Then, second, they are trapped by way of being ensnared by the devil, and doing his will on top of that. Apparently, they cannot be “free” to do God’s will, or their will, but Satan’s will. Where is the “free will” you claim is a “gift from God” to every man? It certainly is not in this description.

If it does not exist everywhere, then it cannot be thought to be the “freedom” you claim.

the passage you quoted denies the very concept you wish to promote

Denies it how? Please be specific. You questioned me in great detail to define free will. I did. Now exercise the same patience and diligence and show me where the contradiction is, with anything I said or with the Scripture.

The Scripture reports hundreds of calls by God to obey, listen, perform, etc. However, when you read the whole passage, you find that the people cannot obey, listen, or perform if God does not grant them the ability.

Indeed. God grants the ability to choose for good. How is that contradicting that people have God-given free will? It seems to me, that statement is confirming the existence of free will, as does every call to repentance, of which there are great many recorded in the scripture. Understand that repentance can only come from the operation of free will, as there can be no such thing as forced repentance.

Okay, you are right to ask for patience. Even the passage I quoted calls me to be patient.

Last to first. When you say, “Indeed. God grants the ability to choose for good. How is that contradicting that people have God-given free will?” you are missing what I said. I did not say that your claim itself was contradicting. I said the passage you quote from the Bible contradicts your statements.

The passage I quoted from II Tim. states unequivocally that the men disagreeing with Paul could not gain repentance unless God granted it to them. Can you explain how they could have freely chosen good, if God must first grant them repentance in order for them to recognize their error?

The passage states that they are captives with respect to choosing good.

I said the passage you quote from the Bible contradicts your statements.

Romans 8:30 does? How? The passage does not say that the elect have nothing to do now that God predestined them. The Catholic understanding is that He predestines, calls, justifies and glorifies those who respond to grace in righteousness; they "search in their hearts knowing what the Spirit desireth". Where is the contradiction?

Can you explain how they could have freely chosen good, if God must first grant them repentance in order for them to recognize their error?

To repent means to have a change of heart (or of mind). It is true that God grants the ability to repent; often even asks directly for repentance, but repentance is impossible without free movement of the will for sorrow over the sin and converson toward the good.

Okay, patience. “The Catholic understanding is that He predestines, calls, justifies and glorifies those who respond to grace in righteousness” This is a patently false understanding. Read the passage again. He foreknows, He predestines, He calls, He justifies, He glorifies. None of this is because you, “...respond to grace in righteousness”

Notice the backward treatment. You claim Catholics believe that He predestines those who respond. You cannot wait until a person responds, then wind the clock back and predestine them before they responded. The response has already occurred. Your statement requires the person respond first, then the predestination occurs. This is backward to what the Scripture claims God orders. Does that make sense?

And notice that you don’t admit that the passage of II Tim. requires God to act first (grant) in order for repentance to occur. You make it either a simultaneous act or a granting that occurs if the person decides to repent. But, that is clearly not what the passage states. God must grant it first, then they repent. The order here is critical to understanding Paul’s argument. Again, I am not concerned about what the Vatican “believes” about this, but what Paul believes about this.

Perhaps I should add, be specific with your remarks because you have placed an order in the steps that will occur.

You have stated that the person responds, then God saves them. A bit ago, you said that God acts outside of time and thus “order” was really an issue. If that is the case, why is the order of a person responding first, then getting forgiven now an issue?

Please notice you are very, very concerned about the order of things. You are requiring that a person be the first to respond, now that God has asked them to respond.

But, clearly the order of the Acts 13:48 states that those who had been appointed unto eternal life then believed. The order lists the appointment first, then the belief. Critical.

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