Catholic priest in a Protestant family?

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Brockman1996

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I am currently in RCIA and I believe God is calling me to the Priesthood. If I God willing became a priest I would not only be the only Catholic in my family I’d be a Catholic priest in a family full of Southern Baptists. Sounds like holidays will be real fun:D. What do you guys think? Picture thanksgiving with my very anti-catholic family with me in the collar in the room with them. What do you think?
 
Heh, I know exactly how you feel 😛 I feel called to become a Franciscan friar, I’m the only Catholic in my entire family.

I think that this is interesting, and it would be a wonderful witness to your family and dedication to God. I know another Franciscan priest who had the same thing happen to him, except his family was atheist and Chinese pagan. His mother was eventually baptized by her own son 😃 Who knows, you could one day administer Confirmation to your family members! 👍
 
Do not let the fact that your family is not Catholic deter you. Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. was a noted Jesuit and Theologian. He was the son of the U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and the nephew of Allan Dulles who headed the European espionage during WW II and later headed the C.I.A. He came from an establishment Presbyterian family. He was the only one in his family to convert to Catholicism.
I suggest that you look up his biography on the internet. It may help you.
G*d Bless you and keep you in your vocation.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I am currently in RCIA and I believe God is calling me to the Priesthood. If I God willing became a priest I would not only be the only Catholic in my family I’d be a Catholic priest in a family full of Southern Baptists. Sounds like holidays will be real fun:D. What do you guys think? Picture thanksgiving with my very anti-catholic family with me in the collar in the room with them. What do you think?
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May The SACRED HEART Bless Your Desire!! May HE BLESS YOU!! and, I wanna say it first:

“WELCOME HOME!!”, glad to see that you are getting ready to jump into the Tiber River. trust me, it is quite nice in here…

I am glad and happy to see an Atheist turn from athiesm to the Holy Desire of following Our LORD as a Priest!!
 
One of the young priests in our area is a Baptist convert. I was introduced to him as a Baptist convert. He loved it. He celebrated the 3rd anniversary of his ordination recently and there was pure joy on his face as he celebrated Mass. If God is calling you, don’t let anyone stop you.

I will be praying for you.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I am currently in RCIA and I believe God is calling me to the Priesthood. If I God willing became a priest I would not only be the only Catholic in my family I’d be a Catholic priest in a family full of Southern Baptists. Sounds like holidays will be real fun:D. What do you guys think? Picture thanksgiving with my very anti-catholic family with me in the collar in the room with them. What do you think?
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We had that very thing happen in our parish.

One gentleman went through RCIA, joined the church, went to seminary and was ordained.

He has been a priest for over 10 yrs now, and is the only Catholic in his family.

He is a very Holy, and conservative priest, and our diocese is lucky to have him.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I am currently in RCIA and I believe God is calling me to the Priesthood. If I God willing became a priest I would not only be the only Catholic in my family I’d be a Catholic priest in a family full of Southern Baptists. Sounds like holidays will be real fun:D. What do you guys think? Picture thanksgiving with my very anti-catholic family with me in the collar in the room with them. What do you think?
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It’s going to be okay. You are the shark 😃

https://www.ratestogo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/maldives-shark.jpg
 
^ ^ lol
That’s awesome, Lemaitre. 😃

Brockman. Have no fear. Many have gone before you and became wonderful servants of God in the priesthood of His own One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church. 👍
 
Maybe you could then help minister to Protestant Pastors converting to Catholicism.🙂

I spent Thanksgiving with LCMS Lutherans who believe the Pope is the AntiChrist and I managed to survive but had no luck gaining any ground in helping them better understand Catholicism much to my chagrin. It was my first experience up close and personal with those very anti Catholic (toward the doctrine they said not me personally,
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm; I didn’t dare ask if they believed Catholics were “not saved” because I didn’t want to hear the answer that day lest I engage in sins of angry dialogue. I know my limit.

Welcome home,
and prayers for your discernment calling to the priesthood.
Peace in Christ,
Mary.
 
One of my parish priests is a convert. He is from a different culture and the objection he encountered was that he would never produce children - he is the only son so this was a huge deal in his family. He is the picture of joy and a wonderful confessor. I commend you on your desire to serve and wish you all the best. Who knows? your family may see the light based on your example.
 
DebbieS said:
One of my parish priests is a convert. He is from a different culture and the objection he encountered was that he would never produce children - he is the only son so this was a huge deal in his family. He is the picture of joy and a wonderful confessor. I commend you on your desire to serve and wish you all the best. Who knows? your family may see the light based on your example.
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Amen!! 👍👍
 
Brockman1996 said:
I am currently in RCIA and I believe God is calling me to the Priesthood. If I God willing became a priest I would not only be the only Catholic in my family I’d be a Catholic priest in a family full of Southern Baptists. Sounds like holidays will be real fun:D. What do you guys think? Picture thanksgiving with my very anti-catholic family with me in the collar in the room with them. What do you think?
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I say go for it. 👍

One of the most inspirational priests I’ve ever met came from an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) background. From what he tells me he gets along fine with his family.
 
I believe that Bishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta came from a Protestant family and has Protestant parents, although they have probably passed away. His family may still be Protestant.
 
I know a Latin Rite Priest who is the only Catholic in his family. I think he loves his faith so much that it doesn’t bother him. If you are really called to that God will give you the necessary graces 😃 👍
 
First off, I would like to say, welcome home brother, but secondly, I would like to sort of help you understand what a Priest is. A Priest is sacrifice. You leave everything behind to follow Christ as his Priest. That involves your family, especially if the diocese or religious order you join is not in the area they live. We read in the book of Luke, when Christ called Simon Peter and Andrew to follow him they “Left everything behind and followed him.” (cf Luke 5:11). A Priest does the same, Brother, I mean not to discourage you, I myself was in your shoes three years ago, now I live a Private life as a Hermit (no public vows) and am discerning the Priesthood. Yet when we see to take this path, we must understand that you may not see your family for the holidays, especially if you have to serve mass on Christmas 3 times in a day, or if you have to be there for the vigil mass, or you have so much other stuff to do on Christmas and Christmas eve, or even Easter, the whole week is insane! The life of a Priest is sacrificial, you must be willing to put your family behind you and walk this path alone in Christ, for he will always be there. Just to recognize that you may not see them during those holidays, because of your Priestly duties. Due to my discernment, I am not seeing my family for the Holidays, I am choosing to sacrifice my family for my Church Family, to bring to them Christ in the Eucharist, to help my Priest at the mass.

I encourage you to continue your discernment and find yourself a spiritual director to guide you in this discernment. You have two years Brother, by Canon Law you cannot enter into the Seminary until you have been a Catholic for two years, starting from your first Easter (confirmation, first communion). I will pray for you, God Bless.
 
Brockman1996 said:
I am currently in RCIA and I believe God is calling me to the Priesthood. If I God willing became a priest I would not only be the only Catholic in my family I’d be a Catholic priest in a family full of Southern Baptists. Sounds like holidays will be real fun:D. What do you guys think? Picture thanksgiving with my very anti-catholic family with me in the collar in the room with them. What do you think?
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The exact same thing happened to a friend of mine. He grew up in a family of Southern Baptists, converted to Catholicism in high school, and now that his bachelor’s is completed, he is entering seminary. I spoke to him about it the other day since I knew nothing about his family background and he did admit that it was difficult to maintain harmony with his family, but he feels so strongly called to the priesthood that he lets that override the difficulties.

If this is your calling, it’s a heavy cross to bear. Good for you for discerning, even under these circumstances. I will pray for you!
 
I think that even if your family does not agree with your decision to become a priest, they will probably think twice before they speak. The fact that you would have devoted your life and vocation to the Church will say a lot for you and even if they don’t come around to Catholicism they will most likely respect your decision even if it takes them some time to get used to the idea. I am also the only Catholic in my family, but I think if I came around in full habit someday they would maybe feel a little awkward but would probably be less judgmental in seeing how seriously I have taken my faith. Although I can’t think of anyone who dislikes nuns and religious sisters, no matter how anti-Catholic they are… So I guess I might have an unfair advantage there (in this hypothetical situation, haha)… But nonetheless, I think it would still work out somewhere along those lines and I think it would be a great witness for you! 😉
 
Our current bishop’s parents were converts from protestantism; Baptist I believe. One of our prior bishops was the son of a protestant father and a convert mother.

A guy I went to (public) high school with, though raised protestant, joined the Church all on his own and was later ordained. To my knowledge and understanding, his family was somewhat distressed by it, but didn’t give him a hard time over it.
 
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