Explaining Catholic Priesthood to Very Protestant Grandparents?!

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I am looking for anyone who was a member of churches of Christ and is now Catholic or who has any experience with them and could help me.

In case no one has any idea what the churches of Christ are here’s a link.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Christ

I converted to Catholicism in 2007 and my entire family is church of Christ. My grandparents have, as much as they are able, accepted me being Catholic. One problem, after I graduate from high school next year there is a very big possibility I might be entering the FSSP seminary if all continues to go well. My grandparents hate priests, you know, think they are all child-molesters and leading souls to hell type of hate.
I need to start explaining it to them so it won’t be so much of a shock, they reacted VERY badly when I told them I was converting so I can’t even imagine their reaction when I tell them this. I’d rather get it out of the way now so they won’t be crying and begging me to not go to the seminary a year from now. I don’t want that terrible distraction and pain then.
I mean what can I do if they only believe in sola scriptura and firmly believe that the church of Christ is the most true to the early Church? (They don’t study history) 😃 They don’t even believe in a shred of Tradition, much less Apostolic Succession. I don’t know where to begin to even start to explain the idea of the priest to them much less why God might be calling me to be one. Give me nearly any other type of Protestant and I could tell them about the Catholic priesthood for hours but I don’t even have a basis for a theological argument that I think they might accept. 🤷

Any help or advice would help.

Thank you

In Christ
IrishDude
 
IrishDude45 said:
I am looking for anyone who was a member of churches of Christ and is now Catholic or who has any experience with them and could help me.

In case no one has any idea what the churches of Christ are here’s a link.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churches_of_Christ

I converted to Catholicism in 2007 and my entire family is church of Christ. My grandparents have, as much as they are able, accepted me being Catholic. One problem, after I graduate from high school next year there is a very big possibility I might be entering the FSSP seminary if all continues to go well. My grandparents hate priests, you know, think they are all child-molesters and leading souls to hell type of hate.
I need to start explaining it to them so it won’t be so much of a shock, they reacted VERY badly when I told them I was converting so I can’t even imagine their reaction when I tell them this. I’d rather get it out of the way now so they won’t be crying and begging me to not go to the seminary a year from now. I don’t want that terrible distraction and pain then.
I mean what can I do if they only believe in sola scriptura and firmly believe that the church of Christ is the most true to the early Church? (They don’t study history) 😃 They don’t even believe in a shred of Tradition, much less Apostolic Succession. I don’t know where to begin to even start to explain the idea of the priest to them much less why God might be calling me to be one. Give me nearly any other type of Protestant and I could tell them about the Catholic priesthood for hours but I don’t even have a basis for a theological argument that I think they might accept. 🤷

Any help or advice would help.

Thank you

In Christ
IrishDude
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Hey Irish,
Perhaps the best thing you can do to convince your GP’s is be a wonderful, Christ-centered loving priest and grandson. You example to them might just change their minds. Prayers for your pursuit of ordained service to Christ, and your relationship to your GP’s.

Jon
 
I’m confused about their denomination. It could affect what they can relate to their experience. Are they Cambellites?
 
I don’t know much about them. Actually that’s where I was baptized, as an adult, but it was the only time I’ve ever been in that church. It looked pretty standard Evangelical so far.
I used to be Pentecostal. I explain the priesthood by saying that since Pentecostals believe there is a way you get authority – from your own pastor – that’s succession. Should that go back all the way to 1982 in South America, all the way to 1920 in Los Angeles, all the way to 1904 in Los Angeles, or all the way to 33 in Jerusalem? If they ask the purpose of celibacy, I explain that it’s like a private decision to give up beer for twelve years (they consider it OK to drink a little if you’ve never had a problem with it, in the denomination I was in) as part of a dedication to God while praying for something important, or like snapping a wristband every time you complain for a week, to break the habit. No one thinks beer or wrists are wrong in themselves, but you can accomplish something by giving them up or using them differently. Everyone wants the power to do special works for God. That’s what a priest does. He gives some things up as part of a prayer for that power and authority. Then he can do big things for God. It’s all a dedication, a submission and a commitment (they believe in these concepts strongly but in a slightly different context). It’s a kind of accountability to an authority that goes back to the beginning.
Then I would move in slowly on the things a priest does. These functions themselves are all issues on their own. 🤷
 
IrishDude, you need to get a copy of this book and share it with your grandparents: Christ in His Fullness: A Protestant Minister Discovers the Fullness of Christ in the Catholic Church, by Bruce Sullivan. Bruce grew up as a Baptist, then converted to the Church of Christ because he believed it to be more true to the New Testament, and served as a minister in the Church of Christ for several years. In the area of the church where he was serving in south central Kentucky, he encountered a Catholic family that he set out to convert to his faith. Instead, as he spent time with them and learned from them, he found himself converting to the Catholic Church. It’s a touching story and an easy read. Barnes and Noble has the book, as do other of the large chains.
 
Thank you, Zenas, that book sounds wonderful! I’ll be sure to get a copy.

Pax Vobiscum
 
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