CNA<\/a>).- Almost a year after being appointed to shepherd Anglican communities seeking to join the Catholic Church, Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson says the past months have been showered with blessings.<\/p>\n\t\u201cI think the real joys have been to see communities that have struggled with the decision of discerning whether to become Catholic and have made that choice, and they have come in,\u201d he told CNA in a November interview.<\/p>\n
\tHe described \u201cthe joy on their faces\u201d as they enter the Catholic Church and said, \u201cThat\u2019s the thing that sticks in my mind the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMsgr. Steenson leads the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, which was canonically erected on Jan. 1, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI approved the creation of the ordinariate, which is similar to a diocese but includes communities throughout the entire U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n
\tBased in Houston, the ordinariate allows for entire communities to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage and liturgical practices, such as the Book of Common Prayer.<\/p>\n
\tAs of Nov. 1, the ordinariate included 1,336 members. It contains 23 priests, 69 seminarians and 35 communities, including large groups in Texas, Maryland, Florida and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
\tA former Episcopal bishop, Msgr. Steenson and his wife entered the Catholic Church in 2007, and he was ordained a Catholic priest in 2009.<\/p>\n
\tHe holds a doctorate in patristics \u2013 the study of the Early Church Fathers \u2013 from Oxford University and played an important role in designing the formation program for former Anglican priests who seek to be ordained under the new ordinariate.<\/p>\n
\tBecause he is married, Msgr. Steenson cannot be a bishop. Instead, he is an \u201cordinary,\u201d who carries all the authority of a bishop except that of being able to ordain priests.<\/p>\n
\tThe past year has brought both joys and challenges for the new ordinariate. Msgr. Steenson said that he has to be \u201cvery patient with people because this is a big, life-changing decision for them,\u201d and for some people, \u201call of their mind isn\u2019t really there at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cSometimes people think that it\u2019s a very simple matter to become a Catholic, that it\u2019s like changing your uniform,\u201d he reflected. \u201cThat\u2019s not the way it is. It requires a profound transformation at so many levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s challenging, because not everybody sees that right away in the middle of this,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\tIt is also important to ensure that those who are entering the Church \u201care genuinely becoming Catholic and not just running away from something,\u201d he said, adding that the ordinariate cannot simply be a \u201crefugee community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAmong those who have chosen to become members of the ordinariate, Msgr. Steenson has seen a common understanding that \u201cwe need Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI think they\u2019re very grateful, too, to the Catholic Church for making it possible for them to continue with a tradition of prayer and worship that they\u2019ve known all along,\u201d he said, noting that some people who had previously converted and found themselves missing \u201cthe prayers that shaped their lives\u201d are now joining ordinariate communities.<\/p>\n
\tOver the past year, Msgr. Steenson has found great encouragement in the \u201cincredible support\u201d of American Catholics, particularly the U.S. bishops.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re small, we\u2019re starting modestly, and yet the excitement and the support from people have been really, really great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tHe described how numerous diocesan bishops have \u201cgone way beyond the call of duty,\u201d helping to fund initial assessments and health insurance for some men in the ordinariate priesthood and finding positions for them during their transition period.<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, Msgr. Steenson said that he has begun to develop a deep friendship with the bishops.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s really quite astonishing how welcoming they\u2019ve been,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel it\u2019s home for me now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe current Year of Faith is a special blessing for members of the ordinariate, Msgr. Steenson said. During the year, which runs Oct. 11, 2012 \u2013 Nov. 24, 2013, the Holy Father is encouraging Catholics to grow in their faith through prayer and study of Vatican II and the catechism.<\/p>\n
\tMsgr. Steenson explained that the catechism \u201chas been our textbook.\u201d He hopes that both clergy and laity in the ordinariate will come to know the catechism cover-to-cover and recognize it as an incredible resource as they move forward in their new faith.<\/p>\n
\tEven before his conversion, Msgr. Steenson said that he had been using the Catholic catechism. He recalled his time as an Episcopal priest in the 1990s, feeling lost and wondering where he could find the resources to teach his people the faith. He was attracted by the rich substance in the catechism, which he views as \u201can incredible intellectual achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tLooking forward, Msgr. Steenson hopes that the ordinariate will be able to grow in its relationship with the rest of the Church and provide \u201ca real enrichment of Catholic life with this culture and patrimony.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re never going to lose our accent,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd in many different ways, we\u2019ll be able to bring that gift into Catholic life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
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Washington D.C., Nov 27, 2012 \/ 03:02 pm (CNA).- Almost a year after being appointed to shepherd Anglican communities seeking to join the Catholic Church, Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson says the past months have been showered with blessings.<\/p>\n
\t“I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
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