Tag Archives: Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
Kiss of Peace
From the Ordination of Rev. Fr. Jeffrey Neill Steenson
More – O Happy Day – Ordination Video
Update: O HappyDay:
Procession of the Cross
The Candidate for the Sacred Priesthood – Jeffrey Neil Steenson
Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
Calling and Presentation of the Candidate for the Priesthood Jeffrey Neill Steenson
Prostration and Litany of the Saints
Ordained and Invested
Kiss of Peace
Greeting by Rev. Fr. Scott Mansield
Presentation of the Gifts by the Steenson Family
Eucharist
A Few Words
Recessional – Rev. Fr. Jeffrey Neill Steenson
Recessional and Blessing by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
Thanks Be To God!
Oh Happy Day!
THE ORDINATION OF JEFFREY NEILL STEENSON TO THE SACRED PRIESTHOOD
SATURDAY,THE TWENTY-FIRST OF FEBRUARY,TWO THOUSAND AND NINE
At SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC CHURCH, RIO RANCHO, NEW MEXICO
Procession of the Cross
The Candidate for the Sacred Priesthood – Jeffrey Neill Steenson
Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
Calling and Presentation of the Candidate for the Priesthood Jeffrey Neill Steenson
Prostration and Litany of the Saints
Ordained and Invested
Kiss of Peace
Greeting by Rev. Fr. Scott Mansield
Presentation of the Gifts by the Steenson Family
Eucharist
A Few Words
Recessional – Rev. Fr. Jeffrey Neill Steenson
Recessional and Blessing by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
Thanks Be To God!
This is the Day The Lord Has Made!
Update: Old Bishop, New Priest
I’ll be off in a bit to attend the ordination of Jeffrey Steenson. I can only imagine what is going on in his heart and head at this moment. Please say a prayer for Jeff, his family, and his church family, both Anglican and Catholic.
New directions bring mixed blessings for partings are hard. For Jeff, the need to explain his conscientious decision is an integral part of moving forward. “Forward” in God’s grace and plan means continuing to put your hands to the plow and looking back only with gratitude for the gift of the past. Friends, mentors, and teachers, all helped to prepare Jeff for this day. Now is a time of celebration. Now, with the Laying on of Hands, Jeffrey becomes a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. He enters on a new path on the road home. God bless you, soon-to-be, Rev. Fr. Jeffrey Neil Steenson!
Old Bishop, New Priest
WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO
ALMIGHTY GOD
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SANTA FE
ANNOUNCES
THE ORDINATION TO THE
SACRED PRIESTHOOD OF
JEFFREY N. STEENSON
THOUGH THE IMPOSITION OF HANDS AND THE INVOCATION OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT
BY HIS EXCELLENCY
MICHAEL J. SHEEHAN
ARCHBISHOP OF SANTA FE
SATURDAY,THE TWENTY-FIRST OF FEBRUARY,TWO THOUSAND AND NINE
AT TEN-THIRTY O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING AT ST.THOMAS AQUINAS CATHOLIC CHURCH, RIO RANCHO, NM
Jeffrey M. Steenson will be new to the Roman Catholic priesthood, but not new to our Lord’s vineyard. When ordained February 21, 2009 by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of the Santa Fe Diocese of New Mexico, Steenson will continue a faith adventure that still astounds him.
It was much more than the divisions within the Anglican Church over issues such as the affirmation of the openly gay Gene Robinson as bishop, and the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as the first female presiding bishop, that coaxed the then Bishop Steenson onto a new path. These issues were monumentally troubling to his church and he was himself, “deeply troubled about where the Episcopal Church is heading.” Bishop Schori had also blessed same-sex unions. Though grave, still more important issues than these motivated his faith journey to the Roman Catholic Church. No less than the Fathers of the Church held great sway in this matter of faith, conscience and desire.
Before he even entered the ministry, Jeff thought about entering the Roman Catholic Church. One of his professors, a nun, did a very good job showing him that the early Church looked and was as it continues to be very Roman Catholic. She also pointed out that she thought he might have a vocation to the priesthood but he was married and so that was then not to be. Years passed, Jeff became an priest and then a bishop in the Anglican Church .
The Church Fathers still sounded Roman Catholic but life got very complicated. It took the powerful personage of the inimitable Pope John Paul II to re-ignite his Catholic leanings. He made a promise to himself that he would revisit his Catholic inclinations and act if that meant becoming a Roman Catholic. Acting on the promise was tougher and so a bit late in being fulfilled. He meant to act while JPII was still alive, and not doing so troubled him, but life as Rt. Rev Steenson of the Rio Grande Diocese of the Anglican Church made serious decisions too serious to rush. Prayer, study, meetings and mentors, more prayer and more study, soon demanded that conscience be honored. The promise he made to himself ended with his resignation as bishop. This was not without pain. There were explanations to be given and loose ends, at all ends. In his customary gentle manner, Jeff reached out as best he could to make clear with persuasive reason and Patristic history the underpinnings of his choice.
Happily, eventually the sun did shine on the road ahead for Jeff and his wife, who shared these dilemmas and discoveries. Soon came his entry into the Roman Catholic Church. and now, more promises to be made, the promises of the sacred priesthood. Jeff goes forward carrying his faith-filled past in his heart, grateful for loved ones in his Anglican Church family and his beloved deep Anglican roots. At this, a new beginning on a continuing faith journey, may God bless Jeffrey Steenson and his family.