PAULA IVORY HOEFFER

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Wife, mother, grandmother, former Catholic school teacher, Roman Catholic Womanpriest seeking Church reform Womanpriest

Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.

“Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.” Acts 5,29

On January 15th, 2012, as a devout Catholic I read at my parish mass
1 Samuel 3,1-18, the call of Samuel. Returning to my pew I closed my eyes and prayed, “Speak, God, your servant is listening.”
And God spoke clearly to my heart saying, “I want you to be a priest!”

My whole body trembled and tears flowed, since this contradicted everything I had learned. Agonizing over the contradiction I continued to pray and tears continued to flow. “Continue to pray,” my husband counseled, “if it is from God, God will continue to call.” And God did!

A Catholic Sister introduced me to a prophetic international movement called Roman Catholic Women Priests, breaking the logjam of contradiction. I couldn’t deny that God was calling me, as God had called other women. Who are we to say whom God can call?
I entered the Roman Catholic Women Priest (RCWP) program and learned that there were over 180 others worldwide at that time. I was ordained priest May 16, 2014.

 We are committed to renewing the Roman Catholic Church through faithfulness to the Gospel and ancient church traditions, and the Spirit‘s universal call for inclusion and justice, through a renewed theology, liturgy, and priestly ministry where all are equal and all are welcome.

Looking back now I am more convinced than ever that
“Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.”