News Item: : As the Apostolic Exhortation Approaches - We Pray that the Pope, Hierarchy and Priests Will Heed this Grave Warning!
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
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Tuesday 05 April 2016 - 13:35:50

We are now just a few days away from the release of Pope Francis' long-expected Apostolic Exhortation. We've already expressed our serious concerns over the choice of Cardinals Baldiserri and Schonborn - a modernistic book-thief and a modernistic pro-homosexualist - to release this historically important document.

Our concerns were greatly increased last night when we discovered that Francesco Miano - the husband in the man and wife team chosen to assist those cardinals on Friday - is a moral philosopher who has a doctorate in situation ethics...

It is now over 5-months since a petition bearing 879,451 signatures was handed in to the Vatican Secretariat of State, calling for Pope Francis to issue a ''clarifying word'' in defence of the authentic doctrine of the Church relating to marriage and family life.

And, as we publish this article, the CitizenGo petition, calling for Archbishop Malcolm McMahon to take disciplinary action in the case of Miss Carrie Morrow, is just 1 signature short of making 6,700 names. It will be remembered that Miss Morrow abused her authority, as headteacher of Sacred Heart ''Catholic'' School in Atherton, to promote homosexualist ideology to the young children in her care. Even though it is almost one month since we first reported on this very public story, there has still been no public action taken by Archbishop McMahon. Indeed, aside from the CitizenGo petition and the faithful Liverpolitanus blog, there has been absolutely no other public defence of the Faith, parental rights or innocent young children by any of the bishops, priests, deacons or laity in this sprawling Archdiocese.

Before the Judgement Seat of God

In light of these grave problems, it seems timely to draw attention to the story of the above-pictured Fr. Steven Scheier. It is a warning to all of us, but especially to priests, about the gravity of sin and of compromising with it.

When Fr. Scheier was a boy, he had been devoted to Our Lady. As a young man, he was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1973. By his own admission, he was more concerned about what other priests and the laity thought about him, than about being a faithful priest for Christ. In those days, he could not withstand peer pressure; and he tried to be ''just one of the guys'' to seek admiration.

From the pulpit he spoke only about peace, love and joy; rather than teaching on dogma, morality and what the Church is all about. Fr. Scheier did this partly to win popularity, and partly to keep the money coming in on the collection plate.

Worse still, he was living with unrepented mortal sins on his soul. Although he did go to confession, he had no firm purpose of amendment. In retrospect, Fr. Scheier said that he even had excuses lined up to give Jesus and that he thought he had time ahead of him to change.

Only he didn't...

Tragedy Struck

On 18th October, 1985, he was driving along a hazardous stretch of highway from Wichita to his Sacred Heart Parish in Fredonia, Kansas. It was a buzy truck route that ran through foothills, lacked hard-shoulders and was, at that time of year, worsened by wintry weather conditions.

Tragedy struck when Father's car was involved in a disastrous head-on collision with a pick-up truck. He was thrown from his wrecked vehicle, his scalp was torn open from the right to left side of his head, sheering-off a part of his brain, and he suffered a broken neck. This break, a C2 of the second cervical vertebrae, is known as the hangman's break; the slightest movement of such a patient's head to either side could cause instant asphyxiation.

By God's grace, a Mennonite nurse had stopped to help Father and she recognised the break straight away. She said that poor Fr. Scheier was repeating the Hail Mary over and over. Although she did not know the words, she tried to pray it with him. An emergency doctor sewed his scalp back on and loaded him onto a LifeWatch Helicopter. That doctor did not expect Fr. Scheier to survive the short flight to the hospital. Indeed, a parishioner who phoned the hospital was told that he had only a 15% chance of survival.

That night, Fr. Scheier's parishioners opened up the parish church and prayed for his recovery. The local Baptist and Methodist communities did the same. The Mennonites put him on their prayer-line and the local Assemblies of God minister prayed for him all through that fateful night.

Father was in intensive-care until November. Even when he was moved to another ward, he still required a ''halo'' support in his head. The doctors had initially believed that he would not survive his injuries. When it became clear that he would do, they expected that he would spend the rest of his life paralysed from the neck down, unable to speak and in need of a respirator even to breathe. Although his recovery became sufficient for the hospital to let him go home to recuperate in December, he still had to keep the head-support on until April 1986. 

In May of that year, Fr. Scheier felt strong enough to return to work at the parish. As he proclaimed the Gospel during Mass, the words on the page suddenly grew much larger and became luminous right before his eyes. The text that day was on the theme of the fig tree from Luke 13:1-9.

After Mass, he sat down in his armchair in the rectory and was flooded with a recollection of a near-death-experience that he had been through during his horrific accident.

The powerful intercession of Our Lady, the Mother of God

Father Scheier has since testified to having found himself alone in another dimension; something he described as a vast spiritual void. He stated that he was before the Judgement Seat of Almighty God, of His Son Jesus Christ. Father Scheier said that he did not see God, but that he did hear His voice. 

Our Lord went through all of Fr. Scheier's unconfessed, unrepented mortal sins with him. Father said that for all of these, he did not argue, rebel or try to make up excuses. In the presence of God's perfect judgement, he simply acknowledged the truth of what Jesus was showing him.

At the end of this review of Father's life and priesthood, Our Lord said to him: ''The sentence that you will have is Hell, for all eternity.'' Father said simply and interiorly, ''I know, this is what I deserve.''

At that point, he heard a woman's voice. The voice said: ''Son, would you please spare his life.''

Our Lord said: ''Mother, for 12 years he has been a priest for himself and not for me. Let him reap the punishment he deserves.''

At that, Fr. Scheier heard the female voice say: ''But Son, if we give to him special graces, and strengths and come to him in ways that he is not familiar with, and see if he bears fruit. If he does not, then, Your Will be done.''

There followed a pause.

And Jesus said: ''Mother, he is yours.''

Ever since then, Fr. Scheier said that he had belonged to Our Lady. His survival and conversion bear witness to the physical and spiritual healing which She obtained from Our Lord for him. He believed that he was spared and ''sent back'' with a message.

A Sincere Call to Repentance and Conversion

In the late 1990's Father Scheier appeared twice on Mother Angelica Live to discuss his experiences. He also travelled around the world to give talks. He delivered these in a humble style which acknowledged his own sinfulness. Fr. Scheier sought to remind all people, and especially priests, that:-

1. Hell is real.

2. Priests are liable to it.

3. Our Lord is both just and merciful.

4. Our Lady is very important in our lives.

5. Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints are not just historical figures but are real and alive.

6. There must be a reform in the Church and the priesthood throughout the world.

7. Priests and people must return to a true practice of genuine Confession.

8. Priests and people must return to prayer and authentic devotions, rather than mere social activities.

9. Our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Real Presence in the Tabernacle, must be reverenced and restored to the centre of our churches and lives.

10. Priests must live spiritual lives and support one another in this endeavour.

Especially Urgent for Pope Francis, the Hierarchy and all Priests to Hear this Week!

During his second interview on Mother Angelica Live, Fr. Scheier was asked how it is that a priest could find himself going to Hell.

His answer strikes us as being particularly important in light of: the dire confusion surrounding the Synods of 2014 and 2015; the resultant weakening of the public perception regarding the indissolubility of marriage and the importance of the state of grace; the near-approach of the Apostolic Exhortation; the promotion of the heresy of gradualism by the highest prelates in the Church; the global acquiesence before the problem of sacrilegious Holy Communions; the acceptance and even promotion of the LGBT agenda in Catholic cathedrals, churches and schools; and the silence of so many of the clergy who tolerate evil by their silence, even while living luxuriant lifestyles which scandalize oppressed members of the laity.

To Mother Angelica's question, Fr. Scheier answered: ''(As priests) we are under the same Commandments as anyone else. There are 10 Commandments. If any of these are broken, we have to go to Confession. We have sinned. We have sinned greviously against the Lord... We have to work as hard, and sometimes even harder, than the average Catholic. This is because we are accountable for more, because we give you advice on how to live. We are representatives of His Church. We speak about what He taught. And, therefore, we are very much accountable.''

May God give to all priests, from the Pope down to the smallest parish, the graces needed to be faithful to Him and His Holy Law. May He give us the graces to be faithful as lay people and to pray for our priests to be good and faithful men for the Lord.

In light of Fr. Scheier's words about priests being accountable for teaching what Christ taught, we conclude with the words of Jesus proclaimed in Mark 10:11:-

And He said to them, ''Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.''

We must pray that God's grace and Our Lady's prayers will help Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, those who present it, and those who will implement it, to be faithful to the Word of God.

It is the only way that they, or countless numbers of us, will save our souls.

Our Lady, Mother of Mercy - Pray for us!   

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.1280 )