Father Stephen Scheier

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HomeschoolDad

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Never heard of him until a few moments ago. The story speaks for itself.

Wake-Up Call Changes Priest

Father Steven Scheier almost died in 1985. His second chance led him to become a better priest — and understand God’s mercy, and the love of the Blessed Mother, more fully. He appeared on Mother Angelica's show in EWTN in the 1990s.
www.ncregister.com www.ncregister.com

 
I like Fr. Stephen’s story, but I would be so curious to know how he went from having this big devotion to Mary to being a priest who wasn’t spiritual and had practically no prayer life. When I think of priests, I think they must pray every day. It’s their job description. They have to say Mass every day at least, so that’s at least a half hour of prayer right there, and they have to say the breviary, that’s a couple more hours.

I know why I myself went from having a big devotion to Mary as a child to being a sinful adult with practically no prayer life for a long time; it comes of living a worldly life. But I wasn’t a priest. My job every day wasn’t to pray and save souls. I didn’t have to say Mass and pray the breviary every day. I just don’ t get what this priest was doing 8-12 hours a day if he wasn’t praying and saving souls.

Not judging the priest, it’s just that part of the story was left out and I wish I understood better.
 
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I’ll bet it happened little by little.
One day too busy, you cut corners.
Then again, then again.
We humans are great at rationalizing.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
hey have to say the breviary, that’s a couple more hours.
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You can do the bare minimum of the Liturgy of the Hours (Readings, Lauds, Mid-day, Vespers, Compline) in, at most, 50 minutes if all you do is read it.

Of course, it is also possible to pray it, that is, not just get the “obligation” out of the way. And if you sing it, you are praying it twice. Fully chanted in Latin, taking the time to read the vernacular after chanting the Latin, it’s about an hour and 40 minutes, give or take, two hours if you add the two other minor hours. Unless you’re praying it in a monastery. Then it’s about 20 minutes short of 3 hours to 3+ hours depending on the schema used, and crazy long on days like Christmas or Easter.
 
Rough guideline, LOTH chanted privately vs Monastic, chanted in community:

Office of Readings (Vigils): Roman, 20-25 minutes; monastic, 50-90 minutes depending on schema.
Lauds: Roman: 25 minutes, Monastic, 35 minutes
Mid-day prayer: Roman, 15 minutes, Monastic, 10 minutes
Other minor hours: Roman, 10 minutes, Monastic, 10 minutes.
Vespers: Roman 20 minutes, monastic 35 minutes
Compline: Roman 10 minutes, Monastic, 15 minutes.
 
There are also ways to make the current LOTH more “traditional” and “monastic”, based on the rubrics, and on some additional rules published by the The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in its periodical “Notitiae” (specifically issues 76 and 89). A big part of it is putting the Office of Readings on a two-week cycle with two Nocturnes, and using it as Vigils. These new rules not in the original rubrics were developed for monastic communities wishing to use the LOTH but with a bit more “meat” around the bones!

Here are the links:

Notitiae 76 (cf: page 254) for the general guidelines in Latin:

http://www.cultodivino.va/content/cultodivino/it/rivista-notitiae/indici-annate/1972/76.html

Notitiae 89 (cf: page 39) for detailed instructions (in French):

http://www.cultodivino.va/content/cultodivino/it/rivista-notitiae/indici-annate/1974/89.html

There are other rubrical choices that can be made to “traditionalize” the LOTH, such as using Ps. 66 for the Invitatory on weekdays and 94 on Sundays, using the Gradual psalms for two other daytime hours (Terce, Sext or None), and using psalms 4, 90 and 133 at Compline daily
 
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0Scarlett_nidiyilii said:
I’ll bet it happened little by little.
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I don’t remember when or where, or which bishop, but I do remember him saying that when a priest tells him he needs time away (I forget what it’s called), he always asks, “when did you stop praying?”, and that it has always been the case . . .

hawk
 
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