Whether a Monk ought to receive letters or tokens

Thursday, 6 December 2018

CHAPTER LIV. Whether a Monk ought to receive letters or tokens
6 Apr. 6 Aug. 6 Dec.

By no means let a monk be allowed to receive, either from his parents or any one else, or from his brethren, letters, tokens, or any gifts whatsoever, or to give them to others, without permission of the Abbot. And if anything be sent to him, even by his parents, let him not presume to receive it until it hath been made known to the Abbot. But even if the Abbot order it to be received, it shall be in his power to bid it be given to whom he pleaseth; and let not the brother to whom it may have been sent be grieved, lest occasion be given to the devil. Should any one, however, presume to act otherwise, let him be subjected to the discipline of the Rule.

A monk is not only a poor man in the sense of renouncing ownership. He also does without a multiplicity of things in order to attach himself to the

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Prayer to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Thursday, 6 December 2018

We greet thee, O glorious Saint Nicholas, all-honoured hierarch, great wonderworker, saint of Christ, man of God, good and faithful servant, fountain of love, chosen vessel, strong pillar of the Church, shining lamp, star that illuminest and enlightenest the whole world!

Thou, O Father Saint Nicholas, art that righteous man who, according to the word of the Prophet, didst flourish like a palm tree planted in the courts of the Lord. Dwelling in Myra thou hast diffused the  sweet–smelling  fragrance of the grace of God in an ever-flowing stream of myrrh. By thy presence most holy Father, the sea was sanctified when thy miraculous relics were carried from East to West to the city of Bari, there to praise the Name of the Lord.

O marvelous wonderworker, speedy helper, fervent intercessor, good shepherd that savest the flock of Christ from all dangers, we glorify and magnify thee as the hope of all Christians. Thou art an ever–flowing spring of miracles, a defender of the faithful, a most wise teacher, a feeder of the hungry. Thou art the gladness of those that mourn,

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Et domus Dei a sapientibus et sapienter administretur (LIII:2)

Wednesday, 5 December 2018

CHAPTER LIII. Of receiving Guests
5 Apr. 5 Aug. 5 Dec.
Let the kitchen for the Abbot and guests be apart by itself; so that strangers, who are never wanting in a monastery, may not disturb the brethren by coming at unlooked-for hours. Let two brothers, who are well able to fulfil the duty, be placed in this kitchen for a year; and let help be afforded them as they require it, so that they may serve without murmuring. When they have not much to occupy them there, let them go forth to other work, wherever they may be bidden. And not only with regard to them, but in all the offices of the Monastery, let there be such consideration shewn, that when there is need of help it may be given them; and that when they are without work, they do whatever they are commanded. Let the care of the guest-house, also, be entrusted to a brother whose soul is possessed with the fear of God: let there be sufficient beds prepared there and let the house of God

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Let him go in quietly and pray (LII)

Monday, 3 December 2018

CHAPTER LII. Of the Oratory of the Monastery
3 Apr. 3 Aug. 3 Dec.

Let the Oratory be what it is called, a place of prayer: and let nothing else be done, or kept there. When the Work of God is ended, let all go out with the utmost silence, paying due reverence to God, so that a brother, who perchance wishes to pray by himself, may not be hindered by another’s misconduct. If any one desire to pray in private, let him go in quietly and pray, not with a loud voice, but with tears and fervour of heart. And let it not be permitted, as we have said, to remain in the Oratory when the Work of God is finished, except it be for a like purpose, lest hindrance be caused to others.

Saint Benedict derives a good part of the present chapter from the Rule of Saint Augustine, in which we read:

In the Oratory no one should do anything other than that for which it was intended and from which it also takes its name. Consequently, if there are some who might wish to pray there during

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Tota pulchra

Monday, 3 December 2018

Vergine Madre dei SacerdotiThe Radiant Brightness of the Immaculate Virgin Mary
How right it is that in these « cold, and dark, and dreary » December days the sacred liturgy should set before our eyes the radiant brightness of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  Life without Mary is « cold, and dark, and dreary », but for one who opens the door of his heart to the Immaculate Virgin, there is warmth, and light, and gladness.

How I love the antiphon in the Divine Office of the feast: « Thy raiment is white as snow, and thy countenance as the sun ». The Church, in the freedom that comes to her from the Holy Ghost, takes the very imagery the evangelists use to describe Jesus in the glory of the Transfiguration (see Matthew 17:2 and Luke 9:29) and applies it to His Virgin Mother, the tota pulchra (all–beautiful), the full of grace.

Our Lady in Advent
Advent is the Church’s Marian season par excellence. While, in popular piety, we associate the beautiful month of May and the month of October, dedicated to the Holy Rosary, with Our Blessed

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Support the monks of Silverstream Priory:

Situated amidst pasture land and forest in the eastern reaches of County Meath, Silverstream Priory was founded in 2012 at the invitation of the Most Reverend Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, and canonically erected as an autonomous monastery of diocesan right on 25 February 2017. The property belonged, from the early 15th century, to the Preston family, premier Viscounts of Ireland and Lords of Gormanston. In 1843 Thomas Preston (1817-1903), son of Jenico Preston, the 12th Viscount (1775-1860), built what today is Silverstream Priory.

Silverstream Priory is a providential realisation of the cherished project of Abbot Celestino Maria Colombo, O.S.B. (1874–1935), who, following the impetus given by Catherine–Mectilde de Bar in the 17th century, sought to establish a house of Benedictine monks committed to ceaseless prayer before the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in a spirit of reparation. The community of Silverstream Priory holding to the use of Latin and Gregorian Chant, celebrate the Divine Office in its traditional Benedictine form and Holy Mass in the “Usus Antiquior” of the Roman Rite. Praying and working in the enclosure of the monastery, the monks of Silverstream keep at heart the sanctification of priests labouring in the vineyard of the Lord. They undertake various works compatible with their monastic vocation, notably the development of the land and gardens, hospitality to the clergy in need of a spiritual respite, scholarly work, and publishing.

Donations for Silverstream Priory

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