Vestition of Brother John Baptist

Monday, 1 May 2017

This morning in the Chapter room of Silverstream Priory, Mr Joseph DeCant, a native of Toledo, Ohio, received the habit of Saint Benedict and officially began his monastic journey, receiving the name Brother John Baptist. The noviciate of Silverstream now numbers four men (see the photo above) representing Denmark, Australia, Missouri, and Ohio. Father Prior gave the following sermon:

My dear son, last evening at Vespers we sang the Magnificat Antiphon for the holy Apostles Philip and James: one of the loveliest and one of the most comforting of the whole year:

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many mansions. Alleluia, alleluia.

I took this liturgical word as the message Our Lord would have me address to you today. In the course of our conversations, you shared with me that you have learned that whenever God speaks to a soul, it is to encourage that soul. Yes, it is true. Our Lord comforts the weak man and gives strength to the weary man. You have searched long, dear

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Tanto Tempore Vobiscum Sum

Monday, 1 May 2017

Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Today’s Office Antiphons
There is no doubt that the antiphons given in the Divine Office for the feast of Saints Philip and James are among the most beautiful of the Paschaltide liturgy. If you have an Antiphonale, open it and sing them! The Church takes the dialogue of the Gospel and, with an artistry inspired by the Holy Ghost, presents it anew in a series of antiphons interwoven with alleluias:

Domine, Ostende Nobis Patrem
The first antiphon is Philip’s bold request: “Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us, alleluia” (John 14:8). Philip’s prayer echoes that of Moses in the book of Exodus: “I pray thee, show me thy glory” (Exodus 33:18).

Et Non Cognovistis Me?
The second antiphon is a poignant complaint of the Heart of Christ. It is addressed not to Philip alone, but also to each of us: “Have I been so long a time with you, and you have not known Me? Philip, he who sees Me sees also My Father, alleluia” (John 14:9).

Qui Videt Me
The third

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Go to Joseph

Monday, 1 May 2017

holy_fam.jpgGo to Joseph in thy joys, thou wilt rejoice the more.
Go to Joseph in thy grief, when death knocks at thy door.
Go to Joseph no matter when, thy refuge he will be.
He holds the key to Jesus’ Heart, Its treasures are for thee!

Saint Joseph in May
The month of May begins, in many places, with a feast of Saint Joseph. It is significant that the commemoration of Saint Joseph both precedes and follows the heart of the whole liturgical year: the glorious Pasch of the Lord. We celebrated Saint Joseph on March 19th; he returns to us again today.

Saint Joseph is never far from the Blessed Virgin Mary, his immaculate spouse and, yes, his best friend, the friend of his heart, the love of his life, the unfailing cause of his joy in the midst of anxieties, hardship, and sorrow. Saint Joseph participated intimately in all those sorrows of hers that announced and prefigured the mysteries of Christ’s passion, death, and burial: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of

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A Letter to Alessandro

Friday, 28 April 2017

0815assunta est .jpg
A young man asked if I might reflect with him on the practice of Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, following the doctrine of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. I remembered having written this little reflection in the form of a letter for Alessandro — who has since become a monk! — and thought that I would post it again. I trust that the young seeker will also find it helpful.

14 August 2009
Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, priest and martyr
Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Alessandro,

With your characteristic candor and enthusiasm, you asked me a few days ago about the various ways of consecrating oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary. You referred, in particular, to Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s plan for total consecration to Mary, and to the Act of Consecration composed by today’s Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe. I prayed this morning about your question and found myself reflecting on the meaning of consecration. You know, of course, that Pope John Paul II proposed

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Et noli esse incrédulus, sed fidélis

Sunday, 23 April 2017

Divine%20Mercy.jpgHaec est dies quam fecit Dominus
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!” (Psalm 117:24). For eight days already we have celebrated a single day: the perfect and unending Day of the Risen Christ, the great and glorious Pasch of the Lord! For eight days now the splendour of “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” (Apocalypse 1:8) has flooded the Church with light and joy.

Quasimodo Sunday
In the early Church, the newly-baptized would conclude their week-long celebration of new life by putting aside the white garments received at Baptism. And Mother Church, addressing herself to them, sings in today’s introit: “As you are new-born children, all your craving must be for the pure milk of the spirit so that you may thrive upon it to the health of your souls” (1 Peter 2:2). Today’s glorious Introit is a key text for us. It unlocks all the rest. It is the voice of a Mother addressing her newborn infants. So important is this text that today is known as Quasimodo Sunday, from the

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Founded in 2012 in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland, and canonically erected in 2017, Silverstream Priory is a house of monks living under the Rule of Saint Benedict. The monastery is under the patronage of Our Lady of the Cenacle. The monks of Silverstream Priory holding to the use of Latin and Gregorian Chant, celebrate the “Opus Dei” (Work of God, the sacred Liturgy) in its traditional Benedictine form and Holy Mass in the “Usus Antiquior” (Extraordinary Form) of the Roman Rite. As Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration, they aspire to assure ceaseless prayer before the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in a spirit of reparation. Praying and working in the enclosure of the monastery, the monks of Silverstream offer their life for the sanctification of priests labouring in the vineyard of the Lord. They undertake various works compatible with their monastic vocation, notably hospitality to the clergy in need of a spiritual respite, and a publishing house, the Cenacle Press.

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