Have faith in the light

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Homily, Third Day of Retreat to Priests of the Diocese of Galway
Knock Shrine, Co Mayo
Wednesday, 10 May 2017

If a man believes in me, it is in him who sent me, not in me, that he believes; to see me is to see him who sent me. (John 12:44)

We continue, day after day, to read the Fourth Gospel, and we shall do so until Pentecost. It is the Gospel of the Father. Everything in the Fourth Gospel, from the first page to the last, draws us forward, by faith, into the bosom of the Father, in sinu Patris, and this, in fulfilment of the priestly prayer of the Son:

This, Father, is my desire, that all those whom thou hast entrusted to me may be with me where I am. (John 17:24)

It is by the gift of faith that the Father, through the Son, and by the secret operations of the the Holy Spirit, draws us to Himself. How can I not recall here the experience of Saint Ignatius of Antioch: “There is within me a water that lives

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And then your hearts will be glad

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

Homily, Second Day of Retreat to Priests of the Diocese of Galway
Knock Shrine, Co Mayo
Tuesday, 9 May 2017

The Collect of the Mass on any given day is a pure distillation of the Church’s prayer. The Collect of the day is nothing less than the Holy Spirit “helping us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Romans 8:26). The Collect of the day is the Church articulating for us those “sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26) by which the Holy Spirit himself intercedes for us, filling us with the prayer of Christ.

The Collect of the Mass, like the Prayer Over the Oblations and the Postcommunion, is given us not only as the form of our prayer but also as a lesson in the school of prayer. If you would learn how to pray rightly, if you would pray in a manner thoroughly Catholic and priestly, if you would pray “as the Holy Spirit gives utterance” (cf. Acts 2:4), then pay attention to the Collect. Learn from the Collect of every

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Compunction

Monday, 8 May 2017

Homily, First Day of Retreat to Priests of the Diocese of Galway
Knock Shrine, Co Mayo
Monday, 8 May 2017

Having heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying: God then hath also to the Gentiles given repentance unto life. (Acts 11:18)

These words, given us on the first day of our retreat, fill me with an immense hope: the God who grants repentance unto life — pœnitentiam dedit Deus ad vitam — even to the pagans, that is, to those who did not see it coming, will not refuse the same grace of repentance to you, dear Fathers, and to me today. God would have us begin this retreat in compunction of heart. An old–fashioned word— compunction — you may think, but one that expresses perfectly the grace without which there would be no reason to continue this retreat. Ask then today, without delay, for the grace of compunction, repentance unto life, pœnitentiam ad vitam.

Repentance is not something that we produce in ourselves. It is not an emotion that we wring out ourselves by morbid introspection. Certain discourses

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Podcastus Redivivus!

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Father Subprior has resurrected the Silverstream Priory Podcast, and hopes that, God willing, his workload will allow him to update it regularly. He will, when possible, post the homilies for Sundays and major Feasts, as well as some of Father Prior’s chapter talks. Have a listen!

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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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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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