CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Prayer, reparation, and praising God are the focus of a new Benedictine priory in Ireland, which focuses especially on reparation for the sins of priests.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was never our predetermined plan to come to Ireland,\u201d Silverstream Priory\u2019s Father Benedict Andersen, O.S.B., told CNA. \u201cBut we believe that, through circumstances that we could never have foreseen, Divine Providence placed us here to play some sort of role, however modest, in the life of the Irish Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silverstream Priory is the home of the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.<\/p>\n
The priory is a former residence of the Visitation Sisters in Stamullen, a village about 22 miles north of Dublin. It is believed to be the first monastery established in Ireland\u2019s County Meath since King Henry VIII suppressed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Reformation, which was ruthlessly enforced in Ireland, dealt a near fatal blow to the monastic life, and it almost seems as if certain contemporary forces and trends are conspiring to finish it off completely,\u201d said Father Benedict, who hails from Colorado.<\/p>\n
There are many Americans at the priory. The prior, Dom Mark Daniel Kirby, is from Connecticut. Tulsa, Okla. native Dom Elijah Carroll also comes from the U.S. The priory has a postulant from Toledo, Ohio and a priest from the Archdiocese of St. Louis. One member is from County Meath, while one novice is from Australia and another from Denmark.<\/p>\n
According to Father Benedict, one of the glories of the Benedictine order is that their sole reason for existence is \u201cthe lifelong search for God in separation from the world, and the perpetual praise of God in the Sacred Liturgy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The monk himself was baptized Catholic as an infant in 1980. Both his parents came from very large Catholic families, but for various reasons they became estranged from the Church and began practicing an Evangelical, charismatic form of Christianity.<\/p>\n
In his own words, Father Benedict \u201crebelled\u201d against this upbringing by seeking the depths of ancient Christianity. He became an Orthodox Christian for his twenties and studied at an Orthodox seminary. He returned to full communion with the Church \u201cas a positive desire to be in full communion with the principal Petrine See, \u2018Old Rome\u2019 (as the Orthodox call it), the Church of my baptism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dom Kirby and Father Benedict moved to Ireland in 2012 as the only members of their Benedictine community, which began in Tulsa, Okla.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must say that we have been received very well, from the very beginning until now,\u201d Father Benedict said. \u201cWhile there are of course major differences, I feel very much at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Father Benedict\u2019s eyes, contemporary Irish culture is heavily Americanized, \u201csometimes for good but increasingly, I\u2019m afraid, for the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n
The monk sees an \u201cimmense cultural shift\u201d following the unprecedented success of the Irish economy in the 1990s. He suggested this success \u201chad the downside of greatly accelerating the decay of Irish Catholic faith and practice since the Second Vatican Council.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201chorrors\u201d of Ireland\u2019s sexual abuse scandals by clergy gave an \u201cincalculable blow\u201d to the Church\u2019s credibility, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis island was once dotted from east to west, north to south, with monasteries. The heartbeat of the Irish people was the heartbeat of the monastic round of prayer,\u201d Father Benedict said.<\/p>\n
Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s 2010 Letter to the Catholics in Ireland noted the role of monasteries in promoting Eucharistic Adoration and their ability to revitalize priestly life through retreats.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have, as it were, our marching orders from the Holy See, and while we cannot physically leave the cloister, we are dedicated to an unseen, spiritual battle for the soul of this country, and specifically for its priests,\u201d Father Benedict said.<\/p>\n
The monks dedicate their time and energies to prayer, Mass and the eight hours of the Divine Office.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur approach to the faith and the spiritual life relies to a great extent on our study of the Scriptures (particularly the Psalter) and the Church Fathers, both Eastern and Western,\u201d the monk explained. \u201cOur monastic customs are thoroughly traditional, yet we are always aware of St. Benedict\u2019s spirit of moderation and adaptation to various circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Benedictines of Silverstream Priory have adopted the charism of Mother Catherine-Mectilde de Bar, who founded the Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration in the 17th century.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother Mectilde established her particular Benedictine family to adore the Blessed Eucharist in a spirit of reparation for offenses and abuses committed against the Sacrament of Christ\u2019s love,\u201d Father Benedict said. \u201cAs monks, however, we have a particular focus on reparation for the sins of priests which, especially of late, have so disfigured the Face of Christ in the eyes of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of weakness and defeat, and yes, even sin and infidelity, can come power and victory,\u201d he continued. \u201cMay God hold our country close once again to his Sacred Heart, beating in the Sacred Host.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Michael Smith of Meath presided at the monastery\u2019s canonical establishment earlier this year, saying he was \u201cdelighted to recognize the unique presence of this new monastery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough their prayer, study and hospitality, the monks are \u2018speaking to the heart\u2019 and their quiet witness is a reminder that the Lord continues to provide the Church with new gifts and grace,\u201d the bishop said, the newspaper The Irish Catholic reports.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on CNA March 17, 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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Dublin, Ireland, Oct 24, 2017 \/ 03:11 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Prayer, reparation, and praising God are the focus of a new Benedictine priory in Ireland, which focuses especially on reparation for the sins of priests.<\/p>\n
“It was never our predetermined…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\n
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