Friday, January 14, 2022

Cenacle Press Website of Silverstream Priory

Last summer, Silverstream Priory in Ireland launched a new website for its online store. Readers of NLM will no doubt be interested in exploring the Cenacle Press, a well-stocked and thoughtfully put-together site. If not quite a “one-stop trad shop,” it’s getting close, with hundreds of products including both Catholic books from dozens of publishers and handmade items from the monks themselves.

Venerable Bede’s Rosaries
First off, the excellent rosaries must be mentioned. Prayerfully handcrafted by the monks of Silverstream with high-quality cords, beads, and crucifixes, their popularity and quality are attested by the customer reviews. The full selection can be found here.
 

Not only do they offer some elegant rosaries made with semi-precious stones, like African Turquoise, Pink Quartz, Blue Sodalite (pictured below) or Connemara Marble…
 

…but also sturdy rosaries like their military paracord rosary made with gunmetal beads. It is featured in the recently released video below, in which a monk explains the ‘catechetical knot’ in this rosary:
 
Books
Although many of the books stocked by Cenacle Press can be found elsewhere, the monks have selected favorite titles from a wide variety of publishers to create a rich catalogue of only the best books. For example, their Divine Office collection is one of the most complete for any single site, while the Saints category draws a multitude of sources into one place. They stock most of the books available in English about Abbot Gueranger and Solesmes, as well as Blessed Columba Marmion (note that Cenacle Press plans to republish Christ the Ideal of the Monk later this year in honor of the 100th centenary of Dom Marmion’s death).
 

For those interested in Mother Mectilde of the Blessed Sacrament, who initiated the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the 1600s, the monks have a little book of her quotations to accompany the Rosary: Vidi Speciosam. They also carry two other books about Mother Mectilde which have been released so far from Angelico Press, The Mystery of Incomprehensible Love, an introductory presentation of her life and writings, and The Breviary of Fire, a collection of some of her letters of spiritual direction.

For European customers, Silverstream is an ideal source of books published in America that are not always easy to come by, such as the St. Andrew’s Missal, and titles from Loreto Publications and from Baronius Press, which continues to have a limited international distribution post-Brexit.

Mugs and Shirts
There are also some delightful ceramic mugs and apparel designed by the monks, including matching mugs of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica.
 
Cards
The monks also produce prayer cards, which can be bought singly or in bulk quantities. Cenacle Press offers printed items (including a Prayers at the Foot of the Altar card), and greeting cards for sacramental occasions like Baptism and Ordinations, as well as blank greeting cards and scriptural cards in a neo-Celtic style.
 
Calendar
Finally. each year the monastery produces a lavish wall calendar featuring scenes of monastic life, with the usual traditional Roman liturgical dates plus feastdays specific to the monks (noted in a different color). The 2022 calendar is the fullest and most colorful yet, and even though we are half-way through January, it would still make a worthwhile gift or gift-to-self.
 
 
Other Items
They also stock a wide variety of St. Benedict Medals and a living room Incense Kit that has excellent reviews. They also carry a unique hand-carved Jesus King of Love statue, available in various sizes.
 
International Service
Given the difficulties caused by Brexit, it is a great boon to Catholics in the EU to be able to find many of the items stocked by Silverstream in Ireland. The Cenacle Press has international shipping service with DHL Express. DHL is very fast and secure, and the rates Silverstream has allow you to purchase quite a lot of items for a reasonable charge. For example, you can get half a dozen books, some rosaries, and prayer cards shipped to you in the US with DHL (normally it takes two or three days) for under €30 shipping!

*  *  *
As the monks celebrate the tenth anniversary of their Priory’s foundation this year, why not support them as they continue to grow and bear witness to the perennial vitality of traditional monastic life? However hidden and unknown it may be, Silverstream Priory has a unique place in the Church as a hearth of prayer dedicated to adoration and reparation to the Most Blessed Sacrament and for the sanctification of priests.

The more you patronize their shop, the more they will be able to develop it and increase their selection (and finish their candle-making workshop, currently under construction)! You can find out more about their monastery on the Priory’s website: www.cenacleosb.org.

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