Silence, Contemplation, and Non-Being – Fr. Ephrem Reese O.P.
The Thomistic Institute
The Thomistic Institute
4.8 • 873 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
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Summary
Fr. Ephrem Reese argues that silence is not mere absence but a fertile, hidden potency through which contemplation, devotion, and the word of God can come to life.
This lecture was given on November 8th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.
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About the Speakers:
Fr. Ephrem Reese was born in Harrisburg, PA, and has family in Philadelphia, New Jersey and California. He received a BA from St John’s College in Annapolis, MD in 2010, and was confirmed in the Catholic Church at that year’s Easter Vigil. He lived for a year in DC, a few blocks from the Dominican House of Studies, and attended the nearby parish, St Anthony of Padua. While in DC, he was an intern for Pax Christi USA, promoting Just War teaching. “Dominican life has finally given me a picture of what it means for my own soul to be saved. This is a joy worth preaching: loving Jesus Christ, united with the Brethren in one heart and mind.”
Keywords: Contemplation, Devotion, Grace, Hiddenness, Non-Being, Prayer, Silence, Thomism, Womb, Word Of God
Transcript
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| 1:01.4 | I'm going to begin with a passage from the prophet Jeremiah, and then St. Thomas' comment |
| 1:07.6 | on it, which is basically just he quotes various other places in the |
| 1:12.6 | scripture, and then we'll pray, especially to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose silence is our |
| 1:18.6 | example, our model, of faithful openness to the Lord. |
| 1:23.6 | In the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
| 1:30.4 | Why shall we sit? |
| 1:35.4 | Come and let us go into the fortified city and be silent there. |
| 1:38.7 | Because the Lord our God has made us silent and has given us water of gall to drink, for we have sinned against the Lord. |
| 1:46.4 | Silence has many senses. |
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