The Prologue

“Therefore we intend to establish a school for the Lord’s service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. “

— Rule of Benedict, Prologue: 45-47

I’m not entirely sure what I intend to accomplish with this blog. Maybe I’ll post regularly and people will read this out of pity. Maybe I’ll post semi-regularly to appease the eager following that has developed around it. Maybe I’ll only post on occasion, nobody will read this, and it will be a space for me to scream into the void. Who is to say. 

For those of you who don’t know, the Benedictine Volunteer Corps is a program through Saint John’s University that lets recently-graduated seniors live, eat, pray, and do service in a Benedictine monastery for a year. Most of the monasteries are in exotic locations— Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Spain, Uganda, etc. I chose to spend these next few months in the exotic locale of Newark, NJ. 

The reason that I chose Newark wasn’t the location of the monastery, but rather the service I would be doing. The monastery here founded and runs Saint Benedict’s Prep, a private Catholic High School right here in the center of Newark. The school primarily serves minority students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and does it well— in a city with a graduation rate of 74%, SBP has a graduation rate of near-100%, with 98% of those students going to college, not bad in a city where almost 1/3rd of the population lives beneath the poverty line. 

tps://www.sbp.org/news/60minutes

After getting kicked out of the Marines for my lip tattoo, my life has been in a state of flux for awhile. I’ve done a few part-time jobs, most notably delivering packages part-time out of my Ford Ranger. While I certainly haven’t been miserable during my time in Bemidji, it wasn’t what I had planned for myself. Every so often I would have this surreal, out-of-body moment where I would stop and think “What am I doing? I was meant to be a Marine, and instead I’m doing this?”

I hope during my time in Newark that I will be able to put down roots and invest myself deeply. I’ll get some of the stability that I wanted, but living an entirely different life in an entirely different place also has its challenges, challenges that I will need to meet directly and with an open heart. Part of meeting those challenges will involve giving up control, which for those of you who know me well, will be difficult for me. 

I think Fr. Albert, O.S.B., put it well in his book Downtown Monks which is a collection of stories and reflections from over 30 years as master of novices the Newark Abbey:

“I confess that I’m not one who thrives on newness, spontaneity, or excitement. If it were up to me, I’d rather meet the Divine inside the narrow, predictable realm of what I can control and understand.” 

-Fr. Albert Holtz, O.S.B., Downtown Monks: A Benedictine Journey in the City. p. 17

Hopefully my time in Newark will teach me to lessen the tight grip of control I like to have on my life, and to open myself up to new possibilities. Who knows, I might even have some fun in the process.

Until next time,

Jack Barsody, Current United Parcel Service Personal Vehicle Driver