“They no longer live by their own judgment, given in to their whims and appetites; rather they walk according to another’s decisions and directions, choosing to live in monasteries and to have an abbot over them. Men of this resolve unquestionably conform to the saying of the Lord: I have come not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).”
-The Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 5
So, the unanticipated effect of this coronavirus is that everyone is spending more time indoors, in silence, isolated with whoever lives in their home.
In short, minus living with 10 men older than 65, you are all now living a life *similar* to the one I signed up to do a few months ago.
All jokes aside, there are few areas of life left untouched by this. I don’t need to delve into too many details that we all know, but what I find most eerie about this entire situation is the fact that modern life has stopped– for the first time in anyone’s memory. Sports games, Broadway, restaurants, movie theaters, and any other public gathering space has been closed. Some of the busiest places in the busiest cities in the world are empty. The pace of modern life is relentless, always moving faster and never EVER stopping. For something to bring that relentless pace to a grinding halt not just regionally but globally is a shock.
After doing some travelling to Boston for the weekend, I find myself double-quarantined. Not only am I not allowed outside of the monastery grounds, but also limiting my contact with other community members, and avoiding meals and prayers. Being an introvert was fun for about two days, but now it’s getting a little old. However, I understand the caution– the demographic I live with are the exact people you DON’T want to get the ‘ronavirus, and while I’ll get to attend monastic Solemn Vows before I leave, I would prefer to not attend any monastic funerals.
Life in the monastery hasn’t changed too much since the social distancing measures were taken. The biggest change is that the campus is entirely locked down– in the span of about three days, we had to figure out how to figure out how to teach several hundred middle school and high school students entirely online. The decision to close down school wasn’t an easy one, especially since a lot of our students come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, making finding a quiet place with a reliable internet connection to study very difficult.
The service we decided on was using Google Meet three days per week, an online meeting app. So far it has worked pretty well, with the only downside being that nobody is in “control” of the meeting. Meaning that students can mute or boot-out anybody. Including the teacher. While it is a little awkward to use for teaching and discussions, most students use it well. Most.
On the first day of classes, one troublesome freshman (let’s call him “Kanye”) decided that rather than going to his “class”, he spent the day at home logging into random other Saint Benedict’s Prep classes, muting people, yelling, and causing havoc before booting-out the teacher and moving on to his next victims. Pure anarchy.
Besides the lack of students, life in the monastery remains much the same. To me, that’s comforting. No matter what happens outside, the monks (and volunteers!) will be in here. Living, hoping, and fervently praying for everyone, both inside and out.
Oh, and while most people are returning home from travel and school to be quarantined there, I think I’m going to stick around here for a few months. With good food, the only masses being celebrated anywhere, and some room to roam, a monastery isn’t the WORST place to be quarantined. Sorry, Mom.
Stay safe and healthy,
Jack Barsody
The Monastic Intern 