The Monastic Intern

The Easter Mystery

“The fourth step of humility is that in this obedience under difficult, unfavorable, or even unjust conditions, his heart quietly embraces suffering and endures it without weakening or seeking escape.”
—The Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 6

We are right in the middle of what is (or at least what SHOULD be) the strangest Easter season in our memories. Instead of spending these past few weeks outside or with friends and family, we’ve instead spent them sheltering in our homes, with no sign of things letting up soon.

I haven’t set foot outside this monastery in 47 days, but who is really counting?

Solemn-er Vows

“No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else. To their fellow monks they show the pure love of brothers; to God, loving fear; to their abbot, unfeigned and humble love. Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.”
–Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 72

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the solemn profession of monastic vows for two of Newark Abbey’s members: Br. Simon and Br. Asiel. Both men have lived as monks in this monastery for several years, first as postulants (candidates for monastic life), then novices (“new” or “beginner” monks), then for a few years in their simple vows. The final step in becoming fully professed members of the monastery is solemn vows– pledging to remain in the monastery and remain a member of the community for the rest of your life.

Life in Lockdown

“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.

Everyone smile and say “at-risk demographic”!!!

Lessons From the Leahy House

It’s no palace, but it still beats most freshman dorms!

“All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matthew 25:35)
-The Rule of Benedict, Ch. 53

The Leahy House is a residence hall on the grounds that houses international students, visiting students, and most notably local students who don’t have anywhere else to go. The Leahy House is one of my favorite aspects of Benedict’s, especially because of the organized chaos– imagine what a residence hall filled with 70+ teenage boys looks like. The Leahy House is also where to find some of the most driven, kind, and compassionate young men on this campus.

Lenten Reflection

“The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and wash away in this holy season the negligence of other times.”
-Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 49

**Below is a Lenten reflection I was asked to give during Convocation this morning**

My Schedule

“Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading.”
–The Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 48

Some people have been asking what my daily schedule has been like. If you haven’t been asking, well too bad. I’m going to tell you because this is MY blog that you WILLINGLY clicked on.

Memento Mori

“Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.”
–The Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 4

The past few months have been rough here on the SBP community. This past December, a beloved alumni, coach, and teacher passed away at the age of 29 after a long battle with cancer, shaking the community deeply. While I never got to meet him, I could tell that his passing had a deep impact on the students and staff here.

On January 23rd, Bill Petrick, a freshman english teacher that taught at St. Benedict’s for decades passed away suddenly on his way to school that morning. I hadn’t known Bill for very long, but Bill and I were in charge of a Group (combination homeroom/leadership class the students have every day) together. As the main freshman English teacher, every student in the school has taken one of his classes at some point, and the loss has been deeply felt for weeks now.

On Community

Obedience is a blessing to be shown by all, not only to the abbot but also to one another as brothers, since we know that it is by this way of obedience that we go to God.
–Rule of Saint Benedict, Ch. 71

So, after spending approximately one week in a monastery, I know that I am certainly not qualified to make any judgements on it, especially considering that there are men who have spent 50+ years here. However, I have found that being here has given me an interesting view on what community is, and the myriad of ways it can affect a person.

The First 48 Hours

Do not grant newcomers to the monastic life an easy entry, but, as the Apostle says, Test the spirits to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1)
-Rule of Benedict Ch.58

To begin, my journey to Newark in the first place was a little rocky. After taking the 5am flight from Bemidji International Airport (yes, that is a real airport) to MSP, I spent a day saying goodbye to friends. That night, we all got together for a joint going-away party/birthday celebration for a friend. I was reluctant to utter the term “going-away party”, because last time I had one of those was when I left for the Marines, and we all know how that turned out.

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.