“I felt a call to a life of contemplation and solitude, but there’s no place for a non-Catholic to go for that,” Beckett said. “I often ask myself how a Protestant married pastor with two kids ends up with celibate Roman Catholics. It’s too weird. I would never have drawn this map, but it’s the right thing for me.”
His wife, Suzanne, said, “At first, I felt it was pretty weird. Coming from a strict spiritual background, I don’t think I quite understood what he was doing. But I’m OK with it. I’m starting to slow down and I’m becoming more and more contemplative too.”
Father Cyprian Harrison of the Assumption Abbey in Ava, Mo., where Beckett took his vows, explained that the abbey has different stages of involvement for individuals of different life situations who still seek the spiritual center a life of religious contemplation can provide. Beckett took vows to become a family brother, just one step from being a full-fledged monk.
“It basically means he promises to live via monastic spirituality as well as he can in his own situation,” Harrison said.
“It’s vital he doesn’t alienate himself from his own family,” Harrison said. “The vows are about working to integrate your prayer vocation with a family vocation.”
Beckett, 49, grew up in Sandusky. He received a doctorate in theology from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton. He was a Methodist minister for many years but also began visiting abbeys and places of solitude. Eventually, he began studying at the Assumption Abbey, where he took his vows.
One of the vows was chastity, which Beckett said he interpreted differently than the traditional monk.
“To me it means remaining faithful to my calling, as a husband and father and person of prayer,” Beckett said.
Beckett’s schedule includes several prayer sessions throughout the day — starting at midnight and ending around 9 p.m. in his 10-by-5 shelter behind his home.
The room is adorned with several articles of faith from a variety of religions including a crucifix, pictures of Jesus and even a Buddha.
“I get texts and e-mails, even from people I don’t know, asking me to pray for things,” Beckett said. “That’s the most meaningful thing I do — stand in the gap for people who are struggling.”
Beckett said there is a whole network of “hermits in the world” who are called to spend time in prayer and solitude without being totally removed from society.
Harrison said the Assumption Abbey has one other family brother like Beckett, with three others in the process of taking their vows.
There also are several other men who have taken a lesser commitment to the abbey.
“I hope its comforting to people,” Beckett said. “We’re holding the world together by being out in the woods praying.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
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