Obituary of BROTHER JOHN BABICZ

Brother John Walter Babicz is one of the silent heroes who have populated our monastery since its inception, one of a long line of men who entered religious life, lived long, humble lives of prayer and work, with no appetite for publicity, and passed. Their monuments, however, are the legacy they leave of holiness and fidelity. Brother John Babicz was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up just across the Passaic River in Kearny. Both of his parents were Ukrainian Catholics. In early childhood, John lost his mother, and grew up in foster homes. He did not again live with his father until his sophomore year in high school. While his parents had been Eastern Rite Catholics, he and his family attended the local Latin Rite church. John, however, admitted that he felt no special attraction to religion, attending Mass only out of custom and obligation. Upon graduation from St. Stephen Parochial School, conducted by the Sisters of Charity, he attended Kearny High School from which he graduated in 1942. With the nation just six months into World War II, and with the outcome very much in doubt, the following September John Babicz enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps shortly after his nineteenth birthday. He served until November of 1945. Concerning his wartime experiences he remained steadfastly silent. He did admit to one questioner, however, that he had been scared many times, but never thought of praying. He experienced a kind of conversion, however, in 1949. While working at construction in Newark he began to attend an early morning Mass at St. Mary's Abbey Church. Father Gregory Schramm, pastor of the church, soon put him to work in the parish catechetical program. On one occasion Father Gregory brought him to the monastery in Morristown, and, as Brother John recalled, he literally almost never left. Brother John began his candidacy at Saint Mary's Abbey in Morristown on 24 November 1958. He entered the novitiate in Morristown and made his first profession of vows on 11 July of 1960, putting his carpentry, plumbing, and electrical skills to good use in the following years. Perpetual vows followed in 1963, and he professed solemn vows in 1968. At the time this was an innovation since up to that time so called "lay brothers" had not been offered the option of solemn profession with full participation in the monastic choir and chapter. In 1967 Brother John began to attend courses in water purification at the Newark College of Engineering and obtained certification to operate the waste water treatment plant which served the monastery and school at Delbarton. Testing to meet state requirements was constant, and Brother John fulfilled this highly responsible position for many decades until Morris Township extended its waste system to the area. Brother John then continued to maintain the pumping station at "the plant" as he called it until the day of his death. An amusing incident once occurred at the plant when Brother John decided to cultivate tomatoes in his spare time. Some busybody spotted the developing plants, concluded they were marijuana, and called the police. Brother John, however, was able to escape his brush with the law. By coincidence, for years he served as incense bearer, performing that smoky role at major liturgical functions with gusto and skill. Brother John was also a skilled barber who served the tonsorial needs of a number of the members of the community over the years. Brother John was a man of silence and profound and constant prayer, faithful to the monastic hours, but also deeply devoted to private prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He read deeply of the great mystics and the classics of the life of the spirit such as St. Teresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross, as well as the more modern masters. He was a man of firm opinions and of a markedly conservative bent, but enjoyed the interplay of ideas with "the enemy." He always had a theological issue to discuss and an opinion to offer on the news of the day. Brother John had suffered from heart disease in the past, and in recent years often had to rest on strategically placed chairs in monastery corridors. His entrance into eternal union with the Lord occurred just as he was entering the Abbey Church in preparation for Vigils. The time and place of his passing could not have been more appropriate. Arrangements are pending.