[ On March 27: Walking fast towards the
rough-necks in the oil field, this nun
proclaimed, " Just call me sister! " ]
After a Life of Devilish Attacks and Walks
Down Aimless Rabbit Trails, He Sat
In a Church's Front Pew For Ten Years
A Report By Robert R. Schwarz
This report was written originally in November
of 2010. A 2022 update of Brad's life appears
at the end.
Though he's been sitting in that front pew for more than 10 years, chances are many worshippers in the back of the church have never met him nor know his name. He's known by some as that broad-shoulder, six-foot-two man who sits almost motionless with his attention fixed on the looming Christ figure behind the altar. He arrives before anyone else for the 7:30 a.m. mass and, for ten-- sometimes fifteen--minutes, remains a solitary figure in the early dawn light.
Monday through Friday in . James Catholic church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, you'll see him in that front pew, praying and reading his "Magnificat" booklet. People wonder—but never seem to ask—what life journey this man has trekked and continues to trek.
Talking to Brad Jenkins, I learned that his journey has been a lifetime of searching for--as he says-- truth and love, a journey not without devilish attacks and perilous walks down rabbit trails leading nowhere. Mr. Jenkins says he is to spiritual combat.
Describing himself as a once "poorly catechized cradle Catholic," Brad was born into a love of music, to a father who was a trombonist with the Stan Kenton and Louis Prima bands, and to a mother classically trained to sing opera so well that her operatic singing in church embarrassed her son. “And , at home, all the neighbors would hear her," Brad reminisced with a chuckle. At age 14, he formed his own rock'n’roll band and was singing melodies and playing bass guitar with a latent professionalism which one day would bring him gig after gig in northwest Cook County.
In 1969, Brad and family moved from St. Louis to nearby Crystal Lake and later, to Arlington Heights where soon, he said, “I was dabbling in things I shouldn't have”. He experimented in drugs ( no arrests, he said ) and got "things sort of messed up" by getting too deep into Eastern religions and human evolution and by reading New Age books, including one on astral travel. “I was a truth seeker," he said. “I always wanted to know the truth. I knew there was more than just this life I was living. "
At age 23, Brad married. Two children followed: Katy, now a 27-year-old actress living in Manhattan, New York, and John, 24, studying to be a lawyer. “My wife was Catholic, too, but neither of us wanted anything to do with the church. We never really had much of a faith life." Seventeen years later, the couple was divorced over "irreconcilable differences” which, Brad points out, had a lot to do with money. "When you don't have Christ in the picture, things fall apart,” he admitted.
Towards the end of the marriage, Brad started to attend mass at St. James. He was also attending the Willow Creek Community church in South Barrington , Illinois ( he still thinks it's got some of the very best contemporary church music ), the Moody Bible Institute ( which ostensibly appealed to his charismatic sense ), and Promise Keeper rallies years ago. This rally, which was a national Protestant event , inspired him to join—and later help facilitate--a Saturday morning men's faith group at St. James.
His Goal Is Love and Truth
But Brad, like the ancient Hebrews fresh out of bondage, had a long trek ahead before reaching his River Jordan. "My goal of knowing truth and love remained.” It would occur to him later that the essence of his goal lay in Jesus Christ.
Brad and Bonnie
Not only did Brad discover he had to put on that full armor of God—which included prayer and Bible study—if he was to ward off the flesh, world, and devil, but that he also had to surrender something if he was to survive spiritually.
This "something"—the “Big One", Brad calls it-- occurred one night in a grove of Oak trees outside the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington. Preoccupied with his pending divorce, Brad approached a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary and knelt. “She just came alive," Brad recalled. “I poured out my heart to her. It was at that moment, when I completely surrendered my will, that the door was opened. My shell was broken. It was through this brokenness that the Holy Mother allowed me to come in and lead me to her Son."
Brad soon settled his 230 pounds in that front St. James pew on weekday mornings and on Sundays, with his children and new wife, Bonnie, a high school special education aide he had met through mutual friends. " It was the Eucharist that brought me back into the church," he said with passion. He said that for the first time he was believing in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. “This was the ‘something’ that had been missing in my faith life," he said. “I saw that the church is Jesus and without Him, the whole thing would fall apart.”
Brad continued to voice his thoughts to me, referring to Christ's words which proclaim that whenever two or three people come together in Christ's name, He is in their midst. “You can pray the Rosary by yourself but it doesn't have the power like when you say it with another person or group. You know, the wolf attacks the stray sheep."
Asked if he believed that he had now crossed his Red Sea ( as the freedom-seeking ancient Hebrew had ) and that maybe his exodus trek had ended, Brad paused, took off his glasses and thoughtfully moved a finger across his bearded chin. "You know, everyday is a constant barrage. I put on that full amour of God all the time. I go to confession once a week, and if I don't, [ wrong] things just start to happen. "
Over a McDonald's breakfast, I asked him how he copes with that so-called "favorite" sin we're all prone to repeating despite resolutions and promises. Brad put down his coffee and sighed. "Well, you just go to confession and pick yourself up and start again.” He quickly added: "The act of going to confession doesn't automatically make everything all right. But it gives us the grace to change. Without God's grace, you're going to repeat that sin over and over again."
We talked about Brad's move at the end of 2010 to Austin, Texas, where he and his wife would eventually retire. It's a move he and Bonnie have prayerfully considered. Why Austin? Most importantly, he explained, "the region’s climate will be healthful for Bonnie’s rheumatoid arthritis. Then, there's the national economy, which is much better there than around the Chicago area ." He'll be working for a large national firm, selling insurance to seniors. Bonnie and he also have friends in Austin. And it's no small bonus that Austin, according to Brad, is the world's music capitol, where Brad, of course, will be contributing his share of music. He's also visibly excited about the reverence he perceives exists among Austin's Catholic community; he plans to introduce himself to the bishop there as a first step in re-activating his St. James ministries of facilitating faith groups and leading the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. These parting words came from a Eucharistic Minister who has worked with Brad for years: "He's been a wonderful fixture, and we're going to miss him.”
Our conversation closed with his thoughts about wife Bonnie: “She makes me happy. She makes me smile." Brad intoned the words as if they were a lyric from a favorite song of his.
In March of 2022, Brad emailed me this brief update of his life ( After Brad had left for Austin, Bonnie remained another six months in Chicago to receive her tenure as a teacher .
" I asked my Guardian
Angel to protect her while I was gone. She called me soon after and asked me if
I was praying for something. I said yes, I prayed for my Guardian Angel to
protect you while I was gone. She said: Well he’s right here in bed with me!
She said she felt a big thump and the bed sank. She thought I had gotten back
into bed but when she looked I wasn’t there. I knew then the Lord was with us.
It was a complete leap of Faith and a bit scary but we both knew this was God’s
plan for us I drove straight through to Austin... I soon began a
brand new career as an Insurance Agent specializing in Medicare Supplement
Insurance which has proven to be a perfect fit for me helping seniors and
disabled.
"One day, I received a
call from our old neighbor's son Danny. They were a Jewish family who had also moved near Austin. Danny asked if he could
come over and talk to me about the Catholic faith. Of course I agreed. When Danny
arrived I began to explain to him that his introduction to the Catholic would occur at St Williams Catholic Church in Round Rock , Texas. I was not
familiar with that church , and when I first arrived there I was amazed at the sheer size of its campus. When I walked in , I was immediately filled
with the Holy Spirit. I knew the Lord had led me to our future Parish...
"To make a long story short, the
Lord had made our paths straight. All we had to do now was have Faith and Trust in Him. "
THE END
©2010, 2011, 2013, 2022 Robert R. Schwarz
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