Loneliness. Discouragement. Exhaustion.
Those were some emotions experienced by Jared Plasberg, 23, during his recent cross-country run to raise awareness and funds for the Front Royal Pregnancy Center in Virginia.
Plasberg, who ran 3,204 miles from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida, said the trek helped him identify with the plight experienced by pregnant moms facing uncertain futures. Further testing his endurance was the fact that the young man pushed a baby stroller filled with 80 pounds of supplies during the 114-day run, which started in February and ended in June.
“Throughout the journey, I often thought about how many mothers face challenges and sacrifices that are far greater than anything I was experiencing on the road,” he said in an EWTN article. “Every day required making many decisions: where to sleep, where to find food, how to navigate the route, and how to stay safe.”
Plasberg, a distance runner and graduate of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, believes God is calling him to become a Carthusian monk. Rather than seeing his recent journey as the culmination of his mission, he views it as preparation for a vocation centered on prayer, silence and interceding for others.
“Life is so good, so precious,” he said. “This run is my way of carrying that reality across the country, step by step. It is about inviting others to walk with me in this journey by supporting the work that changes and protects lives.”
During college, Plasberg was active in a ministry that prayed outside abortion clinics and familiar with the work of nearby Front Royal Pregnancy Center.
“The pro-life cause is something dear to my heart because every human life has inherent dignity and worth,” he said in the EWTN article. “The run became a way for me to raise awareness and support for a ministry that walks alongside and supports these mothers.”
The Front Royal Pregnancy Center provides free, confidential pregnancy services, education and practical support for women facing unexpected pregnancies. The center offers compassionate care, pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, options consultations and ongoing resources, helping women make informed decisions.
Plasberg’s run offers a powerful picture of the loneliness many women experience when facing an unexpected pregnancy, while also pointing to the role pregnancy centers and local churches can play in ensuring they are not left to walk that road alone.
Care Net President and CEO Roland Warren has often framed the organization’s Pro Abundant Life Vision around a central question: If a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy came to you, and you could change everything except the fact that she was pregnant, what would you want for her?
The answer, Warren explained, goes beyond helping her have the baby. It includes the child’s father being involved, the family being connected to God and the local church becoming a place where they can grow as disciples.
“It’s linking God’s design for family to God’s call to discipleship,” Roland said.
As for Plasberg, his run was not about proving strength or seeking attention; rather it was about offering something costly to help moms and babies.
“I carried many intentions throughout the journey,” Plasberg told EWTN. “I prayed for mothers facing unexpected pregnancies, for the unborn, for the supporters and staff of the Front Royal Pregnancy Center, for my family and friends, and for all the people who entrusted me with their intentions along the way.”
In a social media post two days before he finished, Plasberg admitted feeling weak and discouraged, but found renewed strength through Mass and confession before finishing with peaceful miles on a Florida bike trail and a night under the stars.
“One lesson from today stood out. Jesus is closest to us in our weakest moments. He wants us to let Him into the most broken places of our hearts,” he said.
During and after college, Jared sensed God calling him to the contemplative life as a Carthusian monk at the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse in France. After a spiritual retreat, he completed the 500-mile Camino Francés pilgrimage in Spain while discerning that calling, a journey that preceded both his cross-country run for pregnant women and his decision to pursue monastic life.
“Through prayer, study, endurance challenges, and pilgrimages, I’ve come to believe that life is both beautiful and serious. Life is meant to be lived deliberately and offered generously,” he said.
“Our lives are given to be spent in love.”