These latter were besides themselves for agitation and anger, and put the most shameless articles and complaints in the papers. Meanwhile, brother Martin arrived safely at Gethsemane, was received kindly by everyone; and although he was already past sixty years old, he nonetheless dug into the strenuous way of life eagerly and felt uncommonly fortunate among these monks. As the Reverend Abbot wrote me that silence was the most difficult piece of work for him, a genuine Swabian; still he observed it conscientiously, and only when he met with his superiors did he, to some degree, take some relief. His fervent devotion edified everyone, especially when they saw him saying the Stations of the Cross, which he did with very special piety and amid tears.
Still it seems that God was soon satisfied with his good will for, already after nine months, he called him from his difficult penance. After he was able to receive only the last anointing, he died amid the prayers of his confreres and in the arms of the Reverend Abbot from a cold that he got from a drink that he took when it was very hot. Men who had grown grey in the order and in penance would gladly have traded places with him, so confident were all of his eternal salvation.
Dear brother Martin had become so attached to me that he could not talk about me without shedding tears, as the abbot wrote me. His wife has much of our own dear mother about her and is almost as devout and pious. So, we see that the arm of God is not yet shortened, but invites to penance all those who merely admit their mistakes with sincerity and go to confession honestly, and persevere in doing penance.
Oh, my dear sister, if only all sinners knew the riches of God’s mercy, how easily could they still attain eternal life. The sad condition of Mr. Paul Schmidt moved me deeply to the heart. Oh, may he see that he has sinned, and that God has humbled him so out of mercy and thus has constrained him to do penance. If only he understood it in this way and made good use of it.
Today it’s already October 2, and I cannot stay with my writing. Therefore, dearest sister, excuse also the script of the writer.
One of the eight newly ordained priests today read his first Holy Mass. The others celebrated it either in Baltimore, New York, or Philadelphia. The name of the one who celebrated here is Wilhelm Luehrmann and he is from Osnabrück. From childhood on, he had the greatest desire to be a priest, but in his homeland he could not fulfil his yearning desire because of innumerable difficulties that beset him from all sides. So he decided, even as a boy, to go to America with the idea that there he could more easily attain his goal. But in this he was very much mistaken, because, lacking money, he had at first to take a job on the canal near Cumberland; and then, one with a farmer. Those were sad days for him, but not because he wanted to get out of work.
As a matter of fact, he quickly gained the friendship and esteem of the farmer because of his love of work and his upright conduct. But now, in addition to the sadness in not being able to attain his goal, came an attack of homesickness that just about crushed his heart; so much so that often he could no longer stand the oppressive feeling and only wanted to find a place where he could really cry himself out. What did he do then? He took a horse, got on it, and rode far, very far into the woods. And when he was deep in the wilderness, and no one could hear him anymore, he got off his horse, and cried and shouted so loud that all the hills echoed with it and so long until he felt relieved.
Comforted in this way, he returned home. But it is marvelous how our loving God still knows how to lead everything that we ask of him with childlike confidence to our purpose. No one, not even our good Wilhelm, thought there was a possibility; only God still thought of it, he who in a loving and powerful way, leads everything to his purpose and intention. And so it happened that our Wilhelm came to Cumberland. And since the scattered Germans here strongly insisted with the archbishop for a German priest, he sent a Redemptorist from Saint Alphonsus in Baltimore, who then started a school for the uncouth children, and our Wilhelm had to become the school master. Then, all of a sudden, all the thoughts of studying awoke again in his heart. And when he once really opened himself about this to one of our fathers, the latter told him that he had a vocation and that he should just do his utmost to learn the fundamentals of the Latin language, and God in his love would give his help for the future.
No sooner said than done. Then, the most wonderful talents became evident in the young man, and such talent that everything, even the most difficult things, became not only possible but even easy for him. At present, he is not merely educated superficially, but is really a scholar, who could put to shame many a university student. But as a religious, he is even more outstanding — always cheerful, always pleasant, always proper, always recollected, and always ready to obey at a nod — just like a real good child his parents. May our loving God always keep him that way; may he, under the protection of the Queen of Heaven, win very many souls for God and for eternal life.