My Priesthood and a Stranger
William Emmanuel Ketteler (1811-1877)
Each
of us owes gratitude for our lives and our vocations to the prayers and
sacrifices of others. One of the leading figures of the German
episcopacy of the 19th century, and among the founders of Catholic
sociology, Bishop Ketteler owed his gratitude to a simple nun, the least and poorest lay sister of her convent.In 1869, a German diocesan bishop was sitting together with his guest, Bishop Ketteler from Mainz. During the course of their conversation, the diocesan bishop brought up his guest's extremely blessed apostolate. Bishop Ketteler explained to his host, "I owe thanks for everything that I have accomplished with God's help, to the prayer and sacrifice of someone I do not even know. I can only say that I know somebody has offered his or her whole life to our loving God for me, and I have this sacrifice to thank that I even became a priest."
He continued, "Originally,
I wasn't planning on becoming a priest. I had already finished my law
degree and thought only about finding an important place in the world to
begin acquiring honour, prestige and wealth. An extraordinary
experience held me back and directed my life down a different path.
"One
evening I was alone in my room, considering my future plans of fame and
fortune, when something happened which I cannot explain. Was I awake or
asleep? Did I really see it or was it just a dream? One thing I do
know, it brought about a change in my life. I saw Jesus very clearly and
distinctly standing over me in a radiant cloud, showing me his Sacred
Heart. A nun was kneeling before Him, her hands raised up in prayer.
From His mouth, I heard the words, 'She prays unremittingly for you!'
"I
distinctly saw the appearance of the sister, and her traits made such
an impression on me that she has remained in my memory to this day. She
seemed to be quite an ordinary lay sister. Her clothing was very poor
and rough. Her hands were red and calloused from hard work. Whatever it
was, a dream or not, it was extraordinary. It shook me to the depths of
my being so that from that moment on, I decided to consecrate myself to
God in the service of the priesthood.
"I
withdrew to a monastery for a retreat, and I talked about everything
with my confessor. Then, at the age of 30, I began studying theology.
You know the rest of the story. So, if you think that I have done
something admirable, now you know who really deserves the credit—a
religious sister who prayed for me, maybe without even knowing who I
was. I am convinced, I was prayed for and I will continue to be prayed
for in secret and that without these prayers, I could never have reached
the goal that God has destined for me."
"Do you have any idea of the whereabouts or the identity of who has prayed for you?" asked the diocesan bishop.
"No,
I can only ask God each day that, while she is still on earth, he bless
and repay her a thousand-fold for what she has done for me."
The sister in the barn
The
next day, Bishop Ketteler visited a convent of sisters in a nearby city
and celebrated Holy Mass in their chapel. He was distributing Holy
Communion to the last row of sisters when one of them suddenly caught
his eye. His face grew pale, and he stood there, motionless. Finally
regaining his composure, he gave Holy Communion to the sister who was
kneeling in recollection unaware of his hesitation. He then concluded
the liturgy.
The
bishop who had invited him the previous day came and joined him at the
convent for breakfast. When they had finished, Bishop Ketteler asked the
Mother Superior to present to him all the sisters in the house. Before
long she had gathered all the sisters together, and both bishops went to
meet them. Bishop Ketteler greeted them, but it was apparent that he
did not find the one he was looking for.
He quietly asked the Mother Superior, "Are all the sisters really here?"
She looked over the group of sisters and then said, "Your Excellency, I called them all, but, in fact, one of them is not here."
"Why didn't she come?"
"She works in the barn," answered the superior, "and in such a commendable way that, in her enthusiasm, she sometimes forgets other things."
"I would like to see that sister," requested the Bishop.
A
little while later, the sister who had been summoned stepped into the
room. Again Bishop Ketteler turned pale, and after a few words to all
the sisters, he asked if he could be alone with the sister who had just
come in.
"Do you know me?" he asked her.
"I have never seen Your Excellency before."
"Have you ever prayed for me or offered up a good deed for me?" he wanted to know.
"I do not recall that I have ever heard of Your Excellency."
The Bishop was silent for a few moments and then he asked, "Do you have a particular devotion that you like?"
"The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus," was the response.
"You have, it seems, the most difficult task in the convent," he continued.
"Oh no, Your Excellency" the sister countered, "but I cannot lie, it is unpleasant for me."
"And what do you do when you have such temptations against your work?"
"For
things that cost me greatly, I grew accustomed to facing them with joy
and enthusiasm out of love for God, and then I offer them up for one
soul on earth. To whom God chooses to be gracious as a result, I have
left completely up to him and I do not want to know. I also offer up my
time of Eucharistic adoration every evening from 8 to 9 for this
intention."
"Where did you get the idea to offer up all your merits for someone totally unknown to you?"
"I learned it while I was still out in the world," she replied. "At
school our teacher, the parish priest, taught us how we can pray and
offer our merits for our relatives. Besides that, he said that we should
pray much for those who are in danger of being lost. Since only God
knows who really needs prayer, it is best to put your merits at the
disposition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus trusting in his wisdom and
omnipotence. That is what I have done," she concluded, "and I always believed that God would find the right soul."
Day of birth and day of conversion
"How old are you?" Ketteler asked.
"Thirty-three, Your Excellency," she answered.
The Bishop paused a moment. Then he asked her, "When were you born?" The
sister stated her day of birth. The Bishop gasped; her birthday was the
day of his conversion! Back then he saw her exactly as she was before
him now. "And have you any idea whether your prayers and sacrifices have been successful?" he asked her further.
"No, Your Excellency."
"Don't you want to know?"
"Our dear God knows when something good happens, and that is enough," was the simple answer.
The Bishop was shaken. "So continue this work in the name of the Lord," he
said. The sister knelt down immediately at his feet and asked for his
blessing. The Bishop solemnly raised his hands and said with great
emotion, "With the power entrusted to me as a bishop, I bless your
soul, I bless your hands and their work, I bless your prayers and
sacrifices, your self-renunciation and your obedience. I bless
especially your final hour and ask God to assist you with all his
consolation."
"Amen," the sister answered calmly, then stood up and left.
A teaching for life
The
Bishop, profoundly moved, stepped over to the window in order to
compose himself. Some time later, he said good-bye to the Mother
Superior and returned to the apartment of his bishop friend. He confided
to him, "Now I found the one I have to thank for my vocation. It is
the lowest and poorest lay sister of that convent. I cannot thank God
enough for his mercy because this sister has prayed for me for almost 20
years. On the day she first saw the light of the world, God worked my
conversion accepting in advance her future prayers and works.
"What
a lesson and a reminder for me! Should I become tempted to vanity by a
certain amount of success or by my good works, then I can affirm in
truth: You have the prayer and sacrifice of a poor maid in a convent
stall to thank. And when a small and lowly task appears of little value
to me, then I will also remember the fact: what this maid does in humble
obedience to God, making a sacrifice by overcoming herself, is so
valuable before the Lord Our God that her merits have given rise to a
bishop for the Church."
