Otto Weiss

To Do What the Day Demands

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  • leminhvan1992has quoted8 years ago
    CHAPTER ONE
    CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

    “A priest,this is what I want to become one day.”
    KASPAR STANGGASSINGER AT THE AGE OF TWO AND A HALF
    Kaspar Stanggassinger’s life began in Berchtesgaden. He was born on January 12, 1871, in the mountains in one of the most beautiful corners of Bavaria. He was the second of sixteen children. His father, also named Kaspar, was a well-to-do man. He was a farmer in Unterkälberstein, the owner of a rock quarry and a shipping business. He also held a position in both local and provincial government, and today we would say today that his word carried considerable weight. People used to say that his son, Kaspar, inherited “a tireless power to create” and also “a clear-headed outlook on life.”1
    As was customary, his father engaged in local politics at a tavern table—something that did not set well with Kaspar’s mother. Family members clearly remembered that on this very point young Kaspar once had a serious talk with his father when they were together setting up the yearly Nativity scene.2 Later, when he was a novice with the Redemptorists, he wrote to his father never to forget to bring God into his public life and his daily work.3
    Kreszenz, his mother, was a good and pious person, with more of a serious disposition. While she experienced much joy in caring for her large family, she likewise had to deal with many difficulties. To her children she passed on a sense of sincerity and piety. Kaspar showed both of these qualities early in his youth, and they matured as he grew older. During the process of his beatification more than thirty years after his death, a number of witnesses could remark, “He got this from his mother.” He himself said of his mother, “From my childhood onward, she led me to God.” This, he thought, was the beginning of his Christian life and set him in the right direction.4
    Kaspar also had an especially close relationship with his maternal grandmother. She, too, was a good and even saintly woman. She proved indispensable in helping her daughter in the home. Whenever she changed Kaspar’s diapers, she prayed that God might lead Kaspar to the priesthood. At an advanced age, she began to have doubts whether she had acted well in her life. However, her grandson, now away at the seminary, comforted her. He wrote to her that God’s grace knows no boundaries. He wished that she would live to see his ordination. But this was not to be. When the news of her death reached him right after his reception of what, in those days, were called “minor orders,” he could not hold back his tears. Still, he found words to comfort his parents: “She was happy in her hour of death. She reached all her goals and finished her journey. She is now in heaven.”5
    In his relationships with his siblings, Kaspar was especially close to Elizabeth, almost two years his senior,6 and to his sister, Kresenz, five years younger.7 Both died before he did, Kresenz when he entered the seminary, and Elizabeth a few months before his own death. His fellow Redemptorists saw how much these deaths affected him.8 He also witnessed the death of another sister named Babette. She died of typhoid fever when she was only ten years old.9
    Stanggassinger’s siblings later recalled how their brother often went on walks with them and prayed the rosary with them. When he was in high school in Freising, he brought them various sweets.10 Yet he could also be strict with them, especially once when three of them, aged only between three and thirteen, finished off half a bottle of brandy that they had bought for their father.11 This did not, however, cause them to hold a grudge against him since they admitted he had acted in their best interests.
    On May 17, 1877, Kaspar entered primary school in Berchtesgaden. Not the most gifted pupil, he nevertheless was the hardest worker. This caused some of his classmates to think of him as ambitious. This drive came from his wanting to become a priest. In fact, he liked to “play priest.” He built an altar and preached to the younger family members from a tree trunk. He was a happy individual and had the ability to laugh hard; but he avoided overdone pranks as well as scuffles with other children.12
    It would be too much to see signs of a saint in his behavior since many other children acted as he did. Something, however, was special about him: even early in his life, Kaspar had an attraction to prayer. When someone was looking for him they often found him in the Kalvaria Chapel on the Fürstenstein.13 When his mother told him of the sufferings of Christ, he burst into tears and was heartbroken.14
    As to his wanting to be a priest, was it only a child’s game that he would outgrow? In answer to this question, those who believe in the guidance of God can clearly see that something more was at work here. The youngster had decided to hear God’s call at an early age.
    Kaspar’s leaning to become a priest was very clear from the beginning. The words of a two-and-a-half year-old, “A priest, this is what I want to become one day,”15 may not mean much in themselves. But they gain importance when one traces the straight line that Kaspar followed to this goal—especially after November 21, 1880. For, as a priest, Stanggassinger was to make a list of the most significant days of his life. In his listing we find that date with a note that says, “Calling to priesthood.”16 He says he heard a call during Mass at the consecration.17 Whatever happened to the nine-year-old on that day, thereafter he had only one goal. Along the way there would be many tests.
    On September 23, 1881, Stanggassinger entered high school in Freising. For three years he lived in the house of the parish priest named Roth.18 These years were not entirely filled with unspoiled joy. Kaspar was an “excellent student,” but he did have difficulties, especially in mathematics. Thus, one of his teachers told him to go home and work on the farm.19 Another suggested that he become a shoemaker.20 When his father heard of his low marks, he burst out in anger, “This is too expensive! If he does not have the talent, he should give up study! The pitchfork is what he should take up!”21 During these years Kaspar often turned to the two sisters of the priest and begged, “Pray for me!”22 Was he perhaps not called to the priesthood? Regardless, he would do his best.
    In 1884, one of his deepest wishes came true when he was admitted into the minor seminary in Freising. His classmates liked the friendly and unassuming boy. “He imparted a heartfelt friendliness,” they would say later. “Those who knew him, liked him … He held his head high … he was not a complainer.” He was “quite amusing” and “could laugh heartily,”23 even when a harmless joke was at his expense.24 Of course, the cheerful boy had other qualities besides. He was sensitive, not indifferent to praise or to disparagement, and sometimes had a problem restraining his anger. If he was inwardly excited about something, this was obvious. Mostly he avoided discussions. But when it came to religious questions, if he did not agree he would state his opinion firmly but calmly.25
    Stanggassinger’s former classmates agreed in their assessment that there was nothing to criticize about his character. This does not mean that he was exemplary in every way. Rather he was natural and shared a normal student’s smaller and greater joys and setbacks with the others, even if these were very human. His prefect said that he once found him deep in thought and asked him if anything was wrong. “Oh,” he replied, “I was just wondering if there was going to be dessert today.”26 However, when it was appropriate to stand for something, he was decisive, even in smaller things. As the story goes, he always kept strict order on his desk, in his closet, and regarding his clothing. So it seems we can gather that his external orderliness indicated what was inside him.27
    Many have given special emphasis to his sincerity. He preferred to receive a poor grade than to deny his convictions. One day his German literature professor proposed as a topic for an essay Schiller’s Bride of Messina. Stanggassinger did not like the work and consciously interpreted the topic differently. This promptly earned him a failing grade for the assignment.28 However, he did not have many opportunities to show such courage. In Catholic Freising, only Professor Hellmuth dared to defend liberal Catholic views, because the Bavarian Centrist Member of Parliament, Georg von Orterer, exerted his conservative influence here. The well-respected politician who taught Stanggassinger Latin in his third year called him “the most refined character among [my] students.”29
    Since Stanggassinger had entered the minor seminary, his performance in school slowly improved. In the fourth year, however, his teachers advised him that it would be more reasonable if he would repeat the year. Repeating was out of the question for Kaspar’s father: “If he has to repeat a year, he proves that he is unfit to study. Then he has to come back home!” When the teachers heard of the father’s reaction, they saw to it that Stanggassinger passed the year successfully.30 In the fifth year, his grades improved. Tenacity and industry, which his report cards mention, eventually paid dividends. (Interestingly, it seems that homesickness during his first year in the minor seminary had lowered his grade for industry).
  • leminhvan1992has quoted8 years ago
    Stanggassinger’s siblings later recalled how their brother often went on walks with them and prayed the rosary with them. When he was in high school in Freising, he brought them various sweets.10 Yet he could also be strict with them, especially once when three of them, aged only between three and thirteen, finished off half a bottle of brandy that they had bought for their father.11 This did not, however, cause them to hold a grudge against him since they admitted he had acted in their best interests.
    On May 17, 1877, Kaspar entered primary school in Berchtesgaden. Not the most gifted pupil, he nevertheless was the hardest worker. This caused some of his classmates to think of him as ambitious. This drive came from his wanting to become a priest. In fact, he liked to “play priest.” He built an altar and preached to the younger family members from a tree trunk. He was a happy individual and had the ability to laugh hard; but he avoided overdone pranks as well as scuffles with other children.12
    It would be too much to see signs of a saint in his behavior since many other children acted as he did. Something, however, was special about him: even early in his life, Kaspar had an attraction to prayer. When someone was looking for him they often found him in the Kalvaria Chapel on the Fürstenstein.13 When his mother told him of the sufferings of Christ, he burst into tears and was heartbroken.14
    As to his wanting to be a priest, was it only a child’s game that he would outgrow? In answer to this question, those who believe in the guidance of God can clearly see that something more was at work here. The youngster had decided to hear God’s call at an early age.
    Kaspar’s leaning to become a priest was very clear from the beginning. The words of a two-and-a-half year-old, “A priest, this is what I want to become one day,”15 may not mean much in themselves. But they gain importance when one traces the straight line that Kaspar followed to this goal—especially after November 21, 1880. For, as a priest, Stanggassinger was to make a list of the most significant days of his life. In his listing we find that date with a note that says, “Calling to priesthood.”16 He says he heard a call during Mass at the consecration.17 Whatever happened to the nine-year-old on that day, thereafter he had only one goal. Along the way there would be many tests.
    On September 23, 1881, Stanggassinger entered high school in Freising. For three years he lived in the house of the parish priest named Roth.18 These years were not entirely filled with unspoiled joy. Kaspar was an “excellent student,” but he did have difficulties, especially in mathematics. Thus, one of his teachers told him to go home and work on the farm.19 Another suggested that he become a shoemaker.20 When his father heard of his low marks, he burst out in anger, “This is too expensive! If he does not have the talent, he should give up study! The pitchfork is what he should take up!”21 During these years Kaspar often turned to the two sisters of the priest and begged, “Pray for me!”22 Was he perhaps not called to the priesthood? Regardless, he would do his best.
    In 1884, one of his deepest wishes came true when he was admitted into the minor seminary in Freising. His classmates liked the friendly and unassuming boy. “He imparted a heartfelt friendliness,” they would say later. “Those who knew him, liked
  • leminhvan1992has quoted8 years ago
    CHAPTER ONE
    CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

    “A priest,this is what I want to become one day.”
    KASPAR STANGGASSINGER AT THE AGE OF TWO AND A HALF
    Kaspar Stanggassinger’s life began in Berchtesgaden. He was born on January 12, 1871, in the mountains in one of the most beautiful corners of Bavaria. He was the second of sixteen children. His father, also named Kaspar, was a well-to-do man. He was a farmer in Unterkälberstein, the owner of a rock quarry and a shipping business. He also held a position in both local and provincial government, and today we would say today that his word carried considerable weight. People used to say that his son, Kaspar, inherited “a tireless power to create” and also “a clear-headed outlook on life.”1
    As was customary, his father engaged in local politics at a tavern table—something that did not set well with Kaspar’s mother. Family members clearly remembered that on this very point young Kaspar once had a serious talk with his father when they were together setting up the yearly Nativity scene.2 Later, when he was a novice with the Redemptorists, he wrote to his father never to forget to bring God into his public life and his daily work.3
    Kreszenz, his mother, was a good and pious person, with more of a serious disposition. While she experienced much joy in caring for her large family, she likewise had to deal with many difficulties. To her children she passed on a sense of sincerity and piety. Kaspar showed both of these qualities early in his youth, and they matured as he grew older. During the process of his beatification more than thirty years after his death, a number of witnesses could remark, “He got this from his mother.” He himself said of his mother, “From my childhood onward, she led me to God.” This, he thought, was the beginning of his Christian life and set him in the right direction.4
    Kaspar also had an especially close relationship with his maternal grandmother. She, too, was a good and even saintly woman. She proved indispensable in helping her daughter in the home. Whenever she changed Kaspar’s diapers, she prayed that God might lead Kaspar to the priesthood. At an advanced age, she began to have doubts whether she had acted well in her life. However, her grandson, now away at the seminary, comforted her. He wrote to her that God’s grace knows no boundaries. He wished that she would live to see his ordination. But this was not to be. When the news of her death reached him right after his reception of what, in those days, were called “minor orders,” he could not hold back his tears. Still, he found words to comfort his parents: “She was happy in her hour of death. She reached all her goals and finished her journey. She is now in heaven.”5
    In his relationships with his siblings, Kaspar was especially close to Elizabeth, almost two years his senior,6 and to his sister, Kresenz, five years younger.7 Both died before he did, Kresenz when he entered the seminary, and Elizabeth a few months before his own death. His fellow Redemptorists saw how much these deaths affected him.8 He also witnessed the death of another sister named Babette. She died of typhoid fever when she was only ten years old.9
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