Luther in the Cloister.
1. ENTRANCE INTO THE CLOISTER. Luther erroneously felt himself bound in
conscience to keep his vow, and therefore, on July 15, 1505, once more
invited his intimate friends to meet him, in order to bid them farewell.
They passed the time with song and instrumental music. As Luther seemed
to be happy and in the best of spirits no one dreamed of what was
passing in his soul. But before his friends parted from him he informed
them of his intention. At first they thought he was joking, and laughed
at him. But when Luther once more solemnly declared, "To-day you see me,
and never again," they urgently besought him to give up his resolution.
All their endeavors, however, were in vain, Luther remained firm. On the
evening of the 17th of July, therefore, they weepingly escorted him to
the gate of the Augustinian cloister within whose dark walls Luther now
sought rest and peace for his soul. When his father was subsequently
asked to give his consent he became very indignant that his son had
entered the cloister. On a later occasion, when Hans Luther paid his son
a visit at Erfurt and those about him praised his present monastic
state, the father said: "God grant that it may not be a deception and
Satanic illusion. Why, have you not heard that parents should be obeyed,
and that nothing should be undertaken without their knowledge and
advice?" After some time, however, he was somewhat pacified by his
friends and said, "Let it pass; God grant that good may come of it."
[Illustration: Luther Entering the Cloister.]
2. DISAPPOINTMENTS IN THE CLOISTER. Luther was scrupulously exact in the
performance of every work and penance prescribed by the cloister. He
acted as doorkeeper, set the clock, swept the church, yes, he was even
compelled to remove the human filth. The greatest hardship for him,
however, was to travel the streets of the city with a bag, begging for
alms. The monks told him, "It is begging, not studying, that enriches
the cloister." And yet Luther found time for diligent study of the
Bible. He learned to know the page and exact place of every verse of
the Scriptures, and he even committed to memory many passages from the
prophets, although he did not understand them at that time. The prior of
the cloister, Dr. John Staupitz, came to love him, released him from
menial labors, and encouraged him to continue in the diligent study of
Holy Scriptures. Others thought different and said to Luther, "Why,
Brother Martin, what is the Bible! You ought to read the old fathers,
they have extracted the substance of truth from the Bible. The Bible
causes all disturbances."
Thus Luther soon learned that the piety of most monks was nothing but
pretense. In later years he wrote: "The monks are a lazy, idle people.
The greatest vanity is found in the cloisters. They are servants of
their bellies, and filthy swine." But if others sought carnal lust in
the cloister Luther led a most rigid and holy life. In the simplicity of
his heart he sincerely worshiped the Pope. He regarded Huss as a
terrible heretic, and he considered the very thought of him a great sin.
And yet he could not resist the temptation to read this heretic's
sermons. He confessed: "I really found so much in them that I was filled
with consternation at the thought that such a man had been burned at the
stake who could quote the Scriptures with so much faith and power. But
because his name was held in such horrible execration I closed the book
and went away with a wounded heart."
In 1507 Luther was ordained to the priesthood, which made him very
happy, for he supposed that now, as a priest, he could please God with
greater and more glorious works. So thoroughly was Luther enslaved in
the bondage of popery. Who could break these fetters? By his own works
Luther endeavored to gain the grace of God. Day and night he tortured
and tormented himself with fasting and prayers, with singing and
studying, hard bedding, freezing, and vigils, with groanings and
weepings. He wanted to take heaven by storm. He could afterward
truthfully say: "It is true, I was a pious monk, and if ever a monk
could have gained heaven by his monkery I would have gained it. If it
had lasted any longer I would have tortured myself to death with vigils,
prayers, reading, and other works." The peace of his soul, however,
which he had not found in the world he found just as little in the
cloister with all his works. Later on he describes his condition at that
time in the following words: "Hangman and devil were in our hearts, and
nothing but fear, trembling, horror, and disquiet tortured us day and
night."
3. LUTHER FINDS COMFORT. Staupitz one day found Luther in great distress
of spirit and said to him, "Ah, you do not know how salutary and
necessary such trials are for you; without them nothing good would
become of you. For God does not send them to you in vain. You will see
that He will use you for great things." At another time Luther
complained, "O my sin, my sin, my sin!" when Staupitz told him, "Christ
is the forgiveness for REAL sins. He is a _real_ Savior and you are a
_real_ sinner. God has sent His own Son and delivered Him up for us."
When, because of great anxiety for his sins, he became sick, an old
friar comforted him with these words, "I believe in the forgiveness of
sin," and explained these words to mean: "It is not enough that you
believe God forgives sins in general, for the devils also believe that.
You must believe that your sins, your sins, your sins are forgiven. For
man is justified by grace through faith." So, even at that time, a ray
of light fell into Luther's soul benighted with the darkness of popery,
and from this time on his favorite passage remained Romans 3, 28:
"Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the Law."