Fr. Richard Henkes, S.A.C., A Picture of His Life A Picture of His Life | Page 29

soldiers in his unit and some of his superiors could only be called pigs.
“The immorality is, so to speak, the daily food of the soldiers. From
morning to night, always the same speech and the same nonsense.”
In addition to homesickness, the concept of sensuality now ap-
peared before Henkes—one can only guess what he wanted to do
about it. We know that it was increasingly difficult for him to observe
his spiritual agenda, and that he learned that willpower alone, even
in piety, did not support him when he became less enthusiastic about
the soldier’s life as more time passed. Richard feared being placed
on the front lines; he did not want to be “cannon fodder.” He devel-
oped a critical view of the military and politics. His homesickness for
Ruppach, for Schönstatt, “after the dear MTA,” increased. His in-
ner life—his spiritual life—became dry. He longed for the end of the
war. Josef Engling, the pupil who had lived the Schönstatt piety and
served as an example to many, was killed. Richard did not want to go
to the front. However, the armistice of November 1918 came before
he could be sent to the front lines. On November 26, 1918, he was
released from service and returned to the student house with his age
group.
Those who had been soldiers were now different from the rest of
the pupils. Richard Henkes, however, was different. Dear friends of
his were dead and he had not imagined the world of the barracks—
these experiences had made him insecure about life. The young man
grappled with many questions in his life, from a practical and religious
point of view. He was probably also disappointed with himself: his
worldview, which he had once applied to his classmates, had proved
to be too idealistic. But he was not yet completely burnt out—he still
maintained regular prayer and attended Sunday Mass.
Henkes concentrated on graduating, but otherwise he became
quiet. Yet he did not give up his childhood wish to become a priest
and missionary. During the July 1919 exam month, he asked for ad-
mission to the Novitiate of the Community in Limburg. He was ini-
tially rejected, then admitted - we do not know why. But before he
received the habit of the Society in September 1919, and began his
novitiate, he once again spent several weeks in his beloved Ruppach.
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