Fr. Richard Henkes, S.A.C., A Picture of His Life A Picture of His Life | Page 23

Because he could express his inner misery in letters, we know the
hard side of Henkes’s Limburg years. Perhaps there were still after-
shocks of his deep experience in his short period as a soldier during
the First World War. Perhaps the novices were unsure because the
priest who had inspired them to join the Pallottines had now left the
community and married.
Richard Henkes belonged to those Pallottines who, as pupils,
counted themselves as the first generation of their former spiritual
director, Fr. Josef Kentenich. “Schönstatt” had been created from this
circle. This circle had a deep connection with the spiritual director,
established mostly through communication in letters.
In Limburg, Fr. Henkes struggled in his mind. The order of com-
munity life was not always easy for him. The rigorous demands of
spiritual leadership, as practiced in Schönstatt, increasingly chal-
lenged his urge for freedom. He struggled with his “sensuality,” as he
expressed in letters — the experience of his own body and the longing
for devotion. This human element strongly influenced the soul. The
young man, who had so far been so sure of his God, suffered more and
more from inner emptiness. What he went through must have been
bad, because for a time Fr. Henkes did not want to live. “I have begged
death for help,” he admitted while writing about his “way through
the darkness.” In Limburg, he did not trust anyone. He sought help
through his letters to Fr. Kentenich. Whether the spiritual director
did not recognize the pain in the soul of his former pupil or did not
take the young man’s wish seriously—because thoughts like these
are not uncommon in such life stages—we do not know. Was Father
Kentenich unable to accept the young student’s yearning for freedom?
We do not know. We know of no letters in response, no meetings
between the two to discuss the correspondence. It seems that Henkes
developed a deep disappointment about his revered spiritual director,
in this, the priest would have an experience that would shape his own
pastoral care. If the pastor does not really attend to the needs of his
neighbors, if he does not take them seriously, then he is no help. If
he rejects their need, injury occurs as Henkes words reflect: “It has
hitherto only been wounded, not cured.” Richard Henkes drew this
conclusion, which was certainly painful for Fr. Kentenich to accept: “I
17