Blessed Herman of Steinfeld

Herman's early years having thus been spent in continuous conversation with heaven, he felt a strong inspiration to leave the world entirely and embrace the religious life. For this purpose, he presented himself at the c onvent of Steinfeld, couvent de Steinfeld The principal monastery where Herman lived his religious life. of the Premonstratensian O Ordre des Prémontrés Religious order represented by two martyrs (Adrien Becan and Jacques Lacop). rder, in the diocese of Cologne; although he was only twelve years old, which was an age too tender to bear the yoke of religion, he was received with great joy, in the hope that God would extraordinarily supply the strength that nature did not yet give him. It is probable, however, that he was not immediately given the habit, so as not to transgress the laws of the monastic state; although one author believed that the ordinary rules were bypassed for him, it not being reasonable, he said, to subject to the ordinances of men one whom God was leading by such miraculous ways. Be that as it may, it is certain that he was sent to a monastery in Frisia to adva nce in his studies monastère de Frise Region of origin of the saint. , and that he made himself commendable there above all his fellow students, as much by the progress he made in the sciences as by the continuous increase of his virtues. One never noticed in him the vices or imperfections that are ordinarily found in schoolboys: such as insolence, lying, disobedience, quarrels, insults, and buffoonery; but, on the contrary, he displayed a modesty, a candor, a submission of spirit, a kindness toward everyone, and a restraint that made him admired by all who saw him. He read only with difficulty the poets and other profane books, where Jupiter, Juno, Mars, or Mercury are spoken of as so many divinities; and he sometimes said that he could not sufficiently admire how persons of wit and piety could amuse themselves with these trifles, since there were an infinity of learned writings by the holy Fathers and Christian orators that could lead to the knowledge of the Divinity.

At that time, a notable infirmity befell him which made him burdensome to his brethren and caused even those who had the most affection for him to flee from him. He bore this cross with great patience, being very glad to suffer something for his Savior; but when he had drunk for some time from the chalice of suffering and humiliation, Our Lord delivered him from this infirmity in one night; so that his head, which was horrible to look at the day before, appeared the next day as clear as if he had never been afflicted. His studies finished, his superiors recalled him to Steinfeld, where, after his profession, he was given the task of setting the tables for meals and serving the brothers in the refectory. He performed this duty admirably well, failing in nothing that was his duty, and performing this action, morning and evening, with as much modesty, presence of mind, and recollection as if it had been some ecclesiastical function. But as this occupation of Martha prevented him from enjoying the rest and contemplation of Mary, he began to grow weary and to desire to be delivered from this solicitude, so as to employ himself only in the meditation of eternal truths. In this anxiety, the Blessed Virgin honored him with one of her visits; and, having made him say himself what was the subject of his sadness, she consoled him and told him that he was in error, and that he could do nothing more pleasing to God than to serve his brothers in a spirit of charity. This advice from his dear Mistress so changed his heart that, following the example of our Savior, who said of Himself that He had not come into the world to be served, but to serve, he applied himself with such joy to this humble ministry that he did not seem so much to go to it as to run, and even to fly to it.

Moreover, this office was in no way an occasion for him to transgress the rules of temperance and sobriety, or to eat better than the others; on the contrary, he used it as a means to practice in secret fasts and abstinences that could be called excessive; for he ordinarily lived only on bread and water, and took even that in such small quantity that his body almost always suffered from hunger and thirst, without the one who served with him being able to perceive it, because he had the skill, so as not to be discovered, to eat separately, and often to defer his meager meal until after that of all the others.

From the office of refectorian, he passed to that of sacristan, where he devoted himself, with new fervor, to the exercises of penance and prayer. His vigils were almost continuous; and if he took a moment of rest, it was only on a board that served as his mattress, and on a stone that served as his bolster and pillow. As his employment obliged him to awaken the brothers for Matins, he did not go to bed beforehand, and he employed all that time in prayer and the contemplation of heavenly things. His devotion led him to compose new canticles in honor of Jesus Christ and his most holy Mother, which are so filled with the unction with which his heart was intoxicated, that one cannot read them without being sensibly touched. The Reverend Father Vandersterre, of the Premonstratensian Order, gave them to the public at the end of his life. This incomparable piety drew to him new favors from heaven, which, although extraordinary, must not pass for uncertain, being supported by the testimony of all those who have written about him. Among these favors, we are told that every time he left the table to go to give thanks to God in the church, he was embalmed with perfumes so exquisite, and exhaled odors so ravishing, that it seemed to him he was in a garden full of roses, lilies, violets, carnations, and all kinds of the most pleasant flowers. The low opinion he had of himself, and which prevented him from believing that anything extraordinary was happening to him, made him think, at the beginning, that the whole community smelled the same odors. He therefore spoke of it to some of his confreres, asking them where such great sweetness came from; but he recognized that this grace was particular to him, and he was deprived of it for some time for having divulged it, although he had only done so out of a holy simplicity, which made him judge others as he did himself. Furthermore, every time that, while pronouncing the name of Mary, he prostrated himself face to the ground, there issued from the earth itself another inestimable perfume which ravished all his senses, and would have kept him for entire hours in that posture, had he not feared appearing singular.

When he attended the choir office, as his soul was all inflamed with the desire to please God, he was often consoled by heavenly revelations. He ordinarily saw two angels who incensed the choir during the canticle Benedictus; but in such a way that there were religious whom they incensed with joy and whom they greeted very respectfully; others whom they pretended not to see, and others whom they passed by abruptly, and as if with horror and indignation. The first were fervent religious, who praised God with heart and mouth; the second, negligent religious who did not sing, or sang without attention and without reverence; the third, religious of bad morals, whose life did not correspond to the holiness of their state and their profession.

It was a common occurrence for him, during his meditations, to enjoy the pleasant presence of the Mother of God, to hear her voice from afar and recognize it, to go to the place where she called him, to question her, to answer her, to give her an account of the state of his soul, and to deal with her as a child with his mother, or as a disciple with his tutor. Sometimes even, this august Virgin took an interest in spreading the fragrance of his good reputation on all sides, and in revealing his great merits; which happened one day when he was to come to a convent of nuns dependent, for their spiritual guidance, on the religious of his abbey: for she appeared beforehand to a sister of this monastery, and told her that her faithful servant was to arrive soon; she recommended that she receive him with kindness and as one of her greatest favorites.

These distinguished virtues of the glorious Herman, and this admirable intimacy that he had with the Blessed Virgin, caused the religious, giving him a nickname, to commonly call him Joseph. His humility, which gave him eyes only to see his own faults, could not suffer this change: he shed tears over it in private; he complained of it often in public, and every time he was called Joseph, he would fall into a holy anger, believing himself infinitely far from the merit of the two great patriarchs of the Old Testament who bore this excellent name. Finally, he resolved one day, to stop this course, which he called a scandal, to make his complaints in full chapter. But as he was in this thought, and as he prayed at night to Our Lord to be pleased with him, he had a vision that took away his trouble, and put him in legitimate possession of the name of Joseph; for the Blessed Virgin having appeared to him at the foot of the high altar, in the midst of two angels of extraordinary brilliance and beauty, and having called him to her, she had the kindness to take him solemnly as her spouse, that is to say, as the one who would represent on earth the spouse she had while in the world, and who now reigns with her in heaven. This was not done without much resistance on his part; but these angels assured him that it was the will of God, and also told him that having been raised to such a great honor, he should no longer have any repugnance to being given the name of the spouse of Mary. Since this vision, which he was obliged to reveal to his superiors, and which has passed until now as indubitable, he was always called Joseph. And, indeed, those who have written his life, when they reach this point, cease to call him Herman, and begin to give him this august name, as the mark of his mystical marriage with her who is the Daughter, the Spouse, and the Mother of the King of kings.

Such an admirable prerogative, which we do not find to have been granted to other Saints, but which will not seem incredible to us if we consider that Our Lord has often taken holy virgins as his spouses, procured for him another great favor, which was that the same Virgin having shown herself to him in his sleep, carrying her dear Child on her bosom, she placed him in his arms, so that, as Saint Joseph had often carried him during his childhood, and especially when they fled into Egypt, he would have at least the honor of carrying him once more. But if this grace seems so considerable, here is another that we esteem much more: it is that Mary, through a holy jealousy for the perfection and fervor of her new spouse, warned him and corrected him of his slightest faults as soon as he had fallen into them. Especially, one day when the office of guarding the monastery against some disbanded soldiers, who were causing great havoc in the surroundings, without sparing holy places, had made him relax somewhat in his devotions, she appeared to him, no longer in that marvelous beauty with which she usually appeared, but under the figure of an old woman whose face was all withered and wrinkled. He did not recognize her at first, but she soon made herself known to him, telling him that she was his Mother and his Spouse, and that she had taken this form because she saw well that she was beginning to grow old in his heart. Herman was in extreme confusion, and could only excuse himself by the great occupations that the necessity of preserving the house of God against the incursions of thieves gave him; but she replied that she was herself its guardian, that she would preserve it faithfully, that she would not allow thieves to do it any harm, and that he should not, for this temporal care, relax any of the fervor with which he was accustomed to serve her. This is what must teach us that the employments that religion gives to its children must not prevent them from discharging their exercises with devotion, and from bringing to prayer, whether mental or vocal, all the attention and reverence that such holy and elevated occupations demand.

We say nothing of the many other testimonies of love and kindness that this Mother of mercy gave to her dear Herman-Joseph. But it must not be omitted that, according to the custom of all the Saints, he was subsequently tested by crosses so terrible and sufferings so acute that he became a living image of Jesus Christ crucified. In the prime of his life, he found himself attacked by an unbearable headache and such weakness of the stomach that, his liver no longer performing its functions, the entire economy of his body was disturbed. Many other illnesses, caused by his vigils, his fasts, and his excessive labors, joining these first infirmities, made him an animated skeleton and rendered him unable to apply himself to any external function. The rejection and contempt of some of his confreres further increased this pain, because they often represented to him that it was through his indiscretion and obstinacy that he had fallen into these evils and had rendered himself useless to the house and a burden to the community. The patience of this great Religious appeared admirably on these occasions: for, far from complaining and letting himself be cast down by sadness, he always sustained himself with an invincible strength, joyfully receiving these trials as signaled favors of divine Providence, and his courage, in this, was all the greater as the Blessed Virgin deprived him for some time of these amiable visits, and, though he also implored the help of other Saints, he received neither relief nor consolation.

After such a difficult trial, the august Mary, who had for him the affection of a true spouse, delivered him from a part of his illnesses and enabled him to better follow the community; but his weakness and his headaches always remained with him, and, when the great feasts arrived, he never failed to feel horrible pains, which no remedy could cure; which made him say to his friends: that the feasts were not feasts and days of rest for him, but days of affliction, suffering, and mourning. One of these days, among others, which was Christmas Eve, he was so tormented by chills, tremors, and nerve contractions that one could not believe that a man had ever suffered more. But, at the hour of the birth of the Child Jesus, he was suddenly healed and found himself strong enough, not only to attend Matins and the solemn mass, but also to celebrate his three masses with great tranquility.

This would be the place to speak of many revelations that God made to him, and of the frequent ecstasies and raptures that occurred to him, whether at Mass or in prayer; but because we could not dwell upon them without exceeding the limits of an abridgment, we shall content ourselves with noting a few. One day, as he was looking at the stars through the sacristy window, having wished to know God through creatures and by that way which theologians call excess and eminence, he was suddenly raised to a knowledge quite different from that which we have on earth, and he saw before his eyes, as in an abridgment, all the greatness and beauty of the celestial bodies, which filled him with incomparable admiration for their author. Another time, while still contemplating the wonders of the heavens, he saw, besides the ordinary moon, a second moon much more beautiful and brilliant than the first, which rose into the empyrean heaven, and he was told that it was the soul of Saint Engelbert, Archbisho p of Cologne, who would be martyred in saint Engelbert, archevêque de Cologne Archbishop of Cologne and martyr, regent of the Empire. a month, and who would enter at that very hour into eternal glory. He had difficulty believing this prediction, because, on one hand, this archbishop was so powerful that there was little appearance that anyone would dare to attempt his life, and on the other, the abundance of goods and pleasures in which his condition placed him made it feared that he would have many things to expiate in the other world; but the event showed the truth of this revelation, because, four weeks later, Engelbert was massacred out of hatred for his piety by his own relatives; and, as a martyr of Jesus Christ, he entered immediately into heaven, without passing through the flames of purgatory: which Herman also knew by his own experience; for, having been struck with an eye ailment as punishment for his incredulity, he was cured of it by sending offerings to the tomb of this glorious Martyr.

Saint Ursula and her compa nions also ap Sainte Ursule Saint who appeared to Herman in the form of a dove. peared to him very often: which they usually did in the form of doves. That is why he called them his dear and holy little doves, and he composed, in their honor, a canticle which he set to music, to the melody that was given to him by one of their holy troop. We still have this canticle, and it must be admitted that it is so beautiful and touching that it is easy to judge that he composed it only by an extraordinary aid from the Spouse of these glorious Virgins.

Besides this canticle, two books of revelations concerning the assembly, the journey, and the martyrdom of the same Saints are attributed to him, which were given to the public with observations and defenses by Father Herman Crombrach, of the Societ y of Jesus. But it is père Herman Crombrach Jesuit who published the revelations concerning Saint Ursula. more uncertain whether this work is by our Herman-Joseph; and several authors, who contest the truth of the things reported therein, maintain that they should not be attributed to this great contemplative, whose revelations were very certain. We shall state our thoughts on this in the life of Saint Ursula.

We have not marked the time at which he was promoted to the priesthood, because his first historian does not speak of it at all; but we cannot refrain from saying, with that author, who had been with him for a long time, that one cannot sufficiently admire the devotion and fervor with which he celebrated the divine Sacrifice. He was so precise in the ceremonies that his exactitude passed, in the minds of many, for scrupulousness; but it came from the esteem he had for this great mystery, and for all the things that the Church has established to celebrate it with majesty. He never said a Mass without being rapt in ecstasy, which caused him to be there much longer than others. The undevout murmured at this length, and there were even some who complained that too much wax was burned at his Mass; but it was proven that, although his ecstasy sometimes lasted more than two or three hours, the candles were not more consumed at the end than in another Mass of half an hour. It was also a truly admirable thing that his great infirmities seemed to leave him when he went to the altar, so that he could remain standing and fasting there for the long space of time he remained; which he could not have done on any other occasion.

One would need the tongue or the pen of an angel to speak worthily of his incomparable virtues. The first author of his life, speaking of his purity, says that it was so great that one could justly call him the flower of virginity, the lily of chastity, the model of modesty, the chosen vessel of continence, and the virgin of virgins of his time; that he was a virgin in his body and in his soul, in his mind, in his heart, in his sight, in his hearing, in his smell, in his taste, and in his touch; until he became as if insensible to everything that is accustomed to move the flesh and excite in it disordered passions. He joined to this purity an incomparable humility, so as not to be a proud man, worthy of eternal anathema; he usually said that he was only a zero in a figure, a rotten apple, a useless weight for the earth, unworthy of the bread he ate and the water he drank. He did his best to remove from the minds of those he saw all the esteem they had for him; and, to succeed in this design, while he willingly praised others and excused them in their faults, he continually accused himself, revealed his slightest defects, turned away the praises given to him, and tried to persuade them that he was not as virtuous as they esteemed him to be. His demeanor and his manners were so simple that one never noticed anything affected in them. It was only rarely and by force that he wore anything new; his satisfaction was to be the worst shod and the worst dressed in the whole house, so as to be despised by everyone. He sometimes did things, to humble himself and make himself abject, that the wisdom of his brethren could not bear; such as when he begged a peasant to strike him on the cheek, because he was, he said, only a criminal unworthy of better treatment. But God made it known, by great signs, that he was more prudent, in this apparent folly, than those wise men who censured him, since He revealed to Saint Elizabeth, of the Order of Cîteaux, that Herman-Joseph was an incomparable man, and that he surpassed all his brethren without measure in humility, in patience, in charity, in purity of body and spirit, and in all virtues.

We have already spoken of his austerity; but it was so great and so continuous that one cannot speak of it with enough breadth. It appeared above all in the countless infirmities that God sent him, since instead of taking the relief that seemed most necessary, he deprived himself of it for the love of Our Lord and added several voluntary mortifications to the illnesses with which he was burdened. His usual word, when he was pressed to eat better or to lie down more softly, was that Jesus did not want it; and, in fact, he acted in this only by the express order he received from the Eternal Wisdom. What shall we say of his love for God and the bowels of his charity toward his neighbor? He loved nothing but God, he sighed for nothing but God; all the things of the world had become like mud to him, and all his joy and satisfaction on earth was to converse in heaven. The evils of his neighbor were more his own evils than his own, and he had no rest until he had brought some remedy to them. His historian says that his heart had become like a general hospital, where all kinds of afflicted and miserable people were well received. His brethren had the best place there, and there was no one tempted or troubled in his convent who did not find in him a sure refuge and an undoubted help. Those who had been troublesome to him, and who had censured his conduct, far from being excluded from the outpourings of his goodness, received, on the contrary, more testimonies of benevolence from him. In a word, he was so useful to everyone that God, whose mercies are infinite, drew him from a mortal illness and prolonged his life by nine years for the good of the public, according to the promise He had made to a holy girl, who had asked for his recovery with many tears.

During this interval, through an extraordinary aid from the Blessed Virgin, he produced an exposition on the Song of Songs that was so pleasing to this Queen of Angels that, while he worked on it, she often rendered him invisible so that he would not be interrupted by his brethren in his composition. Finally, the term of nine years having expired, this new Joseph, this admirable Spouse of Mary, this man whose life was entirely celestial, having previously predicted the time of his death and the place of his burial, passed away most holily in the monastery of Hov monastère d'Hoven Place of the saint's death. en, of the Order of Cîteaux, where his superiors had sent him to celebrate the divine Mysteries before the nuns who resided there: this occurred on April 7, 1230, or thereabouts. His body was immediately buried in that same monastery, by the care of the nuns, who feared that such a great treasure would be taken from them; but seven weeks later, the Premonstratensians of Steinfeld obtained permission from the Archbishop of Cologne to exhume him and transport him to their church. He was found sound and whole, without any corruption, and just as he was on the day of his death. This translation took place with great solemnity and an infinite gathering of ecclesiastics and laypeople. The miracles that occurred there were irreproachable testimonies to the holiness of our Blessed one. His new sepulcher was also a source of supernatural aid and miraculous healings, which have not ceased to this day; which is why

It is likely a nun of the monastery of Hoven who was served by the religious of Steinfeld.

for more than four hundred years, Herman-Joseph has always been respected and implored as a Saint, and votive masses and sacred canticles are even said in his honor.

Blessed Herman has been depicted offering an apple to the Blessed Virgin, who opens her hand and takes the fruit. This graceful scene has been often reproduced by painters and engravers, and no less sung by poets. One will read with pleasure the translation of the verses of a German poet who dedicated his lyre to him:

Holy innocence of childhood, dove of the good God, amiable companion of the angels, heaven, closed by sin, is always open to you! — Holy innocence of childhood, flower of heaven, forgotten on earth, you are like a graceful rose in a desert, tormented by the cold north wind!

Still young, Saint Joseph Herman went to school with other children, and, like them, he loved to play. But, by looking at him closely, one could already see that heaven destined him for high piety. Just as, in the ancient temple, the morning ray pierces through the Gothic stained glass;

Just as the source of a great river springs unknown from the hollow of the rock; just as the harp, rich in harmony, still slumbers in the arms of the dreaming artist. — At school he had learned that Jesus said: "The ornament of wisdom is love and humility."

He had heard of the divine Lamb who died on the cross, died for those who crucified him. As, at the morning hour, when the rising sun gilds the treetops and the mountain summits, the winged singers fill the mountains and valleys with their silvery concerts;

Thus the doctrine of Christ had awakened dormant feelings in the child's heart, and his soul soon resembled a celestial paradise. And, every day, while going to school, he would first go to greet the divine Mother and her Child on his knees.

With his sweetest smile, he brings them flowers, he speaks to them in a sweet language, and he invites the divine Child to come and share his games. And this lasted for days, weeks, and months.

One day finally, early in the morning, Joseph approaches the Child Jesus, an apple in his hand, and a smile on his lips. Who would not have smiled too, seeing the naive child offer an apple to the Blessed Virgin?

"Good Virgin Mary, and you, my sweet Jesus, take, I pray you, this apple that I bring you, this white and red apple!" — The bronze statue did not hear the child's prayer, but the Blessed Virgin in heaven had heard it.

The bronze Virgin comes to life, smiles, leans toward the child, extends her arm, and receives the fruit; then she thanks him with a smile. And, from that day on, she showered him, all his life, with graces and favors.

Holy innocence of childhood, dove of the good God, amiable companion of the angels, for you heaven, closed by sin, is always open!

He has also been painted holding a lily and the child Jesus in his arms; receiving from the hands of the Blessed Virgin a ring that signifies the spiritual marriage contracted between the Queen of heaven and her servant on earth.

Pierre de Waghenner, who wrote his history in verse, and dedicated it to Pope Alexander VII, reports seventy-two different authors who have composed his life in his praise. We h ave stopped at the pape Alexandre VII Pope reigning at the end of Olier's life. one who did it first, as it is reported in its original copy by the continuators of the Dutch. It must not be forgotten that the author of the life of Herman was his contemporary, a religious of the same monastery, and a witness to his actions.