Does not the sympathy with the sorrows of the sisters resound as an echo of the wholehearted love and fidelity that she as a child offered her own parents? Unfortunately, we have but few instances of Aline’s childhood in her parental home. The way she saw the sisters’ relations to their parents reveals much of the atmosphere in the Bonzel home.
The family home was in the immediate vicinity of the parish church. Aline grew up under the influence and in the shadow of the House of God. Did the nearness to the church leave its impress on the lives of the children? The mother took the children to church with her at an early age. At one time during the so-called “Perpetual Prayer,” she took Aline with her into the festively flowing church. Most likely at home and again at the church door came the motherly warning that in church one must be good and quiet. But as the little one saw the numerous brilliantly lighted candles on the altar, silence was flung to the winds. Joyously her spirited child voice rang out clear and loud with the silent church, “Oh, how many lights!” Immediately her jubilant outcry was smothered by the mother: “Here you may not talk; you must be very quiet; God is there upon the altar.” One wonders what went on in the mind of the child that often prayed with its mother to God and now was told distinctly: “There before us on the altar is God.”
Aline said of herself later that she joyfully joined all childish pranks. Was it the Bigge River flowing past the motherhouse, constructed in after years, that kept her memory alive as to her youthful frolic in skating? Many girls are able to recall a period of life in which they loved to imitate boys, yet, better even excel them. This was also true in regard to Aline; in retrospect she considered herself a vivacious girl. Olpe offers children many possibilities for play and adventures. There are the hills of the Sauerland with their extensive woods to allure youth; the Bigge and the smaller streams to offer them the whole romance of running waters. Winter with its ice and snow gives children the liberty to romp about joyously in the invigorating air. All this one can project into the childhood and youth of Aline. Unfortunately but few incidents of this period of her life are available. The smaller and the greater joys, the smaller disappointments and the real sorrows of the child have not been recorded as research into the life of Mother Theresia revealed. Today, unfortunately, the possibilities of obtaining particulars of Aline’s childhood are irretrievably lost.
The exact year of Aline’s First Holy Communion cannot be ascertained. Most likely it followed the universal custom of the time, namely, at the completion of the elementary school. She was then fourteen years of age. It was only through the endeavors of Pius X that children were permitted to approach the Table of the Lord at an earlier age. It was not impossible that, in exceptional instances, children were permitted to receive Holy Communion earlier. If such an exception had been Aline’s, she would certainly have registered her joy, since she preserved an animated and exact account of the day of her First Holy Communion.
To judge correctly what she later told a Sister, one must take Aline’s age into consideration:
On the day of my first Holy Communion I was unspeakably happy. Before that I was a vivacious child, ready to take part in every prank. But after I received the Lord into my heart and returned to my place in the church an indescribable feeling came over me. In the joy I experienced, but one thought filled my whole being. As Jesus had given himself entirely to me, I must give myself entirely to him. Without really knowing what I was saying I repeated over and over again, ‘O Lord, I am your victim, accept me as your victim; do not reject me.’ This prayer silenced every other thought and raised me to a state of indescribable blessedness.
Nearly all whom God calls in a special way know very precisely at what time God’s will was first consciously experienced by them. Was this the hour in Aline’s life that opened to her the path of her life? That she later remembered so exactly her prayer at that time makes one surmise it was. She spoke of the experience of that hour: “One thought filled my whole being, as Jesus had given himself entirely to me, I must give myself entirely to him.” This in a noticeable way reminds us of the words of St. Francis of Assisi: “Keep nothing of yourself for yourself that he may accept you completely who gave himself to you completely.” Whoever comprehends God’s great gift of himself, must in answer give him a mutual love of surrender. Thus the youthful heart answers in readiness: “O Lord, I am your victim; accept me completely as your victim; do not reject me.”
Eucharistic piety at that time was characterized chiefly by adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Only on special occasions were the faithful granted the great grace of union with our Lord in Holy Communion. In the piety of all, Communion was considered as the “coming of the soul’s sweet Guest to dwell in the human heart.” Undoubtedly, one believed the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was the sacrifice of Christ and also our sacrifice. Faith also recognized Holy Communion as the banquet of the soul. But to the individual these thoughts remained ineffective. Thus it is rather surprising that Aline, also a product of the times, in reference to the grace of the Eucharist should understand and speak out so clearly of the idea of sacrifice. Is this not evident: He who gives himself completely to God, to him God grants the fullness of his mysteries?
Chapter II
Maturing of Vocation
Aline’s mother was a good example to her daughters both in vigor and in piety. Undoubtedly the relatives, after the premature death of the father, rendered the widowed mother and her children all necessary assistance. But the education and the development of the children devolved upon the mother who possessed the necessary capacity to take that responsibility in hand. Between her and her daughters there naturally existed a very close bond of union. Even in later years the mother was always concerned about her daughters. This was manifested especially in regard to Aline, who during the early years of her religious life, was ever able to rely on the ready help of her mother.
As a child Aline gave evidence of rich intellectual endowment and outstanding strength of character. Because of her natural ability and qualifications, her future way of life could well be developed. The mother placed high hopes on her elder daughter. These hopes were not entirely unselfish. However, one may not blame her for this. The widow clung tenaciously to her children and because of the early death of her husband she looked to them for her future security. It seems that she harbored the thought of having in Aline a support for her declining years. Therefore she believed that somehow Aline must remain with her. As Aline later spoke to her about her call to the religious life, the mother was not enthusiastic about the prospect, and did not give an immediate “yes” to the idea. She put her off by saying that she needed more time to consider it.
In the more affluent families of Olpe, to which the Bonzels belonged, it was customary to send their daughters, after the completion of the elementary school, to a pensionat, that is a girls’ boarding school, for some time. The purpose was not only the acquisition of more knowledge, but above all the formation of character and proficiency in the social graces. Tradition has it that the girls were sent to the Ursulines in Cologne. Thus Aline, with good grades and excellent recommendations from the elementary school, went to Cologne to the Ursulines. Apparently she was there more than a year.
Unfortunately, the reports of the Ursuline-Pensionat were lost during the Prussian Kulturkampf. Thus the time Aline spent in the boarding school cannot be established definitely. The Ursuline convent in Cologne was later able to give only the following: “Without doubt she (Aline) was in our boarding school for the name of Bonzel is still known here and has a good reputation.” If the name Bonzel was still in clear remembrance in 1925 in the Ursuline boarding school, it could also be associated with the fact that at the close of the Kulturkampf