Rider: Good day, Brother! Didn’t God let the sun shine beautifully today?
Monk: To you as a horseman, this might seem like an unclouded day. But for us monks…
Rider: What are you worried about?
Monk: The last 30 years were volatile times for us. Considering what a monk should actually dedicate his time to… surely not to worrying about life and limb, food or a roof over his head.
Rider: But your fraternity has been accommodated in the castle the past three years, hasn’t it?
Monk: Well, yes we have. But how can you rely on anything in these times of uncertainty. And how can you trust the words of the Swedes? Or rely on the emperor’s and his generals’ help? In the year of our lord, 1634, the Swedes dispossessed us and expelled us from our own homes. Terrible times… Only three of our Brothers, who were too fragile to leave, were allowed to stay in the monastery. Ha, what incredible mercy! They barely got along. And they were at the occupants’ mercy at all times.
The imperial forces failed all of us! Didn’t send us any help! In the contrary, it was us who had to help those friars, who had to flee their monasteries. We had to house them and share the little we had. And whenever imperial-ligistic troops roamed about, they made sure to take everything they deemed useful. I thought of the poor farmers and what they had to endure many times. Terrible things happened everywhere across Iburg. Right in front of our eyes…
Sure, in 1645, abbot Thorwahrt managed to talk the Swedes into handing us our monastery, or better said: made us purchase it back! I recall the times when we used to be the family monastery of the prince-bishop of Osnabrück with no worldly sorrows. And nowadays, we have to watch every penny carefully when making the most necessary repairs. Now imagine what will happen if the High Lords in Osnabrück and Münster do not manage to make peace. Will we have to endure everything all over again?

Rider: Have faith, Brother!
Monk: That’s a good one! The rider is delivering a sermon to the monk. A very good one, indeed!