Luther tried to do it. He had entered the monastery of the Augustinian order at Erfurt on August 17, 1505, as he said, “in order to save my soul,” and he became a model monk in his duties. He labored long in prayer. He fasted and even beat his body to sub-due the flesh. Above all, he was rigorous in doing penance, entering the confessional for hours at a time and so wearying his confessors that they would eventually tell him to return to his cell and not come back until he had committed a sin worth confessing.
