Dear Friends,
As I mentioned last week, timing is everything, and my timing is still off because here we are at the Second Sunday of Lent, and I am now offering thoughts about Lent. If you asked me to recommend a single book to reading during this season (or any season), I would respond without hesitation this book: He Leadeth Me by Walter Ciszek, S.J. Fr. Ciszek hailed from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and joined the Jesuits in 1928. Shortly thereafter Pope Pius XI appealed to priests from around the world to go to Russia as missionaries, he volunteered to serve as a missionary to Russia—then the Soviet Union—where many Christians were openly persecuted and Communism and atheism were shoved down the throats of all “comrades.” In 1934, Walter went to Rome to study Russian, the history of Russia, and liturgy at the Pontifical Russian College, and in 1937, he was ordained a priest in the Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church, taking the name Vladimir.
Fr. Ciszek was sent to a Jesuit mission in eastern Poland in 1938, but the outbreak of World War II allowed the Soviet Union to occupy eastern Poland, forcing Fr. Ciszek and the other Jesuits to close the mission. Along with other exiles traveling east into the Soviet Union, he assumed an alias and fake identity, working as an unskilled laborer in a logging yard. At the same time, he clandestinely and covertly ministered to his coworkers and people in town. However, this would not last long.
Fr. Ciszek was arrested on the accusation of being a Vatican spy and was sent to Lubyanka, a prison in Moscow, where he remained for five years in solitary confinement. Lubyanka had been a hotel before being converted into a prison, so the windows had been barred and covered over. Even in his room, there was constant surveillance, and he was not allowed to lay around all day. In order to avoid madness, he structured his day around prayer: he “said” Mass, albeit without bread and wine; he prayed the Rosary in English, Latin, Polish, and Russian; he meditated on the mysteries of Christ. Throughout his time, he was harshly interrogated, accused of being a spy, and questioned about his faith. Breaking down from the stress, he signed a confession and was convicted of espionage.
He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in the Gulags in Siberia, where he shoveled coal onto freighter vessels and worked in factories and mines. During this time, he was able to resume his ministry, again quietly and covertly. He was caught by the Soviet authorities and admonished. He had been presumed to be dead by families and religious superiors in the United States until he was allowed to write home in 1955. In 1963, he was released along with another American in exchange for two Soviet agents. Upon returning to the United States, his ministry included lecturing, counseling, and offering spiritual direction. He died in 1984, and this is merely a brief sketch of his life.
He Leadeth Me details Fr. Ciszek’s missionary ministry into Russia, but even more so, he shares how God was working on him throughout his extreme trials and tribulations. There are lessons about trust, faith, the Mass and the Eucharist, and the human condition in this book, and I highly, highly recommend this book.
Fr. Ciszek cause for canonization is open, and he is at the first stage, given the designation of “Servant of God.” With all that is going on in the world, I think it is most appropriate that we ask Fr. Ciszek’s intercession for peace in Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. In our own suffering and needs, we can also ask for his intercession. Servant of God, Fr. Walter Ciszek, pray for us!
We are saints under construction, deepening our bonds and connections to the Communion of Saints. Have a great week!
In Christ,
Fr. Matt