Fr. Walter Ciszek and the kingdom of God

I'm following up on yesterday's blog about American Jesuit priest Father Walter J. Ciszek, author of "With God in Russia" and "He Leadeth Me."

As you may recall, Ciszek, who was captured by the Russian army during World War II and convicted of being "a Vatican Spy," spent 23 years in Soviet prisons and labor camps in Siberia. 

His account of those years as described in "He Leadeth Me," is an extraordinary and genuine testament of faith, and an intimate and deeply honest peek into one man's faithful heart. On his chapter titled "Retreats," Ciszek describes his efforts to engage and sustain the spiritual being of other prisoners, as well as fellow prisoner-priests. 

Fr. Ciszek married a couple (seated at his right and left) in Norilsk, USSR in 1955.

But don't take my word for it. Here are a few excerpts from Ciszek's unfolding understanding on the kingdom of God: 

"They had to convince themselves, these prisoner priest, of the need to renew their faith in the belief that Christ's victory was guarantee of their victory. The kingdom of God had to be worked out on earth, for that was the meaning of the Incarnation. It had to be worked out by men, by other Christs; it had to be worked out this day, each day, by constant effort and attention to just those persons and circumstances God presented to them that day."

"Each day, every day of our lives, God presents to us the people and opportunities upon which he expects us to act. He expects no more of us, but he will accept nothing less of us; and we fail in our promise and commitment if we do not see in the situations of every moment of every day his divine will."

"That is how the kingdom of God has been spread from the time of Christ's coming until now. It depends on the faith and commitment of every man... Every moment of every man's life is precious in God's sight, and none must be wasted through doubt and discouragement. The work of the kingdom, the work of laboring and suffering with Christ, is no more spectacular for the most part than the routine of daily living."

"The kingdom of God will not be brought to fulfillment on earth by one great, sword-swinging battled against the powers of darkness, but only by each of us laboring and suffering day after day as Christ labored and suffered, until all things at last have been transformed. 

"And this process of transformation continues to the end of time."

[Note: go here to view video clips of people who knew Fr. Ciszek, speaking about their memories of him."

The Body

Years ago I read Walter Ciszek's book, "With God in Russia," and became entranced by his story.

Video on the life of Servant of God Walter Ciszek, SJ, 

featuring insights from his friend Daniel Flaherty, SJ, 

who helped Fr. Ciszek write "With God in Russia" and "He Leadeth Me."

American Jesuit priest Father Walter J. Ciszek spent 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and in Siberia's labor camps. "With God in Russia" describes his journey, struggles, physical and spiritual suffering--in painful honesty. And it made me want to know more about this faithful man who lived in complete reliance of God's will, no matter what hardship and suffering he endured.

That's when I picked up "He Leadeth Me," a book that has become a "go to" guide in my own spiritual walk. No doubt you'll hear more about it in the future!

Fr. Ciszek in Norilsk, USSR - 1955

For today, some excerpts from his chapter on The Body:

"'Man is a creature composed of body and soul.' We have recited that truth from the day we first learned our catechism. But until the body fails us, or pains us, or forces itself upon our attention by some little twinge or complete collapse, we tend to take for granted this first and most precious of God's gifts to man or to give it short shrift."

"What came to me in the prison camps was a tremendous respect and love for the poor old body. It was the body that bore the brunt of all suffering, though the soul might well experience anguish. And it was the body that had to sustain you, for all the strength of will and determination a might have. It was the body that felt the sting of the wind, the bite of the cold, the cramp of aching muscles, the raw lash of cracked and bleeding flesh, the gnawing agony of hunger in the belly, the soreness and numbness of overtaxed sinews... and yet somehow it always managed to get you through one more day. It was the body that underwent the suffering, felt the agony, and carried the heavy weight across its shoulders of this daily passion and slow death of inhuman work."

"It is in the body that we exist and work out our salvation. It is in the body that we see and take delight in the beauties of God's created universe, and in the body that we ourselves bear the marks of Christ's passion."

"God by his Incarnation took on a human body."

"For each of us salvation means no more and no less than taking up daily the same cross of Christ, accepting each day what it brings as the will of God, offering back to God each morning all the joys, works, and sufferings of that day. But those are abstract words."

"What it means, in practice, is spelled out as always by the poor old body. It means getting up each morning and going to bed exhausted. It means the routine, not the spectacular. It can mean drudgery, pain, putting aside pleasures, happiness, or the love the human heart craves until another time, so that what is necessary at the moment can be done. It means working for others, touching the lives of others, through the medium of the body."

There is but a single vision

These words leapt out from the page and seized my heart:

“Across the threshold I had been afraid to cross, things suddenly seemed so very simple. There was but a single vision, God, who was all in all.  There was but one will that directed all things, God’s will. I had only to see it, to discern it in every circumstance in which I found myself, and let myself be ruled by it. God is in all things, maintains all things, directs all things. To discern this in every situation and circumstance, to see his will in all things was to accept each circumstance and situation and let oneself be borne along in perfect confidence and trust. Nothing could separate me from him, because he was in all things. No danger could threaten me, no fear could shake me, except the fear of losing sight of him. The future, hidden as it was, was hidden in his will and therefore acceptable to me no matter what it might bring.”

Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, SJ in "He Leadeth Me," p. 81

Fr. Ciszek in Norilsk, USSR - 1955

I went to sleep with Father Ciszek’s words ringing in my ears, my heart held by the truth I heard—and my head spinning with thoughts of how far, how remote I am from truly walking in this surrender, this complete and genuine trust in God's providence.

I want Jesus to come to me, grab my hand, and help me up. I want to know the perfect confidence that Father Ciszek experienced—or at the very least, to desire to know that confidence! Tonight that is my prayer, to desire it—and if I cannot honestly desire it with my whole heart, then I pray that I may desire to desire it!