Walter J. Ciszek (1904–1984)

With God in Russia. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. 1964. Father Ciszek, was an American Jesuit priest of Polish decent who spent over 20 years in various Russian prison camps. A young tough on the way to a life of juvenile mischief, Ciszek decided he wanted to be a priest to become a priest. In 1929 while he was still in seminary, the Pope called for volunteers to go to Russia, and Father Walter volunteered. He had some training in Rome and then went to Poland in 1940. He was given a fake id and volunteered to work in Russia at a lumber company. In early June of 1941, he was arrested by the Russians. He was accused of being an American spy and/or a Vatican spy. Eventually he was transferred to Siberia where he workee in mines, lumbering, construction, etc. All along he conducted mass, heard confessions, married people, baptized them, and buried them when he could. His matter of fact descriptions of the hardships, torture, freezing weather, starvation and other horrors make these atrocities all the more hideous. For years his family and the Jesuits thought he was dead. A riveting account.… (mais)

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Father Stubna's Recommendation:
This classic spiritual book is the deeply moving personal story of one man's spiritual odyssey and the unflagging faith which enabled him to survive the horrendous ordeal that wrenched his body and spirit to near collapse. Captured by the Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a Vatican spy, American Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent some 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. He here recalls how it was only through an utter reliance on God's will that he managed to endure. He tells of the courage he found in prayer—a courage that eased the loneliness, the pain, the frustrations, the anguish, the fears, the despair. For, as Ciszek relates, the solace of spiritual contemplation gave him an inner serenity upon which he was able to draw amidst the arrogance of evil that surrounded him. Learning to accept even the inhuman work of toiling in the infamous Siberian salt mines as a labor pleasing to God, he was able to turn adverse forces into a source of positive value and a means of drawing closer to the compassionate and never forsaking Divine Spirit. He Leadeth Me is a book to inspire all Christians to greater faith and trust in God even in their darkest hour. As the author asks, “What can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a gift from the hands of God and strives always to do his will?” This book will change your life and give you a new perspective on life and its challenges.… (mais)