How strong is your faith? Can it move mountains? Could it survive torture and years of imprisonment in the Gulag? Here is one individual who was put to the test and who survived because of his faith.
Meet Father Walter Ciszek, S.J., a Jesuit priest of Polish descent who grew up in Pennsylvania. From a young age, Father Ciszek wanted to be a missionary. He got that opportunity just as World War II was breaking out. He clandestinely entered the Soviet Union and discreetly ministered to the faithful. However, his true identity was soon discovered by the Soviet secret police and Father Walter was arrested, accused of being a spy for the Vatican and finally confessed under severe torture. He spent the next 23 years in the notorious Lubyanka prison, the Gulag and internal exile in Siberia, all the while ministering to the faithful. In 1963, Father Walter was exchanged for two Soviet agents and returned to America. For the last 21 years of his life, he taught Eastern Christian Studies, wrote two books, With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me, and offered spiritual direction.
The following is an excerpt from his book, He Leadeth Me, in which Father Walter talks about faith: "Faith is ours to cherish or to take for granted, and if we begin to take it for granted we will surely lose it. So we must strive instead to be ever more conscious of it, to be jealous of it and guard it... We must make it the unspoken principle that guides our every action, the center of our being and of all that we do each day. It must become as real for us, as necessary to our lives as the air we breathe—for without it our lives have no meaning and our soul may die. We must constantly work to strengthen it and make it operative in all we do.
"The surest way to do this, I think, is prayer... But we cannot pray as if we were talking to empty air; so in the very act of praying we unconsciously remind ourselves of the reality and the presence of God, thereby strengthening our belief in Him. If we could only remember to spend the day in His presence, in doing His will, what a difference it would make in our own lives and the lives of those around us!
"Man was created to praise, reverence, and serve God in this world and to be happy with Him forever in the next. That is the fact of the matter; you believe it or you don't. But it is the first truth of the faith, and those who have faith accept it; those who do not, do not. I cannot convince anyone of it, but I believe it. I do not apologize for my faith, nor am I ashamed of it.
"Faith is the answer to the question most often asked of me ('How did you manage to survive?') and I can only repeat it, simply and unashamedly. To me, that truth says that God has a special purpose, a special love, a special providence for all those he has created. God cares for each of us individually, watches over us, provides for us. The circumstances of each day of our lives, of every moment of every day, are provided for us by him. But maybe we are all just a little afraid to accept it in all its shattering simplicity, for its consequences in our lives are both terrible and wonderful.
"It means, for example, that every moment of our life has a purpose, that every action of ours, no matter how dull or routine or trivial it may seem in itself, has a dignity and a worth beyond human understanding. No man's life is insignificant in God's sight, nor are His works insignificant—no matter what the world or his neighbors or family or friends may think of them. Yet what a terrible responsibility is here. For it means that no moment can be wasted, no opportunity missed, since each has a purpose in man's life, each has a purpose in God's plan. How strong is your faith?
Learn more about the cause for the canonization of Father Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. at www.ciszek.org
Deacon Jim Olshefski