Walter J. Ciszek





Walter J. Ciszek

Author profile


born
in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, The United States
November 04, 1904

died
December 08, 1984

gender
male

website

genre


About this author

Rev. Vladimir (Walter) Ciszek, S.J. (November 4, 1904–December 8, 1984) was a Polish-American Jesuit priest known for his clandestine missionary work in the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1963.

Fifteen of these years were spent in confinement and hard labor in the Gulag, including five in Moscow's infamous Lubyanka prison. He was released and returned to the United States in 1963, after which he wrote two books, including the memoir With God in Russia, and served as a spiritual director.

Since 1990, Ciszek has been under investigation by the Roman Catholic Church for possible beatification or canonization. His current title is a Servant of God.


Average rating: 4.24 · 1,158 ratings · 137 reviews · 3 distinct works · Similar authors
He Leadeth Me
by
4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 251 ratings — published 1973 — 5 editions
With God in Russia
by
4.35 of 5 stars 4.35 avg rating — 173 ratings — published 1964 — 5 editions
The Way of a Pilgrim and th...
by
4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 1,312 ratings — published 1870 — 20 editions

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“... 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... 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. Think of your day, today or yesterday. Think of the work you did, the people you met, moment by moment. What did it mean to you- and might it have meant for God? Is the question too simple to answer, or are we just afraid to ask it for fear of the answer we must give?”
Walter J. Ciszek

“Across that 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, sustains 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. The past, with all its failures, was not forgotten; it remained to remind me of the weakness of human nature and the folly of putting any faith in self. But it no longer depressed me. I looked no longer to self to guide me, relied on it no longer in any way, so it could not again fail me. By renouncing, finally and completely, all control of my life and future destiny, I was relieved as a consequence of all responsibility. I was freed thereby from anxiety and worry, from every tension, and could float serenely upon the tide of God's sustaining providence in perfect peace of soul.”
Walter J. Ciszek, He Leadeth Me

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