He Leadeth Me: An Extraordinary Testament of Faith

by Walter J. Ciszek

In this subtle insight of the soul touched by God’s divine power lies the root of true interior joy. And as long as this vision persists, as long as the soul does not lose sight of this great truth, the inner joy and peace that follow upon it persist through even the saddest and gravest moments of human trial and suffering. Pain and suffering do not thereby cease to exist; the ache and anguish of body and soul do not vanish from man’s consciousness. But even they become a means of nourishing this joy, of fostering peace and conformity to God’s will, for they are seen as a continuation of Christ’s passion—not in the distorted, senseless acts of bloody butchery I had shuddered over as a boy, but as purposeful, redemptive, healing acts by which the world is reconciled to the will of the Father. Such suffering can only bring with it deep spiritual joy, for from it springs redemption and salvation, the ultimate victory over sin and further suffering and even death itself. By man’s first disobedience, says Saint Paul, sin entered the world, and through sin, death. And only by man’s obedience,