Spending almost three years together with a man, a priest, a Jesuit, freed from a Siberian Gulag, a Russian labor camp prison at Perm was indeed a unique experience. Convicted as a Vatican spy during the days of WWII, Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ was confined for 23 years. He died in 1984. Living with him, sharing stories, praying with him, sitting "at table" with him, all of these and more were truly unique experiences. In listening to him talk, I could not but question my own spirituality, my fidelity to prayer, my efforts to construct a genuine Ignatian heart.
The gospel reading for this penultimate Sunday of the current calendar year is a reminder to us that our lives as followers of Jesus Christ will bring us face to face with suffering, humiliation and ridicule. This was the life that Fr. Ciszek was forced to live. During a "social gathering before dinner" (called a cocktail hour outside the Jesuit Communities), I asked the quiet, demure man, how did he survive for so many countless hours in a room that had a bed, a chair, one light bulb and no window for many years. Without hesitation he said, "I will always be thankful that God gave me a good memory and that we were required to recite the prayers of the breviary each day for several years before our ordination. During the hours, days and weeks of solitary confinement, I was able to remember the psalms especially." Then he quipped, "And remember, they were in Latin in those days!!!"
Fr. Ciszek led the young Jesuit philosophers through a three-day renewal of vows triduum. I ask his permission to attend the sessions so that I could learn from him. He replied, "Yes, you are most certainly welcome to attend. You will learn nothing from me, however. Hopefully your heart and ears will be open to the great teacher, the Holy Spirit."
And when asked about his feelings toward those who imprisoned him, those who were in charge of the prison, he was again the quiet one. As often, he said "I prayed: Father, forgive them." So, while reflecting on the Magnificat quote from Father's book, I asked myself and I ask you, dear reader, "What are the realities in your experience that persecute you?"
Take the time to consider your life today. Are there people or situations that truly persecute you? List them for yourself. The first thought might be, "well, it cannot be all that bad. I am able to write the situation down on a piece of paper." A second thought might be, "Well, maybe prayers have made it survivable." We have heard it said many times: God will never, never, ask what is impossible of any of his children. Fr. Ciszek always saw in similar moments the opportunity to be another Christ. We don't have to be ordained priest to fulfill that role. Recall the many missionaries who have traveled to foreign lands to bring the Good News but who have found that the Good News resulted in the sacrificing of their lives to God the Father.
The sacrifices we are asked to make today more often than not are little more than forgetting about myself, to end the feeling sorry for myself when all does not go the way I want it to go.
This native Pennsylvanian, a deeply religious man from the coal mine area of Shannandoah is a reminder to all that genuine happiness and peace of heart and soul will come to any individual who has complete trust and confidence in God's "will, his wisdom and his grace." And for sure, if we do take the time to pray, to open our hearts to the intimate moments of conversation with God, we will true happiness in this life and will be so ready to move on to the next life, the life of grace with God and the community of saints ... like Fr. Ciszek. "Walter, intercede for all of us who come to you."
