Last spring, the Vatican opened the canonization process for Walter Ciszek, SJ, the American Jesuit who spent 23 years as a prisoner in the Soviet Union. This month the Jesuits are highlighting Fr. Ciszek’s life and the theme “A Life in Service” for Vocation Month. Here’s something a Jesuit said about him, and I don’t think it applies to just priestly vocations:
A life in service like Walter Ciszek’s means commitment; it means something that’s unknown; it means relinquishing control of your life to something that’s bigger than you. What will you do when someone asks you to do something difficult, but worthwhile?
UPDATE: The Ignatian News Network has just released a video about Walter Ciszek. View it here.
My mom died in May of this year. While my sister and I cared for her, she made requests and offered things to us from her home. She asked me to go through the bookcase for books I might want. I chose “He Leadeth Me”. It belonged to my dad, a Polish boy from PA himself. It was a gift from one of his former teachers. I still read her notes and look at what he highlighted. My dad struggled with his place in life and had great difficulty working from within in it. This book was meant for him and for me as well. Fr. Walter was an amazing human and a great priest. He still adds to my life on a regular basis.
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