Father Ciszek and Our Work
Father Ciszek was an American Jesuit priest convicted of being a “Vatican Spy” in World War ll. He spent twenty-three years Soviet prisons. He's worth knowing, if only for the words we post here today. He speaks of the "work" he performed in a Soviet labor camp - the so-called Gulag. If you're not familiar with the Soviet prison system, for now just know they were a horror. And try to imagine the harrowing experience of saying Mass in the midst of this horror. As we read these words - and they are worth reading slowly and thoughtfully - think of the work we do. Think especially of times when our work is particularly difficult. or when things don't go our way. In their own way, these words remind us of our various posts from Father Willie's diary about his days as a military chaplain working in the trenches of World War I. Men like these stand out as examples of real Catholic men at work - in every sort of work, even the most distasteful or dangerous. Noth...