EWTN: Fr Walter Ciszek

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Program re Fr Walter Ciszek on EWTN now.

According to their schedule it will repeat today at 6:30 PM Eastern Time
GRAVE IN PERM, A: THE FATHER WALTER CISZEK STORY
The moving story of Father Walter Ciszek, a Roman Catholic priest convicted of being a “Vatican Spy”, he spent numerous years in Soviet prisons.
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Although trained as a Jesuit, Servant of God Fr. Walter Ciszek was actually a priest of the Byzantine Catholic Church. His cause for canonization was submitted in 1990 by +Bishop Michael J. Dudick of the Eparchy of Passaic (NJ). The Byzantine Chapel at the University of Scranton is named in his honor, as is a facility on the Fordham University campus (both are Jesuit schools).

His unshakable faith as he endured the trials and persecution of priestly life behind the Iron Curtain are remarkable. I’d recommend this program to all, as well as his book, With God in Russia.

We continue to pray fervently for his soul and for his cause.
:crossrc:
 
“With God in Russia”. That was a great book. A must read!
 
ByzCathCantor said:
Although trained as a Jesuit, Servant of God Fr. Walter Ciszek was actually a priest of the Byzantine Catholic Church. His cause for canonization was submitted in 1990 by +Bishop Michael J. Dudick of the Eparchy of Passaic (NJ). The Byzantine Chapel at the University of Scranton is named in his honor, as is a facility on the Fordham University campus (both are Jesuit schools).

:crossrc:
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Thanks, I did not know this!

I recently started going to a Byzantine cathedral near my home. I love the sacred, God-centered liturgy and the customs like blessed bread and oil on my forehead, warm and friendly people. RC neighbors did not know they could go there. Old (very old) folks next door said they were “foreigners.” 😃 At liturgy for deceased, they say one sentence in Slovak! I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn about Byzantines.
 
Fr Ciszek was born in the Latin rite, and was granted faculties to say the Byzantine rite at the request of his order. In Russia he ministered to both rites.

I’ve read With God in Russia. It’s a good read, but I’ve heard* He Leadeth Me* is much more spiritual. I own this one and haven’t gotten around to reading it. The former is mostly factual, doesn’t dive into the depths of his heart too often. What an inspiration nonetheless!
 
excerpts from the biography of Servant of God Fr. Walter Ciszek from The Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League website @ ciszek.org/About_Ciszek.html
In 1929 Pius XI was very much aware that the Russian Orthodox Church was on the brink of annihilation by the Communist regime as witnessed by the decimation of the 148,000 religious 157,000 married priests, 21,000 celibate monks, 15,000 deacons, and 53,000 nuns to would be an all-time low of 4,000 priests by 1939. The pope called upon the Jesuits to go into Russia to aid those starving in mind and body and soul.
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The 1929 establishment of the Russian Center [Russicum] in Rome was the initial training ground for those Jesuits who volunteered to respond to the Pope’s call.
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Then Ciszek read the life of St. Stanislaus Kostka, another tough Pole who fought his family and at fourteen walked from Warsaw to Rome to join the Jesuits. Ciszek was three years from ordination. He hated the idea of “perfect obedience”. But at age twenty-four without asking anyone’s advice he presented himself to the provincial at 501 East Fordham Road in the Bronx and said, "I’m going to be a Jesuit. On September 7, 1928 he reported to the novitiate in Poughkeepsie, New York. Early in his first year he volunteered to go to Russia and, surprisingly, he was accepted. Only one condition, he had to finish the course of studies first.At the end of his second year of philosophy, however, he was informed that he was to sail to Rome to begin his theological studies at the Russian College. On June 24, 1937 he was ordained and said his first Mass in the Russian rite.
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Father Ciszek and his inventive friend, Father Makar, managed to con their way onto one of the jammed trains going south to Lvov, the Jesuit theologate. For awhile Ciszek got a job driving a truck, but the one idea that plagued him was that this was the perfect time for his “invasion” of Russia. The roads were aswarm with refugees. A man could easily lose himself among them. The Russians were hiring large crowds of people to work the factories in the Urals. Finally, his superior said yes.and he obtained the permission of the Ukrainian [Greek Catholic] Archbishop of Lvov, Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytzky, with special powers.
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from the National Jesuit News website @ jesuit.org/blog/index.php/tag/jesuit-father-walter-ciszek/
Father Ciszek, baptized a Roman Catholic, served his priesthood in the Byzantine Rite.
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He was ordained in 1937 as the first American Jesuit in the Byzantine Catholic Rite.
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from the Fordham University website @ fordham.edu/ciszek/ciszek.html
Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. was born on November 4, 1904 in Shenandoah, PA, where he spent his youth and attended parochial schools. In 1928 he entered the Society of Jesus. Experiencing what he has described as “almost a direct call from God,” he volunteered for the Russian mission in response to the appeal made by Pope Pius XII to the Society of Jesus. In June 1937, Fr. Ciszek became the first American ordained in the Russian Byzantine Rite.
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To be ordained into a rite is not the same as being granted facilities to serve the rite.
 
BertBlyleven said:
I’ve read With God in Russia. It’s a good read, but I’ve heard* He Leadeth Me* is much more spiritual.
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Fr. Ciszek described With God in Russia as “the book they wanted me to write” and He Leadeth Me as “the book I wanted to write”. Both are excellent IMO …
 
ByzCathCantor said:
To be ordained into a rite is not the same as being granted facilities to serve the rite.
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Trained at the Russicum and ordinated Byzantine as you noted earlier, like perhaps the most well known to most these days of the Russicum grads ordinated Byzantine, Fr. Robert Taft, thanks be to God still alive and active for the faith.

Thanks for your updates, ByzCathCantor. I was in a hurry to post last night when I just happened to find the program running, in case someone was still up and might be able to catch it, so I did a quick cut and paste of the EWTN description. I didn’t get back on line after that,

I have no doubt Servant of God Walter Ciszek will be canonized. +Righteous Father Walter, Pray to God for us!
 
5Loaves said:
Trained at the Russicum and ordinated Byzantine as you noted earlier, like the most well know of the Russicum grads ordinated Byzantine, Fr. Robert Taft, thanks be to God still alive and active for the faith.

Thanks for your updates, ByzCathCantor. I was in a hurry to post last night when I just happened to find the program running, in case someone was still up and might be able to catch it, so I did a quick cut and paste of the EWTN description. I didn’t get back on line after that,

I have no doubt Servant of God Walter Ciszek will be canonized. +Righteous Father Walter, Pray to God for us!
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No worries - we are grateful that you did post it!

I was surprised to see EWTN’s program note, as they are generally very friendly to ECs and typically careful in these matters.

And Roman, Byzantine, or both in heart and soul, no matter - we continue to pray for Fr. Ciszek’s blessed memory and his rightful cause!
 
5Loaves said:
Trained at the Russicum and ordinated Byzantine as you noted earlier, like perhaps the most well known to most these days of the Russicum grads ordinated Byzantine, Fr. Robert Taft, thanks be to God still alive and active for the faith.
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Indeed - I love reading his work and hearing him speak.

A good number of his lectures can be found via a quick Google search or at oltv.tv/id17.html
 
ByzCathCantor said:
5Loaves;8928359:
Trained at the Russicum and ordinated Byzantine as you noted earlier, like perhaps the most well known to most these days of the Russicum grads ordinated Byzantine,** Fr. Robert Taft**
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, thanks be to God still alive and active for the faith.
Indeed - I love reading his work and hearing him speak.

A good number of his lectures can be found via a quick Google search or at oltv.tv/id17.html
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Also, Archimandrite Robert is Plenary One speaker at Orientale Lumen XV Conference Is there anyone with a drier sense of humor? And truly calls a spade a spade-- ouch! 🙂 His former student Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin (Plenary Four) follows well in his footsteps, no?
 
5Loaves said:
Also, Archimandrite Robert is Plenary One speaker at Orientale Lumen XV Conference Is there anyone with a drier sense of humor? And truly calls a spade a spade-- ouch! 🙂 His former student Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin (Plenary Four) follows well in his footsteps, no?
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Indeed, but Metropoltan Kallistos still holds the St. John Chrysostom honorary “Golden Tongue” Award in my book!
 
Thanks for the tip! I DVR’d it and can’t wait to watch it later. 👍
 
Hesychios said:
I’ve been looking for that book! … can I have it back when you’re done !?!
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I understand (via word from Jack Figel) that Eastern Christian Publications is planning on releasing an updated edition in the near future. I’ll try to remember to pass word along here when it is released.

I too cannot find my lost original copy, so I’m anxiously awaiting the new edition.
 
I just watched it. Not much mention about Byzantine etc, but the show did say he was a Jesuit. Very inspiring and I’d love to read more about him.
 
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