2015 Issue III www.ciszek.orgfwccenter@ciszek.org Read newsletter online

Annual CelebrationFather Walter Ciszek Day 2015

October 25, 2015St. Casimir’s Church

229 North Jardin Street, Shenandoah PAMain Celebrant: Msgr. Ronald Bocian

ALL are invited to attend our annual celebration of Rev. Walter J. Ciszek’s life, works and message.

“Father Michael Paris is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington DC. He is the youngest of seven children and grew up in Columbia MD. He studied in minor seminary in Scranton PA, NY, and completed his theologi-cal studies at Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, MD. He encountered the writings of Father Walter Ciszek through his spiritu-al director in college semi-nary, Father Jeff Walsh.

He was ordained a priest in 2011 and spent his first four years at St Patrick’s Church in Rock-ville, MD. This past summer he was assigned as the assistant chaplain to the University of MD and George Washington Uni-versity. Father Ciszek has been a great spiritual guide through the years and he is so happy be able to share this day with the other friends of Father Walter.”

Adoration of Blessed Sacrament: 1:00 PM

St. Casimir’s Church

Divine Liturgy:2:00 P.M.

St. Casimir’s Church

Social:3:30 P.M.

St. Casimir’s Hall

Raffle Drawing:4:00 P.M.

Opportunity to visit new center 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

New Email: fwccenter@ciszek.org

HomilistRev. Michael Paris

Annual Celebration

COME JOIN US!!!

2 Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League

“For/From the Friends of Walter Ciszek, S.J.”A Publication of the Father Walter Ciszek Prayer LeagueOfficial Organization for the Promotion of the Cause of

Canonization of Father Walter Ciszek, S.J.18 Oak Street

Shenandoah, PA 17976

Editor: Daniel L. Flaherty, S.J.Executive Editor : Elaine CusatCo-Postulators: Msgr. Anthony D. Muntone, Rev. Thomas F. Sable, S.J., Circulation Manager Sister Doris Burkot, O.S.F.Business Manager Elaine Cusat

“Friends of Walter Ciszek, S.J.” is published four times a year for friends and contributors to the Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League. Copies mailed from Shenandoah, PA. For a subscription, write: The Prayer League, 18 Oak Street, Shenandoah, PA 17976. Current cost is $10 a year. Manuscripts should be sent to: Editor, Prayer League, 18 Oak Street, Shenandoah, PA 17976; please include a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. For changes of address or problems with your subscription write: Circulation Manager, The Prayer League, 18 Oak Street, Shenandoah, PA 17976. Postmaster, please return undeliverable copies to The Prayer League, 18 Oak Street, Shenandoah, PA 17976.

DECEASED: Giselle Berube, Rose Cheslock

HEALTH: Lynn Cugini, Sister Mary Heffron, new great grandson

SPECIAL INTENTIONS: Jim

REMEMBRANCE:Eugene and Stephanie Bartoli

For all members of the Prayer League living and deceased.

prayer hotline

We are now on Facebook! www.facebook.com/FatherWalterCiszek

For all whose names were previously on our list, but who are still in need of our prayers; for all those who have requested prayers of the League; for all prayer league members, for all those who are praying through the intercession of Father Walter Ciszek; and for all who need our prayers.

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God bless you and thank you!

Prayer For a FaVor through the

INterCeSSIoN oF Father Walter

CISzek, S.J._____________

almighty god, we love, adore and praise you as our Creator and loving Father. look with compassion and mercy upon us. hear our prayer in this time of special need and through the intercession of Father Walter Ciszek, grant the following favor if it is your holy Will.

(Mention the Request)

Most loving god, accept our gratitude for hearing this prayer. May the knowledge of the virtues and holiness of Father Walter be recognized and known to provide a lasting example to draw sinners to reconciliation and to lead souls to sanctity.

For you are our god and we are your people and we glorify you, Father, Son and holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. amen.

Please inform the Prayer League of any special favors from Father Walter Ciszek.

Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League 3

Spanish Translation of He Leadeth Me Published

Review #1---Paraula 19-abril-15Testimonial“He Leadeth Me”Walter J. CiszekPalabra, 256 pages

Walter Ciszek, North American Jesuit, arrived in Russia with 25 other people in Boxcar 89725, from the Polish city of Albertyn. His goal was to spread the word of God in Russia. But soon after establishing himself in Teplaya Gora, he was discovered and detained by the secret police. Accused of espionage, he was transferred to the dreaded Moscow prison of Lubianka where he remained during the years of World War II, and was later sentenced to 15 years forced labor in Siberia. Finally, in 1963, he was exchanged for 2 Russian spies and was able to return to the United States. In this book, he reveals the reason for his survival and gives testament to his life of prayer by which he overcame loneliness, pain, fear, and desperation. In 1990 his beatification process was started. Today he is a Servant of God.

Review #4---Rev. Cristiandad Mayo 2015“He Leadeth Me”Author: Walter J. Ciszek, Daniel L. FlahertyPublisher: Palabra256 pages

This North American Jesuit, Servant of God, entered Russia from the Polish city of Albertyn, which had been taken over by the Red Army. During the years of World War II, he remained in the Moscow prison of Lubianka, and was later sentenced to 15 years of forced labor in a Siberian gulag. In the book, he reveals the reason for his survival - the total surrender to the will of God - and gives testament to his life of prayer by which he overcame his loneliness.

Review #5---Agenda de la Empresa Andaluza Junio 2015He Leadeth Me: Memories of a Jesuit in the GulagWalter J. Ciszek with Daniel L. FlahertyPalabra - 254 pages

Walter Ciszek, a North American Jesuit, was captured by the Red Army from the Polish city of Albertyn and arrived in Russia with 25 other people in Boxcar 89725, with the goal of spreading the word of God. He was imprisoned, accused of espionage, trapped in the Moscow prison of Lubianka during all of World War II, and sentenced to 15 years of forced labor in the prison camps of Siberia. Exchanged for 2 Russian spies, he was freed in 1963, and returned to the United States.

4 Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League

Fr. Ciszek and the North American Martyrs: Reflections on Sinfulness

and the Love of GodBy John M. DeJak

On August 4, 1964, Fr. Ciszek began his annual eight-day retreat in preparation for his final vows, which he would take on the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption, August 15, 1964. The site for this particular retreat was the Shrine of the North American Martyrs (also known as the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs), in Auriesville, New York. It is built on the site of Ossernenon, a small Indian village on the south bank of the Mohawk River. St. Kateri Tekakwitha was from this village and it was the inhabitants of this village who ultimately killed St. Isaac Jogues, St. Rene Goupil and their fellow Jesuit companions in the 17th century. The Shrine has long been a spot for prayer and meditation for the faithful across the country.

There is something mystical about the place. When one arrives, he feels the centuries in his bones. Looking across the expanse towards the Mohawk River and seeing the sharp incline below from the height of old village of Ossernenon, one can’t help but feel the need for silence when meditating upon the events of that spot. It was there, down the sharp incline, that the Jesuit saints were forced to “run the gauntlet”—running up and down the hill while being stoned with sharp rocks and lacerated by blades and spears of the savage tribe. Upon that holy spot now lies a circle of rocks—possibly from the same era—now configured into a rosary.

The Jesuits have long cultivated devotion to these holy places, having erected a coliseum-style church in 1930, no doubt reminding the faithful of today that the suffering of the 17th century Jesuit martyrs had a mystical relation to the suffering of the early Christians in Rome’s Flavian Amphitheater. Not far away from the shrine church is a ravine. As one walks down the ravine, there is an eerie silence. One encounters at the base of the ravine a small altar commemorating the area—the exact spot still unknown—where St. Rene Goupil’s body was dismembered and thrown to be consumed by wild animals and the ravages of time. The place and the moment of one’s visit cannot but call forth emotion for the one who irrigated the land with his blood, so that the seed of faith could bloom in North America.

And so it was, in August 1964, that Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J., fellow Jesuit with the martyrs, came to the place of their tortures and death. Fr. Ciszek had seen his own share of torture and probably knew—more than most—a taste of their sufferings. How close he must have felt to them as he made his retreat! How intimate his relationship with them as he made the same meditations from the Spiritual Exercises that they had made centuries earlier. How humble he must have felt being in the presence of the ground watered by their blood and witness. This whole history and Father’s recent return from his own sufferings in Russia, must have colored his meditations and spiritual insights and inspirations.

Fr. Ciszek’s reflection on his own personal sinfulness, as composed by him during a meditation during this retreat in 1964, should help us today in overcoming our own sinfulness. Let us allow Father to speak to us today, as we continue striving to be the saints that God created us to be:

The Lord did not punish me enough in the camps. Instead, when all was lost and no hope existed, he almost continued on page 7

Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League 5

The spiritual leader of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins in Ukraine had an important message to the faithful in Frackville and Shenandoah on Saturday during his visit to churches in both boroughs.

Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki, 54, who was the personal secretary for Pope St. John Paul II, was concelebrant at Masses in the Roman Catholic churches of St. Ann in Frackville and St. Casimir in Shenandoah as part of a visit to the Diocese of Allentown.

Mokrzyclo, who speaks little English, was assisted by his assistant and translator Szymon Czyszek, who traveled with the archbishop and his personal secretary, Monsignor Andrzej Legowicz, to the United States.

“Rest assured, my dear brothers and sisters, that our dear John Paul hears you, sees you, helps us, and is more help now that ever before,” Czyszek said in translating the homily at both churches. “St. John Paul II, pray for us.”

Mokrzycki is a native of Poland and has been archbishop of Lviv since 2008. As a monsignor, he was a personal secretary to Pope John Paul II from 1996 until the pope’s death in 2005. He continued as a personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI until the pope ordained him as bishop in 2007, appointed him as coadjutor-archbishop of Lviv that same year and installed him as Lviv’s archbishop on Nov. 21, 2008.

The archbishop has written a book on the sainted pope entitled “He Liked Tuesdays Best,” which was published in 2011.

When Mass concluded, Mokrzycki and his entourage drove to Shenandoah and St. Casimir Church, where they were greeted by Monsignor Ronald C. Bocian, pastor and main celebrant. In addition to Legowicz, other concelebrants were Monsignor Myron Grabowsky, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church, Shenandoah, and the Rev. Johnson Kochuparambil, who leads the Hispanic ministry in Divine Mercy Parish, of which St. Casimir

Ukrainian archbishop visits Catholic Churches in Shenandoah, Frackville

By John E. Usalis Excerpts reprinted with permission of the Republican Herald

Church is a sacred worship site.When the clergy and altar servers processed to

the altar when Mass began, Mokrzycki presented Bocian with a first class relic of the pope. Mokrzycki made the presentation in Polish, with Czyszek reading the following translation:

“Last year we witnessed the canonization of Pope John Paul II. As his personal secretary, and now Archbishop of Lviv, in the presence of the priests gathered here and all the People of God, I solemnly present a part of the holy relics of Saint John Paul II to the Divine Mercy Parish in Shenandoah. May its constant presence in this church become a seal, emphasizing the unity of the Holy Church gathered around the successor of Peter and the unity of prayer.

“Reverend Pastor, please accept this relic, surround it with reverence and present it to the faithful for veneration. Let everyone pray before the relic, through the intercession of Saint John Paul II, receive an abundance of grace and that they may follow him in faith and zeal.

“Saint John Paul II, pray for us.”A first class relic consists of a part of the saint,

such a bone or hair, or something identified from the Passion of Jesus Christ, such as a part of the Cross. The relic accepted by Bocian was a lock of hair, as is the relic at St. Ann’s.

“John Paul II was an example of sincere humanity and profound spiritually, the teacher and witness of an un breakable faith,” Czyszek read. “He was constantly in search of the truth, and was truly an authentic follower of our Lord Jesus.”

“For me as personal secretary, John Paul was an extraordinary man,” Mokrzycki said in the homily. “He was so many ways like us, yet at the same time so different. I think that what put him in another category was his attitude, his behavior, his way of speaking, his actions. Being close to him, one sensed peace, security, goodness.”

Mokrzycki has a great devotion to Divine Mercy and to Father Walter J. Ciszek, S.J.

6 Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League

My dear brothers and sisters, many thanks for this warm welcome.“Yes” was the only answer I could give to Monsignor Bocian’s invitation to share with you some of my personal experi-

ences with John Paul II and solemnly present his relic in this beautiful church. Events like this help us to grow in faith and share our common sentiments. The memory of our dear saint brings us

together here in prayer and worship. I had the joy and honor of closely serving him during the last nine years of his life, and all of us have been encouraged by his humanity and friendship. John Paul II was an example of sincere humanity and profound spirituality; a teacher and witness of an unbreakable faith; he was constantly in search of the truth and he was truly an authentic man and authentic follower of our Lord Jesus.

Precisely in the light of this I would like to share a few vivid memories of John Paul II. In every age of time, we are witnesses to how God always places prophetic and faith filled people on this earth. Men and

women who become joyful promoters of the good news. Prophets that proclaim gospel truths with courage even when the strong winds are blowing against them. These prophets deeply feel the call to encourage others to put God first.

For me, as personal secretary, John Paul was an extraordinary man…being in so many ways like us, yet at the same time so different. I think that what put him in another category was his outlook on life, his attitudes, his behavior, his way of speaking, his acting. He mysteriously irradiated a light that lit the lives of others. Being close to him, one would sense peace, security and heartfelt goodness.

Our dear Saint John Paul´s memory is carved in my heart and the heart of so many people. But, my question is WHY? He possessed a human and spiritual wealth that slowly revealed itself during the various stages of his life until his illness united him to the suffering Christ.

We all know that as a young man, he was a zealous learner, he loved study and culture. He possessed a unique sense of responsibility. This pushed him to prepare himself the best way possible to serve the Church and his country. He thus be-came a convinced believer, a credible and enthusiastic Christian, and became what I would call “an authentic man of faith”. All his thoughts were directed towards God and the Church. His life was immersed in prayer…he seemed to be a living prayer. The words of St. Anselm remind me of him when he says: I nourish you with what keeps me alive.

As a priest he was keenly aware that the preaching of the word is the fruit of prayer and that the proclaimed truths must first be interiorly prayed over, meditated and then lived. This explains why he never neglected his prayer life, and always took the time he felt necessary. His prayer time was his priority as it should be for all of us. Contemplating Christ in prayer was always first. He never began the day or an activity without prayer. As he got out of bed in the morning, he would di-rectly prostrate himself on the floor and offer the day to Mary by praying the rosary. He would then get washed up and head to the chapel for Morning Prayer and meditation.

Some of you could ask: how did he pray? His prayer was very simple. He would pray with his heart the prayers we all know: the Our Father, Hail Mary, the Creed, hymns to the Holy Spirit etc., prayers we all learned as children. The difference was often in how he prayed them. He prayed them with his heart.

His example rubbed off on us. He taught us to pray with his life, until his last breath. In his final hours, we were his pray-ing voice, saying out loud the prayers he taught us.

I can say with all certainty that God granted him the grace of true prayer and intimate union with God. A very deep yet simple style of prayer.

He would always say to those he encountered: I pray for you….I will remember you at prayer. And it was true. One time he told us that he always prayed for the people he would meet in private or public encounters, he prayed for them before and prayed for them after.

So many letters arrived with petitions and intentions. These were always placed near his kneeler in his private chapel. Every time he went to the chapel, he would go through them, read them, close his eyes in prayer, mark them with a cross and offer Mass for these intentions.

He would spend long hours kneeling in prayer before Our Blessed Lord. Holy Mass was for him the most holy part of the day, it was the center of his day and his life. He never let a day go by without Holy Mass. He prepared for Mass with meditation and after spent time in thanksgiving. Those who helped at the public masses have vivid memories of his prayer-ful preparation and fervent thanksgiving. As we know, during his Pontificate, he would always invite priests and laity to Holy Mass in his private chapel in the Vatican or in Castel Gandolfo. Upon finishing mass and giving thanks, he would always have some time to greet those present, and would offer each the small gift of a rosary.

He spent much time in daily prayer. Every Thursday he would pray his holy hour during which he would have silent prayer and also sing Eucharistic hymns. He never missed his Thursday holy hour. Even during his trips, the organizers learned the hard way that this hour had to be put in the agenda as well as time for praying the Stations of the Cross on Fri-day. If the organizers didn´t put this time in, the Pope did…

John Paul has a great love for Christ crucified. From his seminary days, he meditated often on the Passion of our Blessed Lord and Mary´s motherly presence on the way to Calvary. Every Friday he would prayerfully meditate on the Stations of the Cross and we often times found him kneeling in prayer going from station to station.

Yes indeed my dear brothers and sisters! Saint John Paul lived immersed in God and lived for God. Whoever met him could sense this. For this reason, contact with him, brought one closer to God. How often people would tell me after meeting

Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki shares his memories of Pope St. John Paul II

continued on page 7

Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League 7

miraculously saved me from perdition. Why? I don’t know, because there is nothing worthwhile I did for him, but rather the opposite. He regarded the good prayers offered for me and the power of these prayers did the miraculous for me.

What am I worth in comparison with all men? Many excel me in natural and spiritual gifts. With angels and with the saints in heaven there is no need of making comparisons. And if compared with God, I am nothing. The most insignificant of creatures who dared to sin against his Creator. Vile, selfish, corrupt, yet sullen enough to live with people, and presumptuous enough to pray to God whom I offended. Sin made me obnoxious, degraded in the eyes of God, a monster that only sin could make. Yet in spite of all this, the Lord regarded my nothingness, preserved me, cared for me, and delivered me from hell itself without my deserving this in the least. Where is God’s justice? Where are his sanctity and other attributes, to condescend so low because of me and lavish his blessings on one so unworthy of them.

Why this for me? Why spare me, when you did not spare others far worthier than I? Confused, abased, humiliated to the depths, Lord, I express my deep gratitude to thee. You have done so much for me, let me do something for thee. Whatever you ask from me, I shall do, however humiliating, difficult, dangerous – or even most ordinary, but requiring hidden sacrifice, immolation, in daily insignificant and unrecognized actions. Or, with all sincerity yet modest and simple humility, if you call for a total sacrifice of life itself, your unworthy servant is ready. There is nothing I will refuse you, if you will it. You have conquered sin, evil, and death itself; that is why you are life and resurrection itself.

Fr. Ciszek and the North American Martyrs continued

continued from page 5him that a supernatural glow flows from his person. Prayer was his oxygen for his soul. Prayer was part of every hour of every day. Prayer flowed from his person. During the audiences, he would pray for the people as he drove by. His secretary Fr. Stanislao Dziwisz was always very careful when he would have to interrupt his prayer time.

My dear friends, what great lessons for all of us! We have so many worries and we often say and think we do not have time to pray or to go to Mass. We mistakenly think that prayer is for a chosen few…for priests, for nuns…or that we have to do something extraordinary to pray. Our dear John Paul teaches us that the path to prayer is that of evangelical simplicity.

He adopted the pious practices of all normal Catholics: he always wore the scapular and had the same devotional practices of the simplest of people. He who was so gifted intellectually and artistically didn´t look down on these pious practices. He was very fond of them.

Another pious practice dear to his heart was to go on pil-grimages to shrines of Mary, his mother. Love for our Lady was second nature to him. He would so often repeat Totus Tuus ego sum…I am all yours Mary! This is a great secret of his pontifi-cate: his total consecration to Mary.

I have dedicated most of this time to focus on the humble and simple prayer life of John Paul II. If he was a faith filled shepherd, he also enjoyed the fullness of humanity. He always thought of the others, he passionately defended and cared for human dignity. He cared for humanity and thus cared for life in all its stages, he cared for the right to work, the right to freedom, the right to dignity, he cared for children, the youth, the sick and suffering. He always had time to encounter all these groups. He cared for all. He took every problem seriously. He constantly looked for solutions and wouldn´t stop thinking until a solution was found. Every encounter with any person was characterized by love, esteem, respect.

After sharing this with you, we can only once again affirm that his attitudes were extraordinary. This is why his memory lives on in this world. And perhaps he is more alive now than before. So many requests for his relics, so many requests for his intercession.

If we venerate him as a saint, if we invoke him as our protec-tor and patron, if we beseech his intercession then we should also look to imitate him. We too should strive to be people of God, holy as he was holy, living God´s will as he lived it, whether it be in the good times or bad, in happiness or sadness, sickness or in health.

We pray he help us from heaven to become better men and women inside and that we also build a better world outside. We pray that you John Paul protect and help this community to grow in love and faith. Protect and bless all gathered here today. We especially entrust to you our youth, our families, the sick and suffering, those without work and all those undergoing times of difficulty. Help us to be holy. Help us to put God at the center.

You tirelessly repeated that the true disciples of Jesus are rooted in the earth of holiness. You taught us to pray for holi-ness in such a simple way. This prayer we repeat today full of trust: Lord, accept me and embrace me as I am, with all my defects, my weaknesses…but make me was you wish.”

Rest assured my dear brothers and sisters that our dear John Paul hears you, sees you, helps you and can be of more help now than ever before. Saint John Paul II, pray for us. Amen.

continued from page 6

the Father Walter CISzek Prayer leagueOfficial Organization for the Promotion of the Cause of Canonization of Father Walter Ciszek, S.J.

Phone: (570) 462-2270 Fax: (570) 462-227418 East Oak Street, Shenandoah, PA 17976-2356

Rev. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J.

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2015 Issue III

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