Glory to Jesus Christ ! Please pray for the advance of the cause of Walter Ciszek, SJ, Priest-Confessor (1904-1984), who fell asleep in the Lord on December 8, 1984. He was a brave American Byzantine Rite Jesuit who burned to minister to the persecuted Christians in Soviet Russia: Byzantine Catholics; Orthodox; and Roman Catholics. For his refusal to renounce his loyalty to the See of St. Peter, he suffered in Soviet prisons and Siberian gulags for 14 years(1941-1955!) His sufferings only made him a great spiritual father. Returned to the U.S. in 1963, he served as a spiritual father and was especially beloved by Catholic Russians and Carpatho-Rusyns. May Christ continue to call such priests to serve Him ! See his story at http://nyssa.cecs.uofs.edu/wcpl2.html

[This message has been edited by Doulos of Fatima (edited 12-07-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Doulos of Fatima (edited 12-07-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Doulos of Fatima (edited 12-07-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Doulos of Fatima (edited 12-07-1999).]

Dear Doulos,

A worthy topic for prayer. May God grant our Church many such worthy priests and Spiritual Fathers.

I met and spoke with Father Walter when I was an undergraduate at Fordham University 25 years ago. His story is a great and heroic one. Meeting him left me with a sense of having encountered great peace and profound wisdom, and the impression is still vivid after many years.

Elias, monk