I have, of late, been praying a lot for guidance, asking for the intervention of the Saints, and last night, I said a small prayer....I asked to be notified of any Saints, known or unknown, to let me know if they are intervening for me on my behalf so that I may recongize them.
Today, I went to St. George's Christian Books and Gifts, and there, the owner gave me a prayer card for Father Walter Ciszek. He discussed a book by this priest which was recently given to many priests, some of whom have revealed that the insights within had changed their lives.
I have done a search on the web for more information on the priest, finding nothing. So if any of you out there are familiar with Father Ciszek, please post whatever information you can provide!
PRAYER OF SURRENDER
Lord Jesus Christ, I ask the grace to accept the sadness in my heart, as your will for me, in this moment. I offer it up, in union with your sufferings, for those who are in deepest need of your redeeming grace. I surrender myself to your Father's will and I ask you to help me to move on to the next task that you have set for me.
Spirit of Christ, help me to enter into a deeper union with you. Lead me away from dwelling on the hurt I feel:
to thoughts of charity for those who need my love
to thoughts of compassion for those who need my care, and to thoughts of giving to those who need my help.
As I give myself to you, help me to provide for the salvation of those who come to me in need.
May I find my healing in this giving.
May I always accept God's will.
May I find my true self by living for others in a spirit of sacrifice and suffering.
May I die more fully to myself, and live more fully in you.
As I seek to surrender to the Father's will, may I come to trust that he will do everything for me.
With Ecclesiastical Approval
adapted from the spiritual teachings of Rev. Walter J. Ciszek, SJ.
The Father Walter Ciszek Prayer League, Inc.,
231 North Jardin Street
Shenandoah, PA 17976
(570) 462-2270
Official Organization for the Promotion of the Cause of Canonization of REV. WALTER J. CISZEK, S.J.
UPDATE!!!
Thanks to Jennifer F.. who provided this link about Father Ciszek! Please read the whole thing...it will make you cry!
6 comments:
"Father Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. was a Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of being a “Vatican spy” in World War II and spent twenty-three years in Soviet prisons. In light of the horrible catastrophe that has befallen our country, Father Ciszek’s message, printed below, seems appropriate."
From the RNC for Life website, http://www.rnclife.org/faxnotes/2001/sept01/01-09-14.shtml
I think you were mis-spelling his name...
Thanks for the link, Lynn!
I actually WASN'T misseplling his name...I typed it from the spelling on the holy card, the very one used in this post, and I tried Google, Google scholar, and Metacrawler (which uses several different engines, a few pages deep). Zip. And the "history" on my searches uses the same spelling used here and in your link. Maybe search engines just don't like me. It's entirely possible. :-)
So I am grateful to you! :-)
What a beautiful prayer! Thanks, Adoro.
Wow, I just added one of his books to my wish list. All of them look great. Also, here's a good bio.
I highly recommend He Leadeth Me and With God in Russia. Both are highly inspirational.
He Leadeth Me is a wonderful spiritual book for Adoration time - all about Providence and our need to humbly surrender to His care. It is not as much of a "play-by-play" of his imprisonment as With God in Russia was. Actually, I believe He Leadeth Me is a "rewrite" of sorts by him of With God in Russia, because he hadn't been able to convey the spiritual experience in the first one the way he had wanted to.
Anyway, in terms of spiritual reading I prefer the second one. But they're both awesome books!
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