Description

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2017 Independent Press Awards, Winner: Biography: General
2017 Catholic Press Association Book Awards, Third Place: Spirituality: Soft Cover

In 1963, following twenty-three years of hard labor and abuse in Russian prison camps, Walter J. Ciszek, S.J., finally returned to America. Had he come back a bitter man, or a man of diminished faith, it would have been hard to fault him. But he didn’t. For the remainder of his years, until his death in 1984, Fr. Ciszek’s grace, faith, and wisdom touched—often in profound and lasting ways—everyone who came into contact with him. With God in America is a collection of previously unpublished writings on Ciszek’s post-imprisonment life and thoughts. The contents—which include articles he wrote, speeches he delivered at retreats, letters he sent to people he was counseling, and interviews with individuals who knew him personally—present a man unbroken by all that he had endured and eager to share God’s love with others. From Ciszek’s first days back home in the States to his final words before his death, With God in America demonstrates that saintliness isn’t primarily about acting heroically in dramatic or devastating circumstances, but about honoring the ordinary, everyday aspects of life as treasured gifts from God.

About the Author

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WALTER J. CISZEK, S.J. (1904–1984) spent 23 years in the Soviet Union in various prisons and work camps. Upon his return to the United States in 1963, he was assigned to Fordham University in New York City where, until his death, he was a much sought after retreat master and spiritual director. He is the author of With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me and is one of the pre-eminent spiritual writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. In 1988, the cause for his canonization was officially introduced.

Praise For…

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With God in America: The Spiritual Legacy of an Unlikely Jesuit, Walter Cisxek, compiled and edited by John M. DeJak and Mark Lindeijer, S.J.  Loyola Press, Chicago. The author of this book died in 1988 but the writings it contains are still lively and are marked by a freshness that defies passing years The editors have done a service for persons seeking to live a spiritual life in difficult times. This work constitutes a supplement to the fascination account of Fr. Ciszek’s adventurous life in communist Russia. In order to appreciate more fully the basis of the wisdom and sage advice found in this account of the Jesuit’s life as a spiritual guide to many religious and lay persons it is helpful to read his own version of that enforced imprisonment and the events surrounding it. The story of Fr. Ciszek’s twenty-three years in Russia. He spent four years in solitary confinement in the notorious Lubianka in Moscow. From there the Russian authorities shipped him in a box car in which he managed to survive in spite of the criminal occupants who controlled the distribution of the very limited food. He spent sixteen yaers of his sentence in hard labor above the arctic-circle. Life was not much easier for him after he finished his prison sentence for he was considered a Vatican spy. But after some time, he managed to contact his two sisters by mail, and was eventually exchanged through their persistent efforts with the USA State Department. The officials they dealt with proved responsive and arranged to exchange him for two Soviet spies that had been captured and were held in arrest. 

This present work provides an illuminating account of the unusual and rugged character to join a Religious Order. His own words and the editors' supplementary additions result in a readable, absorbing story of an American citizen of the last century that gives fruitful insight into the makings of a saintly character. I myself had occasion to verify the result of the events described in this work and in his own earlier account as given in With God in Russia.  I had read the spiritual writings of Fr. George Maloney, SJ, and found them insightful.  Some monastic business required traveling for my community and I took the occasion to visit the author at the Russian Center, near the Fordham University grounds. When I asked for Fr. Maloney, the middle-aged priest who answered the door explained that Fr. Maloney was not present. He cordially invited me to enter and visit the center. His very friendly manner made me feel welcome and interested in what he might have to say about the Russian spirituality I had found so appealing. The warm friendliness of my host was such that it proved easy to speak with him about things of the spiritual life. When he took me into the chapel he spoke with such warmth about the presence of Christ in the sacrament there, that even now, forty years after, I recall his deeply felt words with the conviction that Fr. Ciszek has met the Lord.   

 
— Abbot John Eudes Bamberger, OCSO, Abbey of the Genesee

From Ciszek's first days back home in the States to his final words before his death, With God in America demonstrates that saintliness isn't primarily about acting heroically in dramatic or devastating circumstances, but about honoring the ordinary, everyday aspects of life as treasured gifts from God. Exceptional, extraordinary, inspired and inspiring, With God in America is very highly recommended.

 
— James A. Cox