He Leadeth Me is the deeply moving personal story of one man’s spiritual odyssey and the unflagging faith which enabled him to survive the horrendous ordeal that wrenched his body and spirit to near collapse.
Captured by the Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a “Vatican spy,” American Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent some 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. He here recalls how it was only through an utter reliance on God’s will that he managed to endure.
He Leadeth Me is the deeply moving personal story of one man’s spiritual odyssey and the unflagging faith which enabled him to survive the horrendous ordeal that wrenched his body and spirit to near collapse.
Captured by the Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a “Vatican spy,” American Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent some 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. He here recalls how it was only through an utter reliance on God’s will that he managed to endure. He tells of the courage he found in prayer-a courage that eased the loneliness, the pain, the frustrations, the anguish, the fears, the despair. For, as Fr. Ciszek relates, the solace of spiritual contemplation gave him an inner serenity upon which he was able to draw amidst the “arrogance of evil” that surrounded him. Learning to accept even the inhuman work of toiling in the infamous Siberian salt mines as a labor pleasing to God, he was able to turn adverse forces into a source of positive value and a means of drawing closer to the compassionate and never-forsaking Divine Spirit.
He Leadeth Me is a book to inspire all Christians to greater faith and trust in God-even in their darkest hour.
“An extraordinary testament of faith. We can all profit from it.”
-The Sign
“Ciszek is one of the spiritual heroes of our time. His message is both timely and practical. …We urge everyone to read this book as soon as possible.”
-Best Sellers
“…an intimate and deeply moving account of uncrushable faith, of hope that would not be put down, and a love which, like Christ’s, extended even to his persecutors.”
-Catholic Review
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This is one of my all-time favorite and most inspiring books! I had the privilege of meeting Fr. Cisek while in college and never forgot it! He looked like a short Spencer Tracy and was a down-to-earth person. But prior to meeting him, I had read his book, this book, and its gripping first-hand story strongly influenced me. His missionary enthusiasm evolved into missionary courage, and his eventual long nightmare in a Soviet Russian prison echoed the kinds of inner questions and resolutions that any of us would probably have if in the same circumstances. But what I consider to be the most poignant part of the book–his utter and complete surrender to God after a capitulation to what he did not believe in, changed my inner life and expanded my faith in God’s loving hand, no matter what our circumstances. I have read this book three times and recommend it to you … It is a story of profound, accessible, life-transforming HOPE. Enjoy, Embrace! And READ!