When Abandonment To God Gets Messy: The Story of Father Walter Ciszek

This is a lesson from Total Abandonment on God's Will, a course in the Science of Sainthood by Matthew Leonard.
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Ever heard of Father Walter Ciszek?
Lots of people are talking about him these days.
He was a Jesuit priest from Pennsylvania who traveled to the Soviet Union as a missionary - and ended up imprisoned in the Gulag for 23 years.
The book he wrote about his experiences, He Leadeth Me, is a mind-boggling account of the inner transformation that occurs when we abandon ourselves completely to the will of God.
And it wasn't easy.
Years of starvation and torture brought Father Ciszek to the absolute brink.
He eventually even signed a false confession, hoping to be freed.
And when that only made things worse, he despaired.
It was that period of despair that eventually led him to understand how radically he needed to surrender to Divine Providence.
But here's the real kicker. Once he did so - his life didn't suddenly, miraculously improve.
Yes (Praise God!), he did eventually make it home to the United States after many years.
But despite all he had already suffered, and all of the amazing work God had already done in him, his life was still pretty messy for a very long time.
And it was in that messiness that God got down to serious business.
The same is true for us.
We tend to imagine that once we truly submit ourselves to Divine Providence, everything in our life should fall into place.
After all, if we're living in God's perfect will for our lives, doesn't it make sense that our lives would be smooth sailing?
Unfortunately, because of sin, it doesn't work that way.
And that's exactly the subject of today's video.
In fact, because it's such a powerful topic, I'm actually sharing a full video lesson from the Science of Sainthood course Total Abandonment to God's Will.
It's called When Abandonment Gets Messy, and it's going to give you a totally new perspective on the deep mystery of suffering, despair, and God's will.

[@als7132]

Thank you for the presentation. I recently completed Father Ciszek’s “With God in Russia.” The book inspired me to start reading “He Leadeth Me.” Father’s Ciszek’s story is helping me understand God and the Grace I receive daily.

[@MaureenTeresaWard]

Thank you, Mathew! God bless you!

[@larios0709]

Thanks Matt! Great lesson.

[@MatthewLeonard]

You're welcome:).

[@mgm1497]

Love this Matthew!! Thank you so much!❤

[@DarkAngel-cj6sx]

Thank you. I had to rewatch this❤❤

[@glyniscooper5820]

Rey helpful, thank you.

[@user-gl9jd3ih8h]

Goodness. This is hard work! God must have known that Father Ciszek was going to be able to endure this horrible torture. I'm not sure I could go through something similar.

[@captainskippy4560]

Honestly when I hear this, I start being fearful. I'm still a young 20 something year old, not knowing what my life is or what it should be is overwhelming. I don't really know what to do or where to go, or even what God's plan for my life is

[@ellielovesourlady1880]

Do not be afraid. Find a spiritual director, preferably a traditional minded priest. I will pray for you.

[@user-gl9jd3ih8h]

PS. Warm greetings from Australia 🦘 Matthew. You're a fantastic story teller. Not sure why you don't have more viewers! I think you could have added more detail regarding the release etc of Father Ciszek at the end. The segment felt a bit incomplete.

[@MatthewLeonard]

Thanks. This was part of a larger series. (I'm not much of a KZbinr. I only post a few times a month at most.)

[@mistyviolet3825]

@@MatthewLeonard Thank you 🙏🏻 😊

[@mistyviolet3825]

@@MatthewLeonard I See the links in your description box