Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J.

Man was created to praise, reverence and serve God in this world and to be happy with Him forever in the next. That is the fact of the matter; you believe it or you don't--and that is the end of it.---Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J.

I can think of no other priest of the 20th century who is a better intercessor for us during the very difficult time in which we live. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why we chose to read He Leadeth Me as part of our reading list this year. Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J. was a tough Jesuit who survived many hardships and suffered tremendously but kept his faith amidst seemingly insurmountable difficulties. I will likely offer some more reflections on Fr. Ciszek as our class proceeds, but by way of introduction, I offer for your edification this short 4-part video interview of Fr. Ciszek. It was filmed in 1984, several months before his death.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:

"The Ethics of Elfland"

It is a great joy to read G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy with our seniors.

Today we discussed Chapter IV: "The Ethics of Elfland" which is quite possibly one of the richest 20 pages of non-fiction text one may ever encounter. One will find himself pleasantly surprised, laughing, agreeing, imagining, remembering, nodding and feeling an overwhelming gratitude toward God and His goodness.

I found myself on the verge of tears: tears of sadness for those who have lost - or are in danger of completely losing - the wonder of childhood (people like me!), that wonder which allows us to see the world as it is: a fairytale (e.g. "God chose to paint the grass green and the sky... well, He's changing it all the time!" vs. "Photosynthesis, a very predictable and knowable scientific process, has caused the grass to be green through..."); and tears of joy at Chesterton's golden line: "...perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony" (pg. 65 of the Ignatius Press edition).

The chapter reminds me of the wonderment of my own little ones and how I'm often "so busy" and serious about the work of the house or my school work... I have no time to stare at the moon with two-year-old Jude! No, Jude's right: work can wait; gazing at the moon for this fleeting moment cannot.

It is fun to see you, dear seniors, mull Chesterton's words of wisdom. Only he can say such things as:

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors."

"Fairyland is nothing but the sunny country of common sense."

"The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."