Spirit of Christ, help me to enter into a deeper union with you. Lead me away from dwelling on the hurt I feel …I first learned of Father Walter Ciszek’s Prayer of Surrender (I use it as a prayer to accept sadness) and his life in a Soviet prison camp when I was struggling with severe morning sickness during one of my pregnancies. I had picked up a copy of his testimony He Leadeth Me, and turned a corner in my journey both spiritually and physically. I went from striving to change my situation to accepting it (by God’s grace). And even though I never found that perfect remedy to stave off morning sickness, by making peace with it — I ended up feeling a whole lot better.
Lately, I have been reflecting on how badly I need to revisit He Leadeth Me when I came across Ciszek’s Prayer of Surrender. Saying the prayer has meant a lot to me over the past couple of days, as I’ve been feeling especially sad about the pandemic. When you consider the circumstances in which Ciszek wrote the prayer — unfairly imprisoned, starved, even tortured — the words become that much more powerful.
The Prayer of Surrender by Father Walter Ciszek, SJ
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.
Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ., was an American Jesuit missionary priest to Communist Russia in the mid-20th century. In 1941, he was falsely found guilty of being a German spy and was placed in a prison camp for roughly 20 years. Eventually, Ciszek returned home after a trade had been agreed upon between the USA and USSR; he was exchanged for a Soviet spy that had been caught in America. In recent years, a prayer league has been founded to promote Ciszek’s cause of canonization.
Father Walter Ciszek, pray for us!
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