He Leadeth Me | Chapter 11 | The Priesthood
Summary
TLDRThe script narrates the experiences of a priest in Siberian prison camps, where he secretly performed religious duties despite opposition from authorities. It details the psychological warfare, surveillance, and the use of informers by the NKVD to suppress religious activities. The priest's interactions with fellow prisoners, his resilience, and the role of faith in the camps are highlighted, showing how his actions influenced others and provided spiritual solace.
Takeaways
- 📜 The script narrates the experiences of a priest in Siberian prison camps, detailing his ability to perform religious duties despite the harsh conditions.
- 🙏 The priest found solace and purpose in ministering to fellow prisoners, including saying mass in secret, hearing confessions, and providing spiritual guidance.
- 🚫 The Soviet authorities were opposed to religious activities, viewing priests as a threat due to their influence over others, which led to constant surveillance and harassment.
- 🗣️ Informants were prevalent in the camps, creating an atmosphere of mistrust among prisoners, which the authorities exploited to prevent unity and potential revolts.
- 🔍 The NKVD (Soviet security agency) conducted regular interviews with priests to intimidate them and to gather information about prisoner conversations and activities.
- 🙅 The priest refused to cooperate with the NKVD, choosing to protect the confidentiality of prisoner confessions and the integrity of the religious sacraments.
- 👫 Despite the risks and restrictions, the priest's presence was sought after by prisoners, highlighting the enduring human need for spiritual connection and guidance.
- 🤝 The priest valued the camaraderie and support from other religious figures in the camp, which provided mutual encouragement and a sense of community amidst adversity.
- ⛪ The priest's role was not just to perform religious rites but to be a living witness to faith, inspiring others through his actions, dedication, and service.
- 🌟 The script underscores the transformative power of faith and religious ministry, even in the most oppressive environments, offering hope and a sense of purpose to those who were suffering.
Q & A
What was the primary consolation for the priest in Siberian prison camps?
-The primary consolation for the priest was the ability to function as a priest again, including saying mass in secret, hearing confessions, baptizing, comforting the sick, and ministering to the dying.
How did the authorities in the camps view priestly activities?
-The authorities viewed priestly activities as dangerous and against religion, using the power of law and the Soviet constitution, which forbade proselytizing, to suppress such activities.
What was the purpose of the frequent interviews between the NKVD security agents and the priests?
-The interviews served two main purposes: to conduct psychological warfare through harassment and intimidation, and to find out what the prisoners were discussing, particularly with priests, as the NKVD was interested in the conversations and potential ringleaders within the camp.
Why were priests considered especially dangerous by the camp authorities?
-Priests were considered especially dangerous because they had influence over other people, and the authorities feared that they could potentially incite insurrections or revolts among the prisoners.
How did the presence of informers affect the relationships among prisoners?
-The presence of informers led to a feeling of mistrust among the prisoners, making them afraid to confide in anyone unless they knew them exceptionally well, which in turn made it difficult for any organization or conspiracy to form among the prisoners.
What challenges did the priest face in his efforts to minister to the prisoners?
-The priest faced challenges such as being assigned to the lowest work brigades, having his food rations cut, being denied privileges, and being frequently harassed and interviewed by security agents.
How did the priest perceive his role and the impact of his actions in the prison camps?
-The priest perceived his role as one of service and ministry, with no thought of personal inconvenience or risk. He saw his actions as a witness to his faith, believing that his suffering and labors could be offered up for his fellow men.
What was the attitude of the other prisoners towards priests in the camps?
-Despite the harsh conditions and the authorities' efforts to suppress religious activities, other prisoners sought out priests for spiritual guidance and comfort, and they respected and supported them in their faith.
How did the priest's experiences in Lubianca influence his service in the prison camps?
-The priest's experiences in Lubianca, where he underwent a period of purification, made him more humble and better equipped to serve the prisoners in Siberia. He was grateful for the opportunity to function as a priest again and to offer his sufferings for the benefit of others.
What was the significance of the priest's role as a mediator between God and men in the context of the prison camps?
-As a mediator, the priest could offer up his suffering and labors for his fellow men, adding a dimension of expiation and sacrifice to their lives, and providing a sense of purpose and dedication beyond mere survival.
Outlines
📖 Priesthood in Siberian Prison Camps
The narrator, a priest, reflects on his time in Siberian prison camps during which he was able to resume his priestly duties in secret. Despite the hardships, he found consolation in being able to say mass, hear confessions, baptize, and provide comfort to the sick and dying. He also faced harassment and intimidation from the Soviet authorities who saw priests as a threat due to their influence over others. The priest recounts the constant surveillance, the use of informers, and the psychological warfare employed by the NKVD to discourage religious activities. He also discusses the impact of these tactics on the prisoners' ability to trust one another and form communities within the camp.
🔗 The Unbreakable Bond of Faith in Adversity
Despite the oppressive environment of the prison camps, the narrator describes how priests maintained strong connections with their fellow prisoners. As soon as a priest's presence was known, he would be sought out by other prisoners, not for personal reasons but because of his role as a representative of God. The priestly duties included providing spiritual guidance, absolution, and moral support to those in need. The narrator emphasizes the humility and service required of a priest, highlighting the importance of living the faith rather than just preaching it. He also discusses the camaraderie among priests in the camps, sharing the challenges of ministering to prisoners and the importance of their collective witness to their faith.
🙏 The Power of Witness and the Role of Religious Leaders
The text delves into the role of religious leaders, particularly Catholic priests, in the prison camps, and how their dedication and witness to their faith influenced other prisoners. It contrasts the priests' approach with that of Baptist ministers, who were often more hostile and separatist. The priests' unwavering commitment to their faith, even in the face of persecution and hardship, served as a testament to their beliefs. The text also touches on the Baptists' strict adherence to their faith and their resistance to the atheistic regime. It discusses the priests' interactions with other Christian denominations, the challenges of ministering in a repressive environment, and the importance of their witness in helping prisoners reconnect with their faith.
⛪ The Priesthood's Apostolate and the Impact of Faith
This paragraph highlights the apostolic work of priests in the Siberian labor camps and the profound impact of their faith on the prisoners. It describes how the priests, through their actions and dedication, provided a sense of purpose and meaning to the harsh realities of camp life. The text emphasizes the importance of the priest's role as a mediator between God and men, offering up their sufferings for the benefit of others. It also discusses the support and respect the priests received from the Catholic prisoners of Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and Latvian descent, who played a crucial role in protecting and aiding the priests in their apostolic mission. The narrative conveys the transformative power of faith in the most challenging circumstances and the priests' commitment to their spiritual duties despite the risks and difficulties.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Priest
💡Siberia
💡NKVD
💡Informers
💡Religious Persecution
💡Sacraments
💡Apostolate
💡Providence
💡Confession
💡Witness
💡Expiation
Highlights
The priest found consolation in Siberian prison camps by being able to function as a priest again, including saying mass in secret.
Authorities in the camps opposed religious activities, viewing priests as dangerous due to their influence over others.
Prisoners were under constant surveillance, with informers present throughout the camps, leading to a culture of mistrust.
The priest resisted cooperating with the NKVD's attempts to gather information, fearing it would compromise the sanctity of confession.
Despite the harsh conditions, priests were sought out by other prisoners, indicating a deep spiritual need among the incarcerated.
The priest's interactions with other prisoners were humbling, as they came to him not for his personal qualities but because of his role as a representative of God.
The priest's role was one of service and ministry, offering support without regard for personal inconvenience or risk.
The priest saw his suffering in the camps as part of God's will and a means to serve his fellow prisoners.
The priest's experiences in Lubianca led to a deeper understanding of God's grace and a more humble service in the camps.
Priests in the camps formed a support network, sharing resources and spiritual counsel, despite the risks and challenges.
Baptist ministers and Orthodox priests also played a role in the camps, though their interactions with Catholic priests were limited.
The priest's primary role was to be a witness to the faith, living it out in his actions and interactions with others.
The priest's dedication and service inspired respect and admiration among prisoners, leading some to rekindle their faith.
The priest's presence in the camps provided a sense of purpose and meaning to the suffering and labor, offering a spiritual dimension to the prisoners' experiences.
The priest's role extended beyond religious duties to include a daily offering of his labors and sufferings for the benefit of others.
Despite the challenges, the priest found joy in being able to serve as a priest again, even in the harsh environment of the Arctic Siberian camps.
Transcripts
[Music]
chapter 11
the priesthood
for all the hardships and suffering
endured there the prison camps of
siberia held one great consolation for
me
i was able to function as a priest again
i was able to say mass again although in
secret to hear confessions to baptize to
comfort the sick and to minister to the
dying
i was able to speak to others about god
and instruct them in the faith to
strengthen those whose faith was weak to
help and enlighten those who were
believers in name only but who wanted to
be more who might have said with that
man in the gospel lord i believe
help my unbelief
of course
all this could not be done too openly
the authorities in the camps did more
than simply frown on such priestly
activities officially of course they
were against religion and had the power
of the law and the soviet constitution
which forbade proselytizing on their
side
but there was more to the opposition
than that they knew priests had
influence on other people
from the point of view of those in
charge of the camps therefore that made
priests especially dangerous no matter
what they were telling their fellow
prisoners
accordingly priests were called in
regularly for interviews by the nkvd
security agents
i had my share of such interviews
one purpose of the interviews was a sort
of constant psychological warfare a form
of harassment and intimidation a not so
gentle reminder that such dangerous
enemies of the soviet people as priests
were constantly under surveillance
from time to time in these interviews
the security agents would deliberately
let it be known that much of the priests
activities were immediately known to
them through informers
the camps were full of informers
everybody knew that prisoners who worked
in the camp offices frequently suspected
or even knew for a fact who the
informers were and would tip off their
friends not to have anything to do with
such men some informers were beaten up
in retaliation i knew of cases where
they were even killed but by and large
the prisoners took it for granted that
such people had simply caved in under
whatever pressure the nkvd had used
against them it was a fact of life and a
man's first duty was to survive so
fellow prisoners might feel sorry for
the men or they might hold him in
contempt but as a practical matter they
simply avoided him or talked about
nothing with him except the most
ordinary things
in so close knit a society as the prison
camp
it did not take long for a word to get
around about who had joined the ranks of
the informers they made it easier for
the other prisoners in one sense but it
also served the authority's purpose as
well
it generated a feeling of mistrust among
the prisoners a man was really afraid to
confide in anyone unless he knew him
exceptionally well
and that made it all the more difficult
for any sort of organization
or conspiracy to come into being among
the prisoners
in the same way and for much of the same
reasons
i'm sure the security agents let it be
known that informers were constantly
watching priests so that a man would be
very slow to engage in religious
conversation with an ever widening
circle of people he did not know well
another purpose of these frequent
security interviews with priests was to
find out just what the prisoners were
saying if they were not talking to
priests about religion they must be
talking to them about something besides
the weather so the nkvd men would try to
find out what was being said in the camp
who were the ringleaders of various
groups what was said privately in the
barracks how the prisoners felt about
the regime the system the future
i consistently refused to cooperate in
any such line of questioning i had had a
belly full of cooperation with the nkvd
in lubianca
more than that i felt i had to be
extremely careful about giving even the
external appearance of cooperating lest
there be any suspicion among the
prisoners about placing the seal of
confession in jeopardy of course there
was never any question about that in my
mind but i had to be especially careful
so that no one else would have such
doubts either
i was punished for my lack of
cooperation in these sessions in many
ways i was assigned to the lowest work
brigades and even to the penal brigade
so that would be impossible for me to
build up an apostolic following my
brigades were changed frequently my food
rations were cut i was assigned to the
poorest barracks allowed no privileges
not even the ones i might have earned
and if the brigadier or the man in
charge of the barracks put my name on a
list of privileges for some reason or
other there would quickly be
intervention by some higher official to
prevent my actually receiving it
meanwhile the harassment and the
interviews went on
there was no doubt that priests were
singled out in this regard
but a system based on fear and
intimidation as the prison camps were
could not confine itself just to this
religious minority
camp officials were deathly afraid of
and constantly on guard against little
insurrections or revolts among the
prisoners they went to great lengths to
break up nationality groups among the
prisoners or language groups or even
people from the same town or other
common background for example those who
had been to universities or were former
party members
since the prison camps of the arctic
circle however included men from all
nationalities in the soviet union and
many men with common backgrounds such as
the army the university or the party it
was impossible for the security agents
to prevent common interest groups from
forming or associating with one another
in non-working hours
no doubt that was one reason the working
hours were stretched almost to the
limits of human endurance
it was the reason for the creation of
mixed brigades where the prisoners
shared little or no common interest
it was the reason why brigades were
changed frequently and finally it was
the reason why no secret was made of the
use of informers by the security organs
at all costs they had to be able to
isolate potential troublemakers or
leaders of any sort and it was because
of this potential for leadership among
the nationality or religious groups that
they singled out priests for
surveillance as much as for any reasons
of atheistic propaganda or
anti-religious persecution
nevertheless the amazing thing to me was
how little all these security measures
affected a priest's relations with other
prisoners the moment he appeared on the
campgrounds by himself or with a fellow
priest he would be joined by passing
prisoners the moment it became known in
a new brigade or a new barracks or a new
camp that a man was a priest he would be
sought out
he didn't have to make friends
they came to him instead
it was a very humbling experience
because you quickly came to appreciate
that it was god's grace at work and had
little to do with your own efforts
people came to you
because you were a priest
not because of what you were personally
they didn't always come either expecting
wise counsel or spiritual wisdom or an
answer to every difficulty they came
expecting absolution from their sins
the power of the sacrament
to realize this was a matter of joy and
of humility you realized that they came
to you as a man of god a representative
of god a man chosen from among men and
ordained for men in the things that are
of god
he realized too that this imposed upon
you an obligation of service of ministry
with no thought of personal
inconvenience no matter how tired you
might be physically or what risks you
might be running in the face of official
threats
for my part i could not help but see in
every encounter with every prisoner the
will of god for me now at this time and
in this place and the hand of providence
that had brought me here by strange and
torturous paths
it was not always a matter of preaching
god and religion it was enough at times
simply to respect each of your fellow
men in the camp to do good to each no
matter what he himself did or said no
matter how he acted toward you even the
christians who came specifically to seek
advice needed sympathy and moral support
more than they needed a reminder of
their obligations or their failings
there was little call to preach about
sin or damnation or hellfire to men who
experienced daily the hell of loneliness
and separation and anxiety
a great deal of tolerance and a great
deal of understanding were required of a
priest if he wished to be effective
among these unfortunate and almost
degraded human beings
common sense and intuition a feeling for
the finger of god's grace behind a
question or a conversation or an
encounter was much more necessary than
textbook answers in theology before my
own sad experiences in lubianca where i
finally came to understand that
everything depends on god and not on
self in matters spiritual i had always
thought that i had a definite answer and
an explanation for all the moral
questions in every problem of conscience
having failed the test myself however
having learned god's truth the hard way
i was able in the camps to be of humble
service to the men god sent my way each
day
we come to know the workings of the
spirit in ourselves slowly how much more
slowly then do we begin to detect the
workings of that same spirit and others
as i worked daily in the camps i thanked
god over and over again for the awful
period of purification i underwent in
lubianca so that i could serve these
tortured men and i thanked him too for
the mysterious workings of his
providence that had brought me here
but above all i thanked him for having
chosen me to be a priest and for the joy
he gave me now in being able to function
as a priest again
in every camp there were a number of
priests this too was a source of
consolation to me the ones who had been
there the longest were usually the ones
who had made the contacts necessary to
obtain what was needed for mass
they were delighted to have another
priest in the camp and quick to spread
the word among the prisoners such
friendship was a joy in itself but it
also meant a chance to go to confession
in the sacraments again to talk of
spiritual things to share experiences
we discussed together how best to answer
the problems that the prisoners brought
to us problems peculiar to a prison camp
and never covered in the course of
theology
we exhorted and encouraged one another
shared prayers and short homilies they
may not have been the most polished
sermons but they were often moving and
most provocative because of the
circumstances under which they were
delivered
it was something just to be with these
men and to see them prove in word and
indeed their dedication to god and to
the flock he entrusted to them day after
day
not that all of them were perfect
indeed there were even informers among
the priests themselves we sometimes knew
it because trusted prisoners who worked
in the offices would tell us of
encounters they had seen sometimes these
priests themselves would tell us
privately how they had been pressured
into such cooperation and they begged
our forgiveness
strange as it may seem these informers
or suspected informers were never
excluded from our company they shared in
our masses we heard their confessions
and they heard ours such was the power
of our confidence in the seal of the
confessional and we could not bring
ourselves to turn away anyone from the
grace to be gained in the sacraments or
in listening to the word of god we all
had our failings each of us knew only
too well how much we depended upon god
and on his grace
every camp also had a number of baptist
ministers but they would rarely have
anything to do with us most of them in
fact were fiercely anti-catholic at
times openly antagonistic and hostile
they and their followers were usually a
close-knit group they held regular
prayer meetings recited the bible from
memory and instructed one another to be
faithful to christ while opposing
antichrists whether in the guise of
communism or catholicism
perhaps because they were so staunch and
outspoken or maybe simply because they
were such a close-knit group
the camp officials were particularly
severe on the baptists and did their
best to break up such groups
i was saddened and frequently puzzled at
their attitude toward other believers
especially under the circumstances
yet one could not help but admire their
dedication and the christian witness
they gave to their beliefs
there were some who felt that their
relations with other christians were not
particularly christ-like or even
charitable
yet if they sincerely believed that the
church somehow stood for antichrist one
could perhaps understand their fear of
us and their reactions
certainly in all other ways they were
admirable and they were never afraid to
stand up for their faith to suffer for
it and so give testimony in their daily
lives to their religious beliefs
the same could be said of the few
orthodox priests and monks i met in the
prison camps they were not very active
for the most part but they seemed
genuinely holy men they stayed away from
controversy or even much in the way of
public religious activity
instead they led a simple life of prayer
and work
in the barracks they kept to themselves
rarely speaking to the other prisoners
some older prisoners themselves orthodox
visited them occasionally and spent some
time with them in private conversation
but they seemed to want to avoid doing
anything that would call attention to
themselves or that would get them into
trouble with camp authorities
nevertheless the other prisoners showed
respect for them left them alone and
wondered sometimes at their life of
prayer
the key word in fact of our priestly
apostolate in the camps had to be the
word witness it was not so much a matter
of preaching god and talking religion to
the men around you as it was a matter of
living the faith that you yourself
professed
many of them could not at first
understand the life dedicated to god and
work and suffering and in sacrifice but
they began by respecting it
and from that respect grew a sense of
admiration
and then of inquiry
it was not so much what you said but
what you did how you lived that
influenced them
they were wise in the ways of the prison
camp and the prison system they knew
that priests were the object of special
harassment by the officials
yet they saw these same priests refused
to become embittered they saw them spend
themselves in helping others they saw
them daily give of themselves beyond
what was required without complaint
without thinking of themselves first
without regard for their own comfort or
even safety they saw them make
themselves available to the sick and to
the sinning even to those who had abused
or despised them if a priest showed
concern for such people they would say
he must believe in something that makes
him human and close to god at the same
time this quality in a priest was what
appealed most to them and it was this
quality that led them to seek a new
relationship with god by reconciling
themselves to his laws and to conscience
to help prisoners return to a belief in
god they had long abandoned or simply
ignored for many years was our greatest
joy and consolation
the catholics of polish ukrainian
lithuanian and latvian descent were the
primary objects of our apostolate and
the nucleus of any prison camp parishes
they held steadfastly to the faith and
were overjoyed to have a priest among
them to be able again to receive the
sacraments
they traditionally held a priest in
great respect and in the camps they did
whatever they could to care for us to
shield us to make our apostolate
possible and effective
they shared with us the little extra
food they had they stood on watch when
we celebrated mass to warn us against
the approach of the guards or the
presence of informers and they brought
other prisoners to us
not all of them were the most exemplary
christians of course but they were
believers
they might not always be able to explain
the truths of the faith in a way to
satisfy the curiosity of those who had
grown up in a soviet system and heard
religion ridiculed or explained away in
the schools
but they were witnesses by their own
faith to the fact that faith itself gave
another dimension to life that a man
could believe in something beyond the
material world and that this belief gave
meaning and purpose to a life lived in
circumstances that otherwise would be
cause only for despair
it was through their belief however
imperfectly expressed that others came
to us to find out more about a faith
that could give such meaning to their
lives
there was no startling conversations no
miracles performed no sensational prayer
sessions testifying to the working of
the holy spirit no pomp no splendor in
our religious services that could draw
the curious minds of the ordinary worker
to participate no religious pretense
whatsoever for all our get-togethers for
the eucharist or any spiritual services
were held in seclusion out of fear of
repression
the little that was done the simple way
it was done for god
be it a clandestine mass a baptism
an office of the dead a sermon preached
on the spur of the moment a sick call
made a confession heard a mumbled word
of advice or prayer while walking about
the camp or marching through the snows
to work everything done in a deep spirit
of faith
was the mission of the priest and the
faithful alike in the prison camps
on the one hand the priest never lost
sight of his own insignificance
as a laborer in this vineyard he sensed
the seeming impossibility of ever
influencing
in any significant way the masses of
people living in a professively
atheistic state
on the other hand
he could daily feel the power of god's
grace could trust completely in his
divine providence
his task therefore was to do what was
asked of him each day as perfectly as he
could and leave the rest to god
being a priest also gave new purpose and
meaning to the harsh labors and cruel
sufferings men had to endure in order to
survive the labor camps in siberia in
his role as another christ as a mediator
between god and men the priest could
offer up his suffering and his labors
for his fellow men he could accept the
works and sufferings of each day from
god's hands and offer them back to god
not for himself alone but for all those
around him who were struggling to keep
the faith or had not yet received the
gift of faith
it didn't make getting up in the morning
to face another day of rough and
wind-whipped work any easier or the work
itself any less exhausting
but it added a dimension of expiation
and sacrifice to our lives beyond the
sheer necessity of survival and enduring
one more day it gave another sense of
purpose and of dedication to the
priesthood it added a sacramental
element to the labor and the sufferings
of the day
and made of every moment and of every
effort a priestly work
for a priest is ordained to do more than
simply celebrate the mass or hear
confessions to console the sick and
comfort the dying to offer words of
consolation and spiritual wisdom to
those in need every priest is chosen
from among men and ordained to minister
to men in those things that are of god
says the ordination ceremony and the
things that are of god are all the joys
and works and sufferings of each day
however burdensome and boring routine
and insignificant they may seem
it is the priest's function to offer
these things back to god for his fellow
men and to serve as an example a witness
a martyr a testimony before the men
around him of god's providence and
purpose
after all the years of isolation and
loneliness in lubianca it was a joy for
me to be able to do that once again
amid the physical pain and suffering the
sorrow and despair
of the prison camps of arctic siberia
[Music]
you
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