"The Red Army is here. The city is occupied. The Soviets are here." That was the message that spread in panic throughout the Polish village of Albertin on October 17, 1939. I had just finished the holy mass and was having breakfast when frightened parishioners rushed to tell me.
We had feared this since the moment it became clear that Germany and Russia would divide Poland, but now our fears had come true. The Red Army had arrived in Albertin. (…)
How often in peaceful times do we tend to rely on ordinary practices or established ways of daily existence as a means to help us in everything. We take everything for granted, rely on ourselves and our own resources, "settling" in this world and only looking within it for our support. It is all too easy to equate carefreeness with true bliss and to strive for security only in the sense of a carefree life. We are surrounded by our friends and belongings, and day after day passes, most of us enjoy good health and are content. And we do not need to wish for many things of this world - we do not need to crave wealth, be greedy or miserly - for a feeling to arise in us that trust should be placed precisely in safety and good livelihood, and that God is no longer important. It is a status quo that we rely on, carried by it day after day, and somehow we overlook the fact that behind everything is God, who is our support and refuge. We take for granted that tomorrow will be very similar to today, that it will unfold peacefully in the world we have created, in the security of the established order in which we have learned to live, no matter how imperfect it is, and we hardly think of God.
Then God must do something to disrupt our routine and remind us once again - just like to Israel - that in reality we are dependent only on Him, that it is He who created us and destined us for eternal life with Him, that the things of this world and even this world itself are not our permanent destination, but that we belong to Him, to Him we should look up to and turn to Him in everything. And then perhaps He must allow the entire world to be turned upside down, and in doing so remind us that this world is not our permanent home nor our ultimate fate, and we come to our senses, understand true values, and turn more and more to Him, even if initially our minds are filled with questions and reproaches.
(Walter J. Ciszek SJ /1904–1984/, He Leads Me, Chapter 1)
