In the mailbox: Priestblock 25487

During my travels this past weekend I read Fr. Jean Bernard's Priestblock 25487, the memoir of his Nazi imprisonment at the Dachau concentration camp. It was an incredibly moving read, telling the story of the brave Catholic priests who received (if it can be imagined) even worse treatment than other prisoners amidst the terrors of the Nazi regime.

It was especially inspiring to see how they brought their priestly vocation, in whatever small ways they could, into the depths of horror there. Talk about clinging to Christ! The writing is never needlessly graphic, and gives one courage to overcome the (relatively minor) crosses we are called to bear ourselves.