George Matulaitis Journal

196 Church. From the executive Committee they learned that the treasury and all the funds they had contributed were untouched. Those who had assembled decided to send another delegation to demand 1) the removal of the guard from St. Casimir’s Church and that it be reopened to the faithful; 2) the release from prison of all those who had been arrested in the church; 3) the return of Father Muckermann. Another demand was raised: that those who dared to open fire inside the church would be punished. However, the participants of the meeting decided to forgive them for the sake of Jesus crucified. It was unlikely that either my letter or my sermon would go over well with the Bolsheviks. If they wanted to do so, they could easily find some pretext to arrest me. When I returned from the church, I took care of some of the more important matters, made provision for the administration of the diocese and also who should take responsibility for our Congregation in the event that I should be imprisoned. I entrusted Father Vaitkevi ius with these papers and placed myself in the hands of Providence. When the Bolsheviks took over, destroying all semblance of order and disrupting the normal course of life, nothing much could be done in the diocese. A kind of depression, anxiety, and boredom came over me. Now that the real struggle has begun, I feel a new flow of energy, of power entering me. I feel as if I had begun to live anew. An inexpressible desire to defend, to suffer for, and to devote myself entirely to our beloved Church overpowers me. Although I did not mention the Bolsheviks by name, I spoke out against them directly, boldly, and unflinchingly, demonstrating the error and fallacy of their philosophy. It was apparent that the people understood very well what I wanted to say; they listened attentively and seemed to take heed of everything I said. May God be praised and may His holy Church, our beloved Mother, be exalted. February 17 On their way to the Bolshevik authorities, the Christian Workers’ del- egates stopped in to see me at 10 o’clock in the morning. They asked me if there was a possibility that they would be arrested. I replied: “Of course, they can arrest you. They can arrest me as well, but one still has to do what is right.” They calmed down and went off.