Tormented by Fear

 The first time, I walked into prison, to volunteer, I was afraid.  Think about that.  I did nothing wrong, why would I be afraid.  Now imagine if you were a prisoner.  You would probably be freaked out, entering a prison, for the first time.  Not knowing what will happen to you is scary anytime.  When your future is unknown, the people you will meet are worrisome, and how long your time there will be, is overwhelmingly full of fear.  Paranoia could set in.

This is what inmates go through.  Pray for them.  Despair is easy, too easy--a parole denial, abandoned by friends and family, long sentences, no future, crazy people, physical abuse may happen, all of these scenarios are brought to mind. 

Prison life is hard.

Christmas in Prison

Most people would like a white Christmas.  My "cloistered brothers" are no different.  Christmas times are sad inside prisons.  Their loved ones and cherished memories are out of reach for all of them.  They feel "blue."  It's difficult.

Last weekend, someone had an accident.  He was trying to plug in a frayed wire and sparks flew out and fell on a blanket.  It caught on fire.  60 inmates had to be displaced.  They are not happy.  The administration gave them new mattresses and blankets and placed them here and there.  Some of these guys lost their pictures, cards, books, etc.  Now they have nothing--a mattress and a blanket.  

Fortunately, each block started a collection for the inmates.  They took a bag and everyone contributed what they could: clothes, shaving cream, etc.  It's impressive.

That's Christmas in prison.

Sentenced to Die

 One of my "cloistered brothers" said something in chapter, today, that really impressed me.  We were sitting in a circle with our Dominican Sisters and Father Wayne, expressing what our community meant to us.  Boo Boo said that he was sentenced to die in prison.  He was a miserable person and didn't care about anything.

Slowly, he got involved with the Catholic activities in the prison.  He started to look forward to going to Mass.  However, it was when he got involved with Our Lady of Mercy Fraternity, that his attitude was completely changed.  He said he looks forward to living.  He thanks God every day for his life.  He's had so many blessings.

Prayer for Inmates

 While Cardinal Pell was in prison he met a few inmates who he thought were unjustly imprisoned.  Sadly, one, in particular, had been in prison since he was nineteen.  What were you doing at age 19?  Hei felt moved to compose this prayer that reminds me of my own "cloistered brothers."

God the Father, one of our foremost consolations is the knowledge that you are just, that in the after life the scales of justice are balanced accurately.  We know you are a God of love and mercy, that your Son's sufferings and death weigh the balance in our favour, and that you are never unjust, never punish sinners beyond what we deserve.

We ask you, through your Son, to bless those who work for justice in this life and to take particular care of all those who are imprisoned unjustly, especially those wrongly jailed for years and those who do not have the support of family and friends, or enough money and good lawyers as they struggle for justice.

Robbery

 This article in the New York Times is about the prices prisoners have to pay in their store.  You might ask what are they buying?  Don't they have what they need provided?  The basics are, i.e., soap and toilet paper but there are other things like shaving cream, shampoo, deodorant, and even snack food.  There are some clothing items, too.  Usually, families will send money but more than likely inmates have jobs.  No one earns more than $ 2 an hour.  

Inmates have to pay for telephone calls, too.  Well, there's one vendor who supplies the prison store. The vendors bid for it but one vendor wins.  So the prisoners have to buy from that one vendor--no comparison shopping.  Anyway, this article will explain this.

Where You Die is Not Important

 One of the sad realities of some of my "cloistered brothers," is dying in prison.  No one wants to die in prison.  This fact was brought to mind upon reading the biography of Vasil' Hopko. Bishop Hopko was a bishop in the Greek Orthodox Church. When the Communist took over Czechoslovakia, the Greek Orthodox were suppressed.  Bishop Hopko was arrested and tortured. He was put in solitary confinement, in the dark and slowly fed arsenic.  In the dark, his body fell into depression and was unable to sleep and even walk.  After 14 years, he was released for health reasons.  He did what he could to re-establish religion.  

Here is the money quote: Bishop Hopko died on 23 July 1976 in Presov. He made his own the words of Bishop Gojdic*:  "For me, it is not important if I die in the Bishop's Palace or in prison; what matters is entering into Paradise".

*Bishop Gojdic was Vasil' Hopko's superior.  He also was arrested and died in prison.

Geese Deterrent

 Canadian geese wreck havoc on lawns.  Sometimes they're aggressive, too.  Every time I go into the prison, I have to walk zig zag around the geese.  Today it was different.

There were no geese.  As I was walking towards to gatehouse, I thought I saw a fox.  There's a light on the ground usually, but over it was draped the hide of a fox.  Once up close, I saw that it was a rubber hide.  They were place here and there.  No geese!

But this prison trains dogs to be service dogs.  Why don't the train some of the dogs to chase the geese away?

Cloistered COVID-19

What is it like to be a "cloistered brother" inside prison walls?  Here's a taste, written by a "cloistered brother" who happens to be the president of the prison Lay Dominican Fraternity.

Imagine yourself standing on a very crowded beach.  You look out to the horizon and see a massive tsunami wave lifting high into the sky as it rushes toward you with the speed of a bullet train.  Pressed in between the throngs of bodies on the beach, you turn to run.  As you lift your knee to begin your panicked sprint, you feel the painful yank of a heavy chain.  As you do so, you realize that all the other densely packed people on the beach are trapped the same as you.  You scream and yell, but your voice is lost in the cacophony of cries rising from the beach.  You turn your head to check the wave's progress.  It has now climbed far above the horizon and looks like a watery bulldozer blade plowing toward you.  You return to frantically pulling the chain latched to your ankle.  A shadow climbs over you as the wave eclipses the sun.  You turn back toward the violent wave, as does everyone else on the beach.  Shrieks fade into pure silence.  You close your eyes and wait for the inevitable.

This is what it feels like to be in prison during the Coronavirus.

More than 2.2 million women and men are trapped on the beach that is the American criminal punishment system.  Prisoners like me are in a position where all we can do is wait for the wave to hit us.

When I look out my window, I see staff walking back and forth bringing food, medication, and supplies.  Some are wearing protective gear, others are not.  They are one part of the viral tsunami.  When the virus comes in, it will come in through them.

The other part of the wave is the structure of the prison itself.  We are strategically packed into units, housing blocks, and facilities like products in an Amazon warehouse.  For example, where I am, there
are men stuck in two-man cells the size of a parking space.  There are other men in four-man cells that are not much larger.  Other prisons have six-man cells and dormitories filled with bunks that hold hundreds.  When the virus hits these places, it will hit hard.

The biggest challenge I have seen in fighting the Coronavirus in the United States has not been a lack of science of a lack of willingness to fight; it has been a lack of imagination.  Many Americans simply cannot imagine a pandemic because so few of us have ever experienced one. We have no mental framework to process a mass casualty disease like COVID-19.  Therefore, we reach for easy, but inaccurate, parallels like the flu.  We cannot visualize an invisible threat causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, so we ignore the images of orange body bags stacking up and wonder when the baseball season might start.

The ramparts built up inside American minds that prevent people from really understanding the threat of the Coronavirus are similar to the blockades that are preventing officials from properly addressing how to treat people in prisons during this crisis.  Over the past several weeks, there has been far too much status quo thinking, and it is leading to far too many deaths in prisons.

Politicians and judges, like many citizens, cannot think of another way to handle incarcerated people.  This is due mainly to our nation spending more than a century failing to use our imagination to make improvements to the criminal punishment system.  Once America settled on the idea of warehousing people, the nation rarely tried to move past the concept toward a better model.

The reality of American prisons in a post-Coronavirus world is that they are no longer a realistic solution.  Once we all accept that fact, the quicker we can begin to imagine something else.  We need to start that work right now.  The virus won't wait, so we cannot wait.

Many of us in this place are not a threat to society.  That is not my opinion, that is the studied opinion of the Department of Correction.  If I may use myself as an example.  I have been in prison for almost fifteen years.  During that time, I have actively participated in rehabilitative and educational programs.  I have held a steady job.  And, I have volunteered my time to help others.  As such, the DOC each year gives me an evaluation that reads, "Low Risk."  In other words, the state of Massachusetts says that I am not a danger to the community.  Yet, they are okay forcing me to remain in a place where I am now in constant danger.

If nothing changes, I and many others will continue to wake up each day to find that we are still trapped on the beach; still locked in place by a heavy chain.  We will spend our days scanning the tumultuous and unpredictable horizon wondering if today will be the day the tsunami crashes into us.  

Overcoming the BS

What Would Jesus Do? He Would Raise Up Lazarus - and Us  This is a post from Father Gordon MacRae's prison cell.  He tells the story of  Kewei Chen, who didn't speak English very well when he was sent to the US for college.  A cruel trick landed him in prison for sexual assault.  Being only 18 he would have been easy prey in prison until Father Gordon took him under his wing.

That story I know and have seen myself, too often.  But what I always find hard to believe are the obstacles the system and people put up in our justice system to frustrate the inmates and their families.  Thankfully, there are people working tirelessly to overcome this. Please read the story.  Click on the highlighted link.

Special Request

Hi Everyone,

Please indulge this very last minute but urgent request for a miracle for a fellow prison minister, Maria, who was recently diagnosed with liver cancer.  I write this hastily as I speed out the door to go to prison and will follow up with more details later.  But given that this Novena starts today I wanted to get it out right away.

God Bless,

Yvette

Blessed M-Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P. and Saint Joseph – Vultus Christi

https://vultuschristi.org/index.php/2013/06/blessed-m-jean-joseph-lataste/

Novena to Blessed Jean Joseph Lataste

March 10-19

Fr. Jean Joseph Lataste, inspired by your special devotion to St. Joseph, we call upon your intercession for our sister Maria.  You, had such compassion and understanding of the heart of the imprisoned, you founded the community of the Bethaines for formerly incarcerated women, and you spread Eucharistic devotion within the prison walls.  We humbly ask that you beseech God for a miracle for Maria to be completely healed of cancer and any other illness.  Please pray for her to be able to fulfill her calling to minister to prisoners.  We know that your intercession will give glory to God so with hearts full of joy we thank you!

Please pray:

Our Father

Hail Mary

Glory Be

Gesu' Maria vi amo, salvate anime!

Jesus and Mary I love you, save souls!

Why Them and Not Me?

Instead of just giving you the link to this most excellent article I found it worthy enough to copy and paste it in its entirety.  What Pope Francis thinks of prisoners.  This Article is from Aleteia, February 7, 2019.

AFP PHOTO / OSSERVATORE ROMANO/HO

Pope Francis (R) kissing the feet of a young offender after washing them during a mass at the church of the Casal del Marmo youth prison on the outskirts of Rome as part of Holy Thursday. - es

Pope Francis had an audience with the staff of the Regina Coeli Correctional Facility in Rome, and this is what he told them:

~

…

I express to each one of you my acknowledgement and that of the Church for your work alongside the detainees: this requires inner strength, perseverance and awareness of the specific mission to which you are called. And another thing. It takes prayer every day, that the Lord may give you good sense: good sense in the different situations in which you will find yourselves.

The prison is a place of pain in the dual sense of punishment and suffering, and has a great need for attention and humanity. It is a place where all, Penitentiary Police, chaplains, educators and volunteers, are called to perform the difficult task of tending to the wounds of those who, on account of the errors they have made, find themselves deprived of their personal freedom. It is well known that good collaboration between the different prison services provides an action of great support in the re-education of detainees. However, due to a lack of personnel and chronic overcrowding, this painstaking and delicate work risks being in part in vain. Workplace stress caused by pressing shifts and often distance from families are factors that weigh down a job that already involves a certain psychological burden.

Therefore, professional figures such as yours need personal balance and valid motivations, continually renewed; indeed, you are called not only to guarantee the protection, order and security of the institute, but also very often to bind the wounds of men and women you meet on a daily basis in their sections.

No-one may condemn another for the errors he has committed, nor inflict suffering that offends human dignity. Prisons need to be increasingly humanized, and it is painful instead to hear that very often they are considered to be places of violence and illegality, where human evil rages.

At the same time, we must not forget that many detainees are poor people, without points of reference, they have no security, they have no family, they have no means to defend their own rights, they are marginalized and abandoned to their destiny. For society, detainees are uncomfortable individuals, they are rejects, a burden. This is painful, but the collective subconscious leads us there.

But experience shows that prison, with the help of prison workers, can truly become a place of redemption, of resurrection and of change of life; and everything is possible through paths of faith, work and professional formation, but above all with spiritual closeness and compassion, following the example of the Good Samaritan, who stooped to care for his wounded brother. This attitude of closeness, that finds its root in Christ’s love, may favour in many detainees the trust, awareness and certainty of being loved.

In addition, a punishment, any punishment, must not be closed; it must always have “the window open” to hope, on the part of both the prison and of each person. Everyone must always have the hope of partial rehabilitation. Let us think of those serving life sentences, even for them: “With my work in prison…”. Give, do work… Always the hope of rehabilitation. A penalty without hope is useless, it does not help, it provokes in the heart feelings of rancour, very often of revenge, and the person leaves worse than when they entered. No. It is always necessary to ensure that there is hope and to help to see beyond the window, hoping in rehabilitation. I know that you work hard, looking to this future to rehabilitate each one of those who are in prison.

I encourage you to carry out your important work with sentiments of harmony and unity. All together, Directorate, Penitentiary Police, Chaplains, educational sector, volunteers and external community are called to march in a single direction, to help raise up and nurture in hope those who, unfortunately, have fallen into the trap of evil.

For my part, I accompany you with my affection, which is sincere. I have great closeness to prisoners and those who work in prisons. My affection and my prayer, that you may be able to contribute, with your work, to ensuring that prison, a place of pain and suffering, may also be a laboratory of humanity and hope. In the other diocese [Buenos Aires], I often went to the prison; and now every fortnight, on Sunday, I make a telephone call to a group of prisoners in a prison I visited frequently. I am close. And I have always had a sensation when entering a prison: “Why them and not me?” This thought has done me great good. Why them and not me? I could have been there, and instead no, the Lord gave me a grace that my sins and my shortcomings were forgiven and not seen, I don’t know. But that question helps greatly: why them and not me?

I heartily bless all of you and your loved ones, and I ask you, please, to pray for me, as I am in need. Thank you!

Prison as a Prep School

This morning I was reading a letter from St. Cyprian (Ep. 6, 1-2; CSEL 3, 480-482) and this

paragraph caught my eye:

How blessed is the prison honored by your presence, how blessed the prison that sends men of God to heaven!  

Not all prisons, only those which recognize God, honor Him, and work towards their personal salvation to live with Him in eternity.  For example, the Lay Dominican chapters inside prisons.  Presently, there are three: MCI Norfolk, Huntsville, Texas, and one in Belgium.

Certainly, God is in MCI Norfolk.  In fact, I can just picture Jesus returning in the little, poor, interdenominational chapel in the CSD building.  That is exactly where our Redeemer who was born in a stable would return.  It's just His style.

However, St. Cyprian was speaking of his imprisonment during the reign of Emperor Valerian.  An edict of persecution was issued against anyone who refused to sacrifice to the pagan deities.

Well, you know why bishops wear red.

The Bishop's exchange was public and preserved:

Galerius Maximus: "Are you Thascius Cyprianus?" Cyprian: "I am." Galerius: "The most sacred Emperors have commanded you to conform to the Roman rites." Cyprian: "I refuse." Galerius: "Take heed for yourself." Cyprian: "Do as you are bid; in so clear a case I may not take heed." Galerius, after briefly conferring with his judicial council, with much reluctance pronounced the following sentence: "You have long lived an irreligious life, and have drawn together a number of men bound by an unlawful association, and professed yourself an open enemy to the gods and the religion of Rome; and the pious, most sacred and august Emperors ... have endeavoured in vain to bring you back to conformity with their religious observances; whereas therefore you have been apprehended as principal and ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be made an example to those whom you have wickedly associated with you; the authority of law shall be ratified in your blood." He then read the sentence of the court from a written tablet: "It is the sentence of this court that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword."
 Cyprian: "Thanks be to God.”


Galerius Maximus is the proconsul.  Cyprian responds "Thanks be to God."  when he learns he will be martyred.  And so Cyprian's prison was preparation to send him to heaven.

Thanks be to God.

The Debt Cursillo Owes

Prison ministry is my apostolate.  I'm also a Cursillista, which means I've made my Cursillo.  Cursillo is a "working retreat" that introduces you to Jesus.  But I never heard the story of how Cursillo owes it success to two prison inmates.

The prison chaplain handed out the story, yesterday.  I read it then and chalked it up to a nice "tale."  Today, I did a google search and found that it definitely happened.

I don't know why I doubted.  I see it often in prison--conversion.

The story is about the founder of the Cursillo movement, Eduardo Bonnin in 1949.  He had an idea and was trying to start Cursillo.  He wasn't succeeding very well.  Cursillo wasn't going anywhere.

Coincidentally, two men were condemned to die in prison.  The priest chaplain tried to prepare them to meet God.  They would have none of it.  So the priest asked two Catholic laymen to talk to the inmates to see if they could reach them.

One of the men was Eduardo Bonnin.  They went inside the prison and found the two men in their cells, playing cards.  They asked to speak.

About what?

We have a favor to ask?

huh??????

That question caught their attention.  The two Catholic laymen told the two condemned men that since they were going to meet God in a few hours, would they ask a favor of God.

The men were flabbergasted.  Better, their interest was piqued.  They talked and talked.  The result was the men accepted their God, renewed their faith, and died with a crucifix in their hands.

And the cursillo movement took off.

New Tees

The  Hope of Bethany Pro-Chapter's apostolate is helping ex-cons.  They support prison programs for prisons and also help the families of prisoners.  A Stitch in Time Textiles is a new business started by two ladies who were once in prison.  The chapter had them make tee-shirts for them.  The emblem is beautiful  It is not stenciled, but rather embroidered.

                             Beautiful, no?

'Second Chance Month'—A Bipartisan National Movement

'Second Chance Month'—A Bipartisan National Movement: Update 3/31/2017–U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced a resolution that would designate April 2017 as 'Second Chance Month.' 'We applaud Sen. Portman for his resolution declaring April as Second Chance Month,' said Craig DeRoche, Prison Fellowship®'s senior vice president of advocacy and public policy. 'As America’s largest outreach to prisoners and their families, Prison Fellowship was founded on the conviction that every person has God-given dignity and potential. We join over 50 organizations in celebrating Second Chance Month this April to unlock brighter futures for the millions of Americans who have repaid their debt to society."

Sen. Portman is the author of the Second Chance Act.

Help Given, Help Sought

Announcing a great way to help out returning residents from prison.

A Stitch in Time Textiles

Dear Friends of Bethany House,

We are so excited to share with you our new joint venture with our good friend Guido Jacques, Vice President of Operations at A &M Tool and Design Company in Southbridge, MA.

For the past year we have been working with Guido who has begun a program to give employment to folks being released from prison. He has given our brothers a job opportunity with a future....it has been a positive experience for all.

And now Bethany House Ministries is entering into a joint venture with Guido in a business that is more geared to women. Two members of our Bethany family, Joli and Lisa have begun "A Stitch in Time Textiles" company on the 4th floor of the mill of Guido's business in Southbridge, MA.

Our mission is to build a profitable business that serves both its customers and its employees. "A Stitch in Time Textiles" was formed to provide employment with a living wage to folks who have been released from prison. The skill acquired by the greatest number of incarcerated people in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections is sewing and embroidery.

Joli spent 8 years of her incarceration working in Prison Industries and has 5 years of direct experience running a Tajima machine head embroidery machine. Lisa, prior to her incarceration spent 12 years working as a manufacturing engineer. In addition,she was instrumental in the establishment of two engineering consulting businesses primarily serving the medical device industry. Their combined experience is invaluable.

As we move forward with this venture, we are asking for your support. First and foremost for your prayers...this is a huge undertaking for all of us.

If anyone knows of a good corporate lawyer who works with non profits please let us know. In the future we are looking for investors.

If you are able to help us with start up costs we would be so grateful.

Finally, Joli and Lisa, in the near future will be taking new embroidery orders. If you have or know of any organization that would have embroidery needs, tshirts, sweatshirts, hats,etc. let us know. When Joli and Lisa are ready to fulfill these orders I will have them get in touch with you.

With much gratitude,

Sr. Kathleen, Ruth and all of us at Bethany House Ministries 

P.S. We would be so grateful if you would share this post on social media!

508-376-9923

Bethanyosfop@aol.com

Get On The Bus

To me Get on The Bus isn't the movie.  It's a prison program.  A few years ago, I met the person who started the program, Sister Suzanne Jabro, CSJ., at a prison ministry program at Boston College.  Sister works in California. Their prisons are isolated with no public transportation.  So families often don't get to visit their incarcerated loved ones.

One Mother's Day, Sister Suzanne decided to do something about the situation.  She got a bus to bring the inmate's children to visit their mothers.  It was such a wonderful experience, that the idea caught on.

Today, the "Get on the Bus" program gives free transportation for children and their caregivers to visit their parents' prison.  The children get travel bags and the caregivers get comfort bags.  Photos are taken of the day.  Meals with parents and children are provided.  The visit is for four hours.  Each child receives a teddy bear, with a personal letter from their parent.

Post-event counseling is given.

Last week, at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, I was blessed to take this picture of the Get On The Bus People.  May God bless them and those they serve.

Story of Waste

The preacher looked out over his small congregation.  He began:

There’s a testimony in here that you don’t cry about your situation, you don’t feel helpless, you don’t feel useless, that you’re not a failure….

                Amen, Brother…
                     Amen…
                                Amen…

I’m going to tell you a new parable.

There was a baby camel that came to his mother to ask some questions. 

“Mama, why do I have two toes on each foot?”

“The toes spread wide when you take a step.  This helps support your body as you walk across the desert sand.”

“Mama, why are my eyelashes so long?”

“The eyelashes keep the desert sand out of your eyes.”

“Mama, why are their two big bumps on my back?”

“They are reservoirs to store water as we travel across the desert.”

“So Mama, the toes are for walking in desert sand, the eyelashes are to keep out the desert sand, the bumps are for water storage for the desert.”

“Yes, my Son.”

“Then Mama, why are we here in a zoo?”

The preacher then turned around to look at the prison guard.

* Thanks to Bam Bam for the story.

Pope Francis Speaks to Prisoners

Pope Francis met with inmates at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia and said:

"Thank you for receiving me and giving me the opportunity to be here with you and to share this time in your lives.  It is a difficult time, one full of struggles.  I know it is a painful time not only for you, but also for your families and for all of society.  Any society, any family, which cannot share or take seriously the pain of its children, and views that pain as something normal or to be expected, is a society 'condemned' to remain a hostage to itself, prey to the very things which cause that pain.  I am here as a pastor, but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own.  I have come so that we can pray together and offer our God everything that causes us pain, but also everything that gives us hope, so that we can receive from him the power of the resurrection.

I think of the Gospel scene where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples at the Last Super.  This was something his disciples found hard to accept.  Even Peter refused, and told him: 'You will never wash my feet' (Jn 13:8).  In those days, it was the custom to wash someone's feet when they came to your home.  That was how they welcomed people.  The roads were not paved, they were covered with dust, and little stones would get stuck in your sandals.  Everyone walked those roads, which left their feet dusty, bruised or cut from those stones.  That is why we see Jesus washing feet, our feet, the feet of his disciples, then and now.

Life is a journey, along different roads, different paths, which leave their mark on us. We know in faith that Jesus seeks us out.  He wants to heal our wounds, to sooth our fet which hurt from travelling alone, to wash each of us clean of the dust from our journey.  He doesn't ask us where we have been, he doesn't question us what about we have done.  Rather, he tells us: 'Unless I wash your feet, you have no share with me.' (Jn 13:8)  Unless I wash your feet, I will not be able to give you the life which the Father always dreamed of, the life for which he created you.  Jesus comes to meet us, so that he can restore our dignity as children of God.  He wants to help us to set out again, to resume our journey, to recover our hope, to restore our faith and trust.  He wants us to keep walking along the paths of life, to realize that we have a mission, and that confinement is not the same thing as exclusion.

Life means 'getting our feet dirty' from the dust-filled roads of life and history.  All of us need to be cleansed, to be washed.  All of us are being sought out by the Teacher, who wants to help us resume our journey.  The Lord goes in search of us; to all of us he stretches out a helping hand.  It is painful when we see prison systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain, to offer new possibilities.  It is painful when we see people who think that only others need to be cleansed, purified, and do not recognize that their weariness, pain and wounds are also the weariness, pain and wounds of society.  The Lord tells us this clearly with a sign; he washes our feet so we can come back to the table.  The table from which he wishes no one to be excluded.  The table which is spread for all and to which all of us are invited.

This time in your life can only have one purpose: to give you a hand in getting back on the right road, to give you a hand to help you rejoin society.  All of us are part of that effort, all of us are invited to encourage, help, and enable your rehabilitation.  A rehabilitation which everyone seeks and desires: inmates and their families, correctional authorities, social and educational programs.  A rehabilitation which benefits and elevates the morale of the entire community.  Jesus invites us to share in his lot, his way of living and acting.  He teaches us to see the world through his eyes.  Eyes which are not scandalized by the dust picked up along the way, but want to cleanse, heal and restore.  He asks us to create new opportunities: for inmates, for their families, for correctional authorities, and for society as a whole.  I encourage you to have this attitude with one another and with all those who in any way are part of this institution.  May you make possible new opportunities, new journeys, new paths.

All of us have something we need to be cleansed of, or purified from.  May the knowledge of that fact inspire us to live in solidarity, to support one another and seek the best for others.

Let us look to Jesus, who washes our feet.  He is 'the way, and the truth, and life.'  He comes to save us from the lie that says no one can change.  He helps us to journey along the paths of life and fulfillment.  May the power of his love and his resurrection always be a path leading you to new life."

Orange Jumpsuits Fit Men and Women

Last night (early morning), I finished Orange is the new Black by Piper Kerman.  I thought the book was excellent and an easy read.  However, my "cloistered brothers" scoff and dismiss the scenarios with disparaging remarks: "She was in a country club."  "If she was in with Sister Ardeth Platte then she had easy time.

Of course, everyone's experience is different.  One of my "cloistered brothers" tells of his introduction to prison.  Whereas Piper Kerman was given a welcome basket of toiletries, he was given a stack of National Geographics.  WTF?

It turned out that as he was walking through the door he was shanked.  Fortunately, the wound was minor.  That's what the National Geographics were for--protection.  He should have placed them around his waist.  This was done to see what you are about.  My "cloistered brother" didn't snitch, so he was "OK".

Father Gordon MacRae tells of his walking into prison for the first time with the chant, "Kill the priest.  Kill the priest.  Kill the priest...."

Every institution is different.  I still liked Orange is the New Black.