I was Imprisoned and You Visited Me

This week's Corporal Works of Mercy - is visiting the imprisoned.


There are many ways a person can be imprisoned - they could be incarcerated within our local prison systems, but there are also the prisons of our own making too.  This week though I thought I would focus more on the incarcerated prisoner.

I do not feel the Holy Spirit leading me to a Prison Ministry -  but I have a friend who is and thought I would share with you his story.

I met Mr. Ed through RCIA, he and his wife are also on the RCIA team with me at my parish.  Mr. Ed has shared over time his interest in the prison ministries - he had participated in the past - but due to job schedules, he had to take a step back.  But now retired, he is ready to begin again.  He is currently in the process of receiving his clearance.

I started the interview by asking Mr. Ed what drew him to this ministry.  He shared that it began back several years ago when he attended a Cursillo weekend.  It was here where the Gospel spoke to him - from Matthew 25:35-36:

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.  

In those words Mr. Ed found his calling.

He shared with me why Prison Ministry is so important - for it is in this ministry that brings not only the  Eucharist and prayer to the prisoner - but also bring their humanity - it puts a face to them.  You come to realize they are only people who have made bad choices in their lives and who are also just like you and me - a child of God.  They are hungry for the Word and they are hungry for the Eucharist.

"I was bringing them my light - I was not expecting to see their light - this really took me by suprise."

For you, as you participate in the ministry - you begin to see and feel how it has changed you, you begin to see people just a little more differently - you begin to see Christ within them.  One static that he shared was of the inmates who receive some type of ministry - 75% will never come back to prison.

If you are interested in learning more about Prison Ministry - you begin by contacting your Parish and Diocese to ask about their Prison Ministry program - they will start you off with a variety of trainings.  You also will receive a mentor who will walk with you as you begin your prison visits as long as you need them and feel comfortable.   One way we as parishioners can support the Prison Ministry in our parish and dioceses is in our prayers - both for the ministers and the inmates.

I never really took the time to think about Prison Ministry - but after speaking with Mr. Ed I have come to understand it's importance and as with the other Corporal Works of Mercy we have explored so far this Lent I have added it to my prayer lists.

Up next week - Bury the Dead

Visit the Sick

This week's Corporal Works of Mercy is: Visit the Sick.  I found this one much easier than last weeks for I can identify with it better.

A few years ago, I was pretty sick - over a month's time I was hospitalized twice and had surgery.  I lost many days due to the pain and medication  and it took me a good six to eight months before I was really back to normal.  The first time in the hospital, I can remember my husband putting my Rosary in my hand - but I could only get a few Hail Marys out.  I remember feeling so sad that I could not focus and pray, but then I heard an internal voice say "It's ok, others are praying for you."  This gave me such great peace.

I know there is a fear of visiting the sick - we might catch what they have and get sick ourselves - let us remember Jesus touched the Leper.  And to be honest - today there are many things we can do to prevent us from getting sick - washing of hands, hand sanitizers,  face masks, and such.  Our fears should not be a determinant to visit others - to bring them peace.  There may also be a problem with schedules and distance - in this case make a phone call.  The sick needs the personal contact - it can be very comforting to hear someone else's voice.  You can also send a personal note through the mail.

And, most important there is prayer - our prayers are powerful and very needed.  Knowing others were praying form me when I could not pray showed me first hand the importance of praying and visiting the sick.  I found the prayer by St. Augustine which is at the end of the blog post.

Now, the question became - what should I do this week as part of my Lenten observance. As I meditated and listened, I was drawn to sign-up with our local Catholic Hospital to be a Eucharistic Minister.  I have done this in the past, but when my work schedule changed, I had to stop.  Well, it's time once again.

Now, you might notice - this will go on long after Lent.  My Spiritual Director pointed out before Lent started -  that what we do for Lent - we should be ready to continue it after Lent.  For example, if you decided to give more time to prayer - then that should continue.  Lent is a time to change our bad habits that are getting in the way of our relationship with the Father.  By giving up some of my time each month to serve the sick will help me to continue to work to take my focus off of me and my needs, and turn it to where it belongs - the Father and my brothers and sisters.

Up next week - visit the prisoner - this should be
interesting....

Watch, O Lord, with those

who wake, or watch or

weep tonight, and give your

angels charge over those

who sleep

Tend your sick ones, O  Lord Christ.

Rest your weary ones.

Bless your dying ones.

Soothe your suffering ones.

Pity your afflicted ones.

Shield your joyous ones.

And for all your love's sake.

Amen.

by St. Augustine

Sheltering the Homeless

To be honest, I really struggled with this week's Corporal Works of Mercy - Shelter the Homeless.  I was raised with certain stereotypes concerning the homeless, and I'm embarrass to  admit they have carried over to my adulthood.

To start off I began doing a little research - on the number of homeless in our state and different shelters.  This was great, but I really felt Jesus calling me to leave the facts and really dig deeper - this was a Lenten project after all - I needed to grow in my faith with each week and each Corporal Works of Mercy.  So, I began to pray - pray for the homeless in my city and pray for direction on how I can help.  As my prayers continued each day - I began to notice my heart changing.  I had to drive over to the Diocese's offices on Monday and as I drove past several homeless people standing along buildings - I did not look upon with disgust as I would have normally done - in fact I looked at them with eyes of faith and love.  I wondered who they were, what were their names, what are their stories, what were their hopes and dreams when they were younger.  And I realized I now was seeing them for who they truly are - Children of God.

In my research, I found an organization which helps the homeless with safe, affordable housing - immediately (many housing projects require the homeless to be already sober.)  Then the organization begins to support the homeless with addiction treatment if needed, and integration support. They even work on teaching the homeless healthy eating which included an Urban Garden Project.  This really intrigued me for I am a "teach a person to fish" kind of person and decided to make a donation to the organization.

I have to admit, I really feel like I've grown this past week - in my faith and in my love for my brothers and sisters.  Will I be perfect - no, I know I still have a ways to go to overcome what I was raised with - but I know with the Lord's help - it is possible.  In my reading I found where Pope Francis has really encouraged us to pray for the homeless - especially in this winter weather.

My main lesson from this week is that everyone has a right to be seen as a child of God and receive the respect that that gives to them.  I also learned, I need to pray more for others, and that prayer can help us to see people in a new light - one of love.

I ask you to join me in my payers for the homeless of this world - may they find the help that is needed, and may we all see them through the eyes of God.

Next week will be Visit the Sick.

Give Drink to the Thirsty

This week's Corporal Works of Mercy is "Give drink to the thirsty."

I thought I would start by getting a better understanding of why we as humans need water.  In my research I learned that our bodies are made up of 60% of water.  And our bodies use water in many ways - regulates our temperature, protects our nervous system, cushions our joints, along with ridding our body of waste and keeping our skin moist.  Without water, our body does not make enough blood and causes our heart to beat harder; it also effects our brain functions.   We can only survive one week without water.

So, why is this important to my Corporal Works of Mercy this week?  I wanted to be able to understand what is really happening when we are thirsty.  I know many times when we think we are hungry, we are actually thirsty.

When we say we are thirsty, we are communicating the need of something that is important to our existence, it is something that without, we would surely die.  So, when Jesus said from the cross "I thirst" (John 19:28) he was calling our his powerful thirst for us.  St. Mother Teresa heard Jesus' cry and made it her mission to satiate Jesus' thirst for souls.

Now with this understanding, I began to pray as to what I could do to give drink to the thirsty.  Two things kept coming to mind - help those who are fiscally thirsty and to pray for those about to receive the living waters of Baptism.  I am buying a few cases of water to give to our parish's food pantry and I've begun to pray for the Catecumens; and not just the ones at our parish, but all the Catecumens who will experience the Living Waters at the Easter Vigil.  I searched for a prayer and did find one that met what I wanted to pray - so I made my own prayer:

O' Holy Father,

I pray for all the Catecumens who will soon

experience your love and mercy throught

the living waters of Baptism.

May they continually thirst for your

love and find their hearts yearning

for your mercy.

Amen

I know this is not as eloquent as the works of our Saints, but it is from the heart.  So I ask you to consider donating a case of water to a local food pantry and to pray for our Catecumens.  It is in our joining of work and prayer that we can partner with St. Mother Teresa in helping to satisfy Jesus' thirst.

Up next week, shelter the homeless.

Are you Hungry?

Lent has begun!  Did you know that the count for the 40 days actually doesn't start till the first Sunday of Lent?  I didn't either -- you learn something every day.  Ok, enough trivia - time to get busy.

I had shared my Lenten plan in an earlier post - My focus will be on the Corporal Works of Mercy.  This week I am working on "Feed the Hungry."

I started to think about all the ways people are hungry - there is the actual hunger for good nutritious food - even in this country there are people who are hungry let alone all the people in this world.  So, for this, I am donating food to my Parish's Food Pantry and for the first time in many, many years - I picked up a Rice Bowl by  Catholic Relief Services (CRS) at Church last Sunday.  The idea of the rice bowl is that you put your loose change in them and then return the bowl to Church on Good Friday - for example, if you chose to give up gourmet coffee this Lent  - you would put the money you would have spent on the coffee into the bowl - this takes your sacrifice to another level by helping to feed others.

As I continued to ponder hunger - it came to me Jesus' instructions to Peter "Feed my Sheep" (John 21:17.)  We all hunger (or should be) for God - for his word, his love, and for his mercy.  And it's the Priest and religious (Sisters, Nuns, Brothers, etc) who help guide us to God - but the numbers of Priests and religious are quickly diminishing.  I found this 2017 Vocation Report from the Vatican - it also shows that there is reducing numbers of the faithful.  I had heard the numbers were dwindling, but this report put it in cold hard facts.  My question was - are the numbers of the faithful going down because the reduced number of priest and religious or are the number of priest and religious reducing because of the diminishing numbers of faithful (it's the chicken and egg thing?)  God has placed it upon my heart to pray this Lent for Vocations - we are in dire need.

In my research I found this wonderful prayer by Pope Francis:

Lord of the Harvest,

BLESS young people with the gift of courage to respond to your call.  

Open their hearts to great ideas, to great things.

INSPIRE all of your disciples to mutual love and giving - 

for vocations blossom in the good soil of the faithful people.

INSTILL those in religious life, parish ministries, and families with the 

confidence and grace to invite others to embrace the 

bold and noble path of a life consecrated to you.

UNITE us to Jesus through prayer and sacrament, 

so that we may cooperate with you in building your 

reign of mercy and truth, of justice and peace.

Amen.

Isn't that such a lovely prayer?  I am asking you to join me this Lent - to pray for Vocations so that those who hunger for God's love will have good, holy shepherds to lead us to the Lord.

What to do about Lent?

Lent is fast approaching, and it's time to decide what we want to "do" for Lent.  You notice I said "do" instead of "give-up" -- I think as good Catholic children - we were always counseled we had to give-up something tangle-able for the Lenten season -- dessert, pop, candy, etc.  And as a good Catholic child, that is exactly what I did - I would hate to count how many years, I gave up chocolate.  This was fine when we were children - we needed to learn the lesson of sacrifice - but now as adults - we need to dig a little deeper.  Lent should be a time of growth - growing in our relationship with Christ.  Yes, we need to acknowledge that he died for our sins - he gave the greatest sacrifice - his own life - but by simply just giving up dessert - are we really honoring Jesus' sacrifice are we really learning from his example?  Does Jesus want our desserts or our love?

While discussing with my Spiritual Director about Lent - we came up with something I believe that will be perfect for me.  During Advent - I completed a Consecration to Merciful Love - so it would make sense that I now put my consecration into action by focusing on the Corporal Works of Mercy for Lent.

For those who are not sure of the Corporal Works of Mercy they are:  Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Shelter the Homeless, Visit the Sick, Visit the Prisoner, Bury the Dead, and Give Alms to the Poor (I had to look them up too.)

My personality type is to map it all out - what I will do and when I will do it - so I began to plan out the weeks (I've decided to actually start the Sunday before Ash Wednesday so that I can have 7 full weeks plus Holy Week.) Then I began to write out some ideas - but I stopped myself - I really need to allow God to lead this - not my pencil.  So, I do have some ideas - though I'm not planning a day by day schedule.  This will be a challenge for me, I like to be in charge - but this is what Lent is about - learning to trust God each and everyday and follow His will and not my own.

Up first will be "Feed the Hungry" -- this will be interesting - I've found God already speaking to my heart.  I will blog about my progress each week.

My prayer is that you too will be inspired to use this Lent as a time of growth -- allowing God to speak to you.  Take this time before Lent begins for prayer and ask Him - what can you do to improve your relationship - where does He want you to go or do ?  You just may be surprised by the answer.

Helping Us to Better Understand the Gopels

Father (the Pastor at my Parish) recently shared with us some tips on helping us to better understand the Gospels.  He said to pay attention to names, locations and numbers identified by the Gospel writer - for these are clues to help understanding their message.  So I decided to put this to the test with one of this week’s Gospels.  In Mark 5:1-20 we hear of Jesus and his disciples coming to Gerasenes where he casted out the many unclean spirits (Legion) from a man who had been so terrorized over the many years to madness.  When Jesus approached the man - the unclean spirits begged Jesus to send them into the near by herd of 2000 swines - but when this happened the herd ran into the sea and drown.  Now people from the near by town came and saw the man sitting quietly, clothed and in his right mind. But instead of praising God, they begged Jesus to leave them.

Ok, with Father’s hints, I started by looking at the location - Gerasenes was on the farthest side of the sea where Jesus had been at - he had really gone out of his way to help this man.  In fact the passage right before this Gospels was where Jesus and the disciples were in a boat and a terrible storm came up and in fear the disciples woke Jesus who quieted the sea.  Next, there is the number 2000 - I remember the first time I read this many years ago - I thought what a large herd, it must be worth a lot of money and was wasted when the swine ran into the sea - but this is exactly what the town people saw too - they did not see the miracle which just happened, they only saw dollar signs.  The towns people would have rather kept the unclean spirits within their mist and torturing this man/their brother - instead of loosing the value of the herd.  Also we heard the name of Legion - which to me means a large group supported by the number of 2000 - so this poor man was being possessed not by one unclean spirit — but many - no wonder he had gone mad.

So, what does this all tell me - God’s love for us is great, he is willing to travel across dangerous seas, and go out of his way to save us — even if it is only one of us.  He is also there always to defend us from evil.  Now, instead of thinking about the cost of the swine, I am sadden how the town’s people allowed earthly materials to deny them the Lord, they sent him off before he could cost them any more money. They put their own material needs over the well-being of their brother - this is a good cautionary tale for all of us. We can see how easy it would be to put money and other world positions over the lives of God's people to the determent of them and of ourselves.  And finally, evils can be bigger than what it first appears, it can effect more than just the person it possesses (here it took hold of a full town) - but the Lord’s power is even greater and that he will always use it to defend us.

The true message here - is one of LOVE — God’s love for us is greater than anything on this earth.  It can cross dangerous seas, cast out the evil in our lives and be there for us, even if others are not. 

God loves us all the time - all the time God loves us!