VOICES FROM PRISON AND THE EDGE
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert.”
St. John the Baptist
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The imprisoned can be on both sides of the prison walls.
2021
38
Autumn
No.
THOUGHTS FROM FR. JEREMY HIERS O.S.A.
I will never forget my first encounter with someone who was incarcerated. I was just 18 years old when a mother in my parish asked if I would be willing to write her 18-year-old son who had just received a lengthy prison sentence. Making a new friend was just one of the many blessings I gained over the years we corresponded. I also had the opportunity to gain a lot of wisdom as my friend shared his experience of being raised in a poor family, experiencing addiction, prison life, and remorse over his crime. As a young adult, I had a lot to learn from my friend. These lessons became handy, when nearly ten years later I would accompany my own 18-year-old brother through the disease of addiction and incarceration. Everybody has a story to tell. Within each story is a pearl of wisdom thar can benefit others. However, what good is a story if it is not told?
That is why I’m so excited to join Adeodatus. For over ten years under the leadership of its founder, Fr. Paul Morrissey O.S.A., the Adeodatus prison ministry has worked to ensure the stories of those who are impacted by incarceration are shared. Most of the stories have originally come from people Fr. Paul encountered as a chaplain at the Philadelphia prison. With their permission we created this newsletter. Within each story is a discovery for all of us, no matter which side of the prison wall we find ourselves on. We cannot thank Fr. Paul enough for the profound impact his leadership has had on all those who have been touched by the Adeodatus prison ministry over the years. As Fr. Paul transitions to retirement, I could not be more honored to join the team to help ensure those who want to share their story for the good of all our readers continue to have the opportunity to do so.
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Fr. Jeremy Hiers O.S.A.
Fr. Jeremy Hiers O.S.A.
Fr. Paul Morrissey O.S.A.
LETTERS FROM PRISON
“I was arrested for selling drugs. I had to feed my family and thought this was a quick way to support them. I realize now how much they need me to be with them at home, working in a real stable environment, with a good job. I’ll be going home soon but I know I need advice on how me and my wife can better ourselves. I graduated from high school and always wanted to go on to college for business management. I am good interacting with people.”
Tyrone, incarcerated person
“Dear Mary Mother of Captives, I was wondering if you could put me in contact with a new friend whom I can correspond with that could lend me a shoulder to lean on, good advice and conversation. I do not receive any mail and would enjoy some decent conversation. My grandmother raised me and she was a fullblooded Italian and Catholic, but had a stroke when I was young and couldn’t walk or talk anymore. She has passed now, but I say this because I would like to learn about Catholicism and would be blessed if you could send me anything you have for a beginning Catholic. I thank you for your time, patience, concern and response to this letter. God bless you and Merry Christmas.”
Lou, incarcerated person
“I don’t know who told you to pray for me but THANK YOU so much. I’m not a hard-core criminal. I am 43 years old. I have a drug problem, but also suffer from bi-polar disorder. Every day I read the Bible. And try and to receive some sort of enlightenment. Some days are better than others. Letters from the outside help very much.”
John, incarcerated person
“I am a 28-year-old white male who is struggling with religion and has no friends, no family, and I am going to be homeless once again upon my release from prison.”
Tim, incarcerated person
“I yearn for my father’s pride and my mother’s smile. I’ve never hurt inside so deeply. I ache with pain because I know that with my sins, I have disappointed my father and mother, and made my mother cry. I’ve made some terrible choices and made my mother cry. Now I am facing a lot of time in prison. Even though I am only twenty years old I feel like I have already lived my life and now it is over. Inside I am always fighting a battle, a constant war with myself. I will only be at peace when I have made my father proud and my mother smile, perpetually. The only thing that keeps me sane now is the knowledge I have that God has a plan for me, a plan where I finally do succeed. I know that because, if there was no God or plan, I would have long been dead.”
Tom, incarcerated person
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Saint John Paul II
Lost and Found
It was over. 35 years in prison were finally over. Friends were gone. Enemies remained. He had been dropped into an unrecognizable world. The prison escort left him off in the middle of nowhere in the light of a full moon. “Just walk down the road for a few miles…you’ll find the bus terminal” the driver said as he made a U turn and raced back to the prison. His shift was already over. Tom was free from prison but not the rage. He was angry at so many. He wanted to hurt so many who had hurt him. During the 35 years he had rehearsed their punishment so many times. He knew who was number one and who was number four. Now, he wasn’t trapped anymore and their judgement day had arrived. His fire raged. Finally, the justice and revenge he craved awaited him. They were in deep trouble. And so, the walk into the night began. The walk wasn’t a few miles. It was a real hike. Once again, the prison had screwed him. At least this was the last time. He had forgotten many things in prison, and now they greeted him in waves…the sound of the crickets, the smell of the wild flowers, the gentle breeze on his face, and the haunting blue glow of the moon. There were no cars, people, lights or buildings. Once he abruptly stopped his march to just embrace all these gifts of the night. Suddenly, magically, his crusade of revenge poured out of him like a smashed dam. Something was happening long forgotten in prison and it was awesome. He was experiencing more than peace. It was the peace of the presence of God. The Good Sheppard had found him in the wilderness of his mind, in the silence of these woods. Nothing like this was had ever happened to him before. Peace like he had never known covered him like a soft comforter. In the months that followed Tom would have a fight, but it was a fight with cancer. He knew this peace of God would comfort him no matter what was coming down the road. In a way he already was home.
George Munyan O.S.A. Affiliate
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God has, in fact, thought of us from eternity and has loved us as unique individuals. He has called every one of us by name, as the Good Shepherd 'calls His sheep by name.'
“I was sentenced to life in prison. I no longer trusted anyone, especially anyone in authority. It didn’t matter if I woke up in the morning. One night I heard over the intercom that Catholic Mass was being held in the prison chapel. Slowly, the idea of going to chapel came over me. I thought of a hundred reasons not to go and only one reason to go…get out of my cell. When I got to the chapel, I noticed a black man standing in front of the altar. Was this a black protestant service? Was I in the wrong place? I was half asleep when the announcement was made. This black man was wearing a brilliant white robe. I just decided to stay and see what he had to say. He began by saying that the Lord could change anyone’s life, no matter what sins were committed. He wasn’t saying it’s alright to break the law, only that the Lord will forgive all of us equally. So, the night I listened to this stranger speak about God, I knew I was supposed to be there and that this man was the real deal. He not only spoke about God, he walked with God. From that moment I had a reason to live. I was already baptized but I wasn’t a Catholic. So, I took classes to become one, and on the night of my initiation into the church the robed black man said. “My son the Lord has you now and you are confirmed and committed to your salvation. I became a helper on the chapel. One day I was asked if I wanted to be in the Order of the Franciscans, I am now studying for this. My life is changed. I now respect people who hold authority and still keep my dignity as a man. We are all servers of the Lord. The black man is not only my friend, but my spiritual leader. He has given me back my life. He is a saint sent by God. He is a Deacon and he is my friend.”
John, incarcerated person
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JOIN US…Prayer,
Support, Fellowship, Service
The organization of which Adeodatus is a ministry, Augustinian Defenders of the Rights of the Poor, A.D.R.O.P. has three main ministries: wellness, education and justice. The Mission of A.D.R.O.P. is to build bridges between providers, recipients and community leaders across economic, political and religious spectra. A.D.R.O.P. accomplishes its Mission by matching individuals with identified needs to known resources in order to build better communities. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, you can find us at:
RightsofthePoor.org
2130 S. 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19145
(215) 925-3566
adropinfo@augustinian.org
Instagram/Facebook: @adropphilly
Phone: (215) 925-3566 ext. 101
Fax: (215) 925-2990
Mary Mother of Captives
We believe that all persons, including inmates, their families and parolees, are first and foremost human beings deserving of the right to life as we are. These folk are God’s creation; therefore, good people. Essential is the dignity, empathy and compassion that society bestows on all others be shared with them. We endeavor toprovide the mercy that society strips from them and to provide the support and to assist them in their individual journeys through the legal, penal and probation periods that control thosein prison and their loved ones left outside. We meet on the 1st (at St Cyprian’s Parish Community Hall) and 2nd (at St Charles Borromeo Church Hall, Drexel Hill) Thursday evening of each month at 7 pm. We maintain a phone hotline for families to inquire about their incarcerated loved ones and to help families adjust and overcome the stigma that others attach to them.
OUR PEN PAL OUTREACH serves the incarcerated community by one-on-one communications among our volunteers on the outside talking With and counseling inmates inside about daily life, spirituality and planning for returning to their families and becoming a member of the community again. In many instances, our folk are the only people that these abandoned men and women have as a “pal”. Contact us: 610 259 3178, John and Sue Killeen.
Adeodatus
Our small group meets every Thursday night 7:30 PM, at the friary (rectory) of Saint Rita of Cascia Shrine (Broad and Ellsworth Streets). We create a safe zone of spiritual restoration in a world increasingly lonely and hostile to the closeness of God. We read scripture, silently meditate by candle light, and discuss God’s spiritual nourishment for the week that awaits. We welcome former prisoners, their families, and all people suffering any addiction which is actually imprisoningthem. We welcome those fortunate to be free of these problems but want to help their brothers and sisters. We welcome those wanting to be intimate with God,praying together in thespirt ofSt. Augustine. Fr.JeremyHiers
George MunyanO.S.A.Affiliate AdeodatusAdministrator Voices of Prison and the Edge Editor
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O.S.A. GeorgeMunyan O.S.A. Affiliate