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

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

“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