Last Tuesday I celebrated Easter Mass at a nearby state prison. Usually about eight to ten men attend Mass when we go, but this week more than thirty came, and only three or four of them were Catholic.
Why did so many come last week? Did they come just to get a free rosary to hang around their necks? Or did they come wanting to join in our Easter celebration? Sometimes during hot summer days men come to Mass simply to enjoy the cooler air of the multipurpose room where Mass is held, which unlike their cells, has air conditioning. Why did so many come last week?
They came because a guard had been stabbed in the eye earlier in the afternoon and there was a lot of commotion in the prison. Half of the prison was on lock down as they investigated who had done this. The men came hoping to hear some news, to mingle and chat about the incident. Two guards remained in the room throughout Mass, usually only the chaplain’s aid is present to keep order.
During my homily I told the men, “if one person at a time in the whole world had a change of heart by turning to Christ, the world would be a very different place; if one person at a time here at this prison had a change of heart, recognized his sinfulness and asked for forgiveness, this prison would be a very different place.”
Some men in the back looked at me as if I were crazy. One of them shook his head in disagreement before I even finished my statement, he already knew where I was going. I told them to allow themselves to dream a bit: a prison where every heart turned to Christ and found forgiveness. “There would be peace in this prison,” I told them, “if you repent and turn to Christ.”
I was surprised by the quick rejection of my statement by many of the men. The rest listened to me fantasizing about the possibility of peace in the prison.
These men had no hope whatsoever. In their minds, there is no room for redemption. When you are serving several life sentences, you have nothing to look forward to, you have no hope. Yet I encouraged them, “remember, nothing is impossible for God.”
Today we join the whole Universal Church celebrating the Feast of Divine Mercy, instituted only twelve years ago by Blessed John Paul II.
On this feast we rejoice at Jesus’ words to his apostles, “Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Our hope is found in these words. These words are the source of our joy and peace.
Jesus entrusted his early Church the power to forgive sins, making the mission of the Church to extend and make present God’s divine mercy, especially in the most hopeless and darkest situations and places, including the state prison.
We have much to rejoice about: that through the waters of baptism our sin is washed away and we are brought to the state of grace. That through the sacrament of reconciliation, God restores us to his image and likeness while strengthening us for the Christian journey.
If we could only grasp the mercy God shows us. Saint John Vianney, patron saint of priests wrote, “Our sins are nothing but a grain of salt alongside the great mountain of the mercy of God.”
Yet there is a part of us all that doubts God’s mercy and goodness just like the prisoner who shook his head. There is a part of us all that doubts Jesus like Thomas did.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a light in the darkness, symbolized by this Easter Candle brought into this Church last Saturday in complete darkness. The Gospel allows us to bring light into the darkest places so we may cease to curse the darkness by turning on a light.
We don’t have to go to a state prison to find darkness and despair. We can begin within ourselves, deep within our hearts: where do you need God’s light in your life? What darkness needs healing and redemption? Where do you need God’s mercy the most?
How can you share the light of Christ with others, at home, at work, at school?
None of us are too far from being that inmate shaking his head at the back of the room, rejecting the possibility for God’s mercy to transform our hearts.
A man in prison can be a truly free man with God’s mercy, while a free man living a life of sin certainly becomes a prisoner.
On this Divine Mercy Feast when Jesus Himself promises to pour fourth innumerable graces, soften hardened hearts and manifest His mercy, open up your hearts. Dream a little bit. Allow God to surprise you with His mercy and love, and you will find peace, the true peace only Christ can give, and you will find joy.
Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In