It was a different feel tonight at prison. In my four years as a Deacon and my year in CPT, a fixture at the Catholic community was Buddy. He was more than just another one of the inmates who meet on Wednesday nights for Catholic fellowship and worship, he was the inmate chaplain. I think they have an official name for them but I like to call Buddy our inmate chaplain.
Buddy, a lifer, as I was told, came to Rayburn many years ago from Angola, having successfully completing the required programs to be an inmate chaplain as required by the state correctional system. Buddy basically completed years of study, from inside that prison, to get degrees in theology and become more of an expert than most of us will ever be in Scripture, liturgy, theology, church history.
But Buddy was more than an educated inmate, he was pastoral. He feed his flock, if you will, and helped to grow and develop and then serve the Catholic community at Rayburn.
A lifer? Buddy became eligible for parole, and to make a long story short, after 41 years, he is free. He has been free a long time because of his conversion and metanoia and faith transformation; I mean he is free. He is now gone and living somewhere else now.
He will be a powerful witness on the outside if people give him a chance. He also needs to be given opportunities to share his witness, to share his story. He is a remarkable disciple of Jesus Christ and a staunch defender of the faith.
So it was a different feel tonight; many of those men in the pews tonight were invited to be an active Catholic because of Buddy's persistence and witness. But we move on and had another fine turnout tonight that would have made Buddy proud!
No comments:
Post a Comment