What an incredible Wednesday at Rayburn Prison tonight. We did it all. Over 40 men from the prison were in attendance for our weekly visit and we did it all!! The lay volunteers from Mary Queen of Peace Parish, all in their seventies mind you, sponsored a Seder Celebration, complete with all the foods of the Seder Meal, the readings, the prayers, everything! There was the lamb, the bitter herbs, the greens, the matzah, the four cups of wine(well, in prison it was grape juice), and all the prayers and readings. All the components of a Passover as Jesus would have celebrated Passover.
We also celebrated elements of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. A reminder to the men that even in prison, they can place themselves in the Sacred Triduum. As an aside, the men will have another of our lay volunteers with them tomorrow night to pray and receive Holy Communion.
Finally, at the appropriate time, the men received Holy Communion tonight after we read the Easter Sunday readings. And at the conclusion of the evening, a final blessing.
My prayers, thoughts, Masses, ministry over these next few sacred, holy, solemn and glorious days will be for these men. Inmates who sincerely avail themselves of faith based opportunities at a prison, especially our Catholic brothers are exercising great courage as well as faith and hope in Jesus Christ. They, my friends, like you and me, are working out their salvation in fear and trembling?
Why is the night unlike any other night?
No comments:
Post a Comment