Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Back to prison for the 1st time in 2015

Back to prison in 2015, this now being my 8th consecutive year I have stepped foot in Rayburn Prison.  Things have changed greatly.  Men come and go, some being transferred to other facilities, including world famous Angola Prison, others have been set free and still others have passed away.  When I first  started we had to worship in a classroom in the Educational Building, now we worship in a big huge chapel built on the grounds by something called the Louisiana Chapel Foundation.  At the start of my ministry at Rayburn we had many different priests who would travel many miles to offer Mass and Reconciliation about once a month.  Now the local parish, Annunciation Catholic Church provides their pastor on an every two week rotation.  Since my involvement at Rayburn, we have included retreats, special visits for Easter and Christmas, visits to the infirmary and ecumenical outreach with the Kairos Prison Ministry.

Tonight our local pastor was down with strep throat so I conducted a communion service, using the readings from today's Mass.  About 35 inmates were in attendance.  Praying, breaking open the day's Word of God and receiving Holy Communion made the evening special.  As always, the men are particularly thankful for the gift of presence from anyone from the outside who is willing to come and just be with them.  It is so good that when I go in to do a Communion Service or to assist at Mass, that several local parishioners come to, to sit with the men and visit and share stories at the appropriate times.  It is often the best 2 hours of my week!

So while much has changed since I first arrived at Rayburn, there is much to do and much to look forward to.  Prison ministry has begun for 2015; may it be a wonderful year that will produce great fruit!

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