Need advice for prison ministry

[john330]

Hey Guys, this is my first post!

I am a prison minister (a layman) and am seeking advice from both seasoned prison ministers as well as anyone else who would like to contribute. I have been ministering to the men of one of our state prisons here in Alabama for 8 months. I have encountered much darkness from the inmates there. Their lives are very hard, and in many ways. The sadness, sin, and hopelessness that I have experienced from the inmates there is very strong. I find myself struggling to keep up with the problems that I encounter amongst the inmates. I wanted to ask advice, both specifically about that ministry, and about effective evangelization tools in general from whomever would be willing to help.

Thank you in advance, and now I will shut up and listen and let the Holy Spirit do the talking! May the peace of God he Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit rest upon all of you, your families, and your ministries!

 

[quiet52]

dismasministry.org/

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=321 (an old CAF thread)

I have some friends and acquaintances who are involved in prison ministry at both the federal and state prisons. It seems they each do their own thing, and there isn’t much supervision or monitoring from the diocese. I would advise you to see what others in Catholic prison ministry are doing (and then to discern what is good).

Most try to provide used or new Catholic Bibles, for group reflection and discussion on either the Sunday readings or other passages.

Some, not all, bring Holy Communion to the prisoners, which I have huge misgivings about. I’ve been told that a huge problem in my diocese is there is a lack of priest involvement with the prisoners, and thus, Confession is not available.

I have the impression there is much Protestantism thrown into the Catholic message to the prisoners, such as “Jesus bought us all eternal life, it is His free gift.” That only engenders an entitlement mentality. Prison ministry should provide much more than a “feel good” experience. It should help to facilitate true conversion in Christ. Prisoners deserve to be taught about Jesus’ mercy, yes, but they also need to know about contrition for sin and what true repentance is. No matter what you choose to do, please clearly present Catholicism, in all its purity and truth.

I would suggest offering some reflection/discussion on Scripture, plus basic catechesis, RCIA style. Always include prayer of course.

Thank you for jumping into this much-needed ministry!

 

[john330]

Will check out. Thank u

 

[Lady_Love]

Remember these people are wounded inside and out. They need so much compassion, positive reinforcement, encouragement, etc. Their being has been so marred (like Jesus) that they are often unrecognizable as human. Many of these people have experienced so little love in their life that they don’t even know what it means, what it feels like, or how to manifest it into action. Trust has never even been an option for them. They have never experienced a true gift, one given without expectation. They have no sense of self-worth with parents who beat them, abandoned them, verbally and emotionally abused them, and neglected them. They are so rightfully angry inside. What I have understood to work very well is to have individuals recall where and how they were wounded and expresses it to another person (preferably a person of the same gender as the offender) and then that person would act in persona of the offender with apologies, for example: “I am sorry that your father hit you, he had no right to do that. I am sorry that your father did not appreciate you and validate you, you are precious in God’s eyes and deserved to be treated with dignity and honor. Will you forgive me?”

Getting to the root of their woundedness and healing the source is the best place to start. When they become vulnerable they may be afraid and become angry. It’s o.k. They are like wounded dogs, when you get near their wound they growl and may even bite. It may take time. Often behaviors are only a reaction to a wound. Rather than focus on their behaviors (in the beginning), which are symptoms, focus on restoring their dignity. When individuals realize their own dignity they begin to honor the dignity of others.

 

[skeyes]

Hi, thanks for asking about prison ministry. I have been involved in a weekly prison ministry at a parish(county) jail for the last four years. I also am involved in another biweekly prison ministry at a different prison.

As far as I can tell, the Holy Spirit is using us to have a small effect upon the people who come to the communion services. We do have Priests who make visits to hear confession. I think that the effectiveness is more evident in a few of the people who I have been able to visit with on a one to one basis. I do not allow all of the things going on in their lives to bring my joy down or allow their plight to ruin my day. I have put it into the context that if God had not taken this opportunity to put them aside for a while that they might well be dead. I communicate this to them. I have expressed what a disservice it would be to God for them to waste this opportunity. As I said the results are mixed and spotty.

Without a doubt, we run into situations of hardship, sadness, hopelessness and many other things that we could not have imagined before we went there, but the most important change has been in our attitudes. I know that for many of these people there was never a role model or even a dad who was around. Previously, I would have said, they should do better, but I now know that for many of them, there is little knowledge of what a responsible person does or how one acts.

So we love the prisoners, we make ourselves available and we present Jesus top them. It has transformed me. I don’t expect to see changes in the prisoners, but I have seen myself change to a more loving, understanding person than I was four years ago.

I pray the Lord will give you peace and purpose as you " visit Him while He is in prison".

Stan