Prison Challenges

Updated: Oct 11

Prayers

A prayer for the unjustly detained:

“Imprisoned but not Enclosed”

You, oh Lord, were nailed to a cross and now, Broadcast through time and across the world: You announce the forgiveness of sins. Locked up does not mean confinement for 23 out of 24 hours. Locked up does not mean brutality and degrading treatment. Locked up does not mean enforced taking of your body parts Locked up does not mean a basement, buried under bombing. Locked up does not mean the dreadful practices of an abuser. Locked up does not mean being drugged up, unable to move. Locked up does not mean being abandoned in a house or a chair. Locked up does not mean being unable to hide from pincers. Locked up does not mean being speechless in front of sufferings. Locked up does not mean you are forgotten or without a name. Through the mystery of your Coming, Lord, there is an There is a presence throughout the world, in almost every place. Through the mystery of your Church, Lord, there are healing Sacraments that remedy the wounds of evil and injustice. Through the mystery of your Word, there is the experience of life Which reveals our place in the pilgrimage, impelling us to meet you. We cannot always know who will turn the key and open the door. We cannot always know who published the truth that freed us. We cannot always know who managed to get a message out. We cannot always know whose collaboration brought our release. We cannot always know the graced path of undone wrongdoing. But there is no network like the paths of prayer. There is no network as free as the impulse to pray. There is no network like the truth from truth to truth. There is no network like His which knows all the lies. There is no network like the good which comes from God. But where prison is necessary, let new beginnings begin to last! Where prison is necessary, let there be humane living conditions! Where prison is necessary, let there be the imagination that starts Businesses, services, sales, the healing of hurts and the hurling away of weaponized wounds, the discovery and rediscovery of the Creativity of great artists, the songs of great singers, the music of Masters and the words that bring about what they say, raising up Hope and the longings of the human heart for peace and love, Reconciliation, rebuilding and the renewing of what is scrapped – Imprisoned is where you found us: freed is what you want us to be. Through the mystery of your Second Coming, Lord, there is a Streaming light, leading through the clouds, passing through The locked doors, descending into the deepest strongholds, Opening an entrance for the angels and saints, dying to visit, Visiting the dying, bringing the Passover from death to life. by Francis Etheredge Profiles in Catholicism

“OH MOTHER OF THE STAIRS”

A prayer for all prisoners with Covid-19

You inherited a title from our first mother, Eve, and, as the

New Eve, you are even more the mother of all the living, loving To call out to all to take the steps to life, to enter from whatever Turning point and to take the rail, the rhythm of life and prayer And to ascend, step by step, holding on as you are helped to hold On and to rise, and rise again, rising in the company of others.

Oh Joseph, as you worked you saw who was lost and looking around,

And you prayed, whether in words or gestures, dedicating your

Difficulties to turning boys and girls, youths, old men and women,

To your wife, Mary, who stands by the entrance to the stairs,

Calling to all who would pass on by to stop, to falter just in time,

And to follow the turning up, and to avoid the turning down.

Oh Mother of the Stairs, let not those who are on the money-go-round

Stay stuck on the cutting edge, getting caught up in the swirling

Down and round, round and down until, either fished up or flat

Against the possibility of the water-fall, taking them beyond the Edge of returning, descending without drowning, falling as they Fail, failing as they fall, faster now, unless netted before the end.

Oh Lord, you have descended to hell and you have ascended

To heaven, you know the way down and you know the way up;

And, indeed, you know all the steps in between and all the

Stops and starts and changes of direction, encouraging all

Who are going down to come up and all who are going up to

Continue up, and even as they go to help others to rise with them.

You knew imprisonment and you turned it into an opportunity

For the salvation of the world; you knew the isolation of being

Intensely alone and again you turned it into an opportunity

For the salvation of the world; you knew the utter worn-out-ness

Of carrying your cross and bearing afflictions for others and you

Turned it into an opportunity for the salvation of the world.

Help all who are imprisoned bear the burden of illness, isolation, Even estrangement, turning their cross into opportunities to shed Addictions, to see in their lives your Son’s walk with them to the Resurrection, to turn around and see the goodness of God coming Towards them, arms outstretched, bringing the healing love that Loves to heal, turning them up-wards to go up the stairs with help.

Oh Mother of the Stairs, gather your children from all walks of life,

All points of the earth, all peoples of the world, all times of life,

Whether poor or rich, victim or violent, alone or as part of a gang,

Turning what is misused to a good use, scheming into helping,

Gang members into friends, taking into giving, causing harm

Into helping to heal – being saved into showing others the stairs.

by Francis Etheredge Profiles in Catholicism

A Prayer for Prisoners

Lord, you are close to those who are most alone.

Be present to our brothers and sisters in prison

who suffer from the coronavirus.

In their dark hours, be a light of hope.

In their sad plight, stir us to compassion.

In their daily routine, stir the kindness of their guards.

In their physical struggles, pour out a healing balm.

Lead them and us, one day, home to you. Amen

by Father Louis Cameli Profiles in Catholicism

Interviews

Book Reviews and Commentaries

One strength of Hometown Prison by Richard Linklater Commentary by Burke Nixon Commonweal
Prison Journal by George Cardinal Pell Reviewed by Filip Mazurczak The European Conservative
Prison Governor's Journal by Brendan O'Friel Commentary by Independent Catholic News
From Prison to Purpose by Jimmy McGill Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
The Saint of the Prisons by Monk Moise Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
Beyond the Bars: From Prison to the Podium by Chris “Tatted Strength” Luera and Michael Oropollo Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
St. Maximilian Kolbe The Saint of Auschwitz by Jean-Francoi Vivier Reviewed by Thomas L. McDonald National Catholic Register
Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration by Nicole R. Fleetwood Commentary by Heather King Angelus
Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration by Nicole R. Fleetwood Commentary by Heather King Angelus
Beyond the Bars: From Prison to the Podium by Chris “Tatted Strength” Luera and Michael Oropollo Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
Prison Truth by William J. Drummond Reviewed by Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein L.A. Review of Books
Aging Behind Prison Walls: Studies in Trauma and Resilience by Tina Maschi, Ph.D. and Keith Morgen, Ph.D. Commentary by Tom Stoelker Fordham News
Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler Commentary by GeorgetownUniversity
Refuge In Hell by Ronald D. Lemmert Reviewed by George Williams America
St. Maximilian Kolbe The Saint of Auschwitz by Jean-Francoi Vivier Reviewed by Thomas L. McDonald National Catholic Register
No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton La Croix International

Television Reviews and Commentaries

The Art of Incarceration Reviewed by Fr Peter Malone Independent Catholic News
Orange Is The New Black Commentary by Jessie AtkinA ScreenRant