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Writer's pictureProfiles in Catholicism
May 30, 202234 min read

Prison Challenges

Updated: Jun 2, 2022



A Message from the Editor


Of all of the Corporal Works of Mercy, visiting the imprisoned is the one that we seldom perform. We often forget that forgiveness is central to visiting the imprisoned, and forgiveness is a gift of God.


Covid-19 has resulted in an estimated 500,000 deaths, some of which were imprisoned for minor infractions in the United States such as possessing marijuana which were often racially motivated.


There are also many people falsely confined globally for crimes that they didn’t commit. Please pray for them.


The murder of 19 children and two adults in Texas should make the members of the US Congress who refuse to pass legislation on gun control reflect on how their failure to act on gun legislation may have contributed to the loss of these precious lives. When politics and NRA support are more important than children’s lives, these politicians are moral pariahs,


Please pray daily for the people of the Ukraine where I worked for several years.


Also, please pray for the intentions of Father Stephen Arabadjis of the Society of St. Pius X.


If you find Profiles in Catholicism of interest and helpful, please make a $10.00 donation (tax deductible in the United States) to help pay our staff.


A Quote to Remember


“With regard to prisoners, it would appear that in many cases practical measures are urgently needed to improve their living conditions, with particular concern for those detained while awaiting trial. It must be kept in mind that penal sanctions have the aim of rehabilitation, while national laws should consider the possibility of other establishing penalties than incarceration.” by Pope Francis


Prayers


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


A Prayer for Prison Staff and Guards


Good and Gracious God,

We bring a need for care to our community in regard to the prison staff and guards. As a person involved in the care of another, as Jesus did regarding the blind, the lame and Lazarus who He brought back from the dead, please help us remember and pray for those who interact in a very personal way with prisoners to provide what they need. They remember their baptismal promise to treat all with God's loving care. The prisoners are murderers, rapist, those involved in crimes of thievery and fraud and want to treat others as God continues to treat them. It is a difficult ministry as we wish to show love in the midst of despondency and hate. Even in the very chaotic days for prisons, the guards remember and care for the other with your help and intercession. The guards and staff go above and beyond what a person would be asked but with their dedication to God's love and continued work that brings all to God, they do it with love and care.

by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism


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


Prayer For Your Blessing And Deliverance From Unlikely Jail Time


Lord, I haven’t always done what you’ve asked me 2 do. And for a long time, I ran away from my god-given gifts and blessings in favor of the devil’s lies and temptations. Even still you’ve always kept me safe and shown me favor. But now my situation is one of dire need. I never been in a situation like this god where they could take me from my family and ruin my chances at ever living a righteous life and be financially secure legally.

I need you to make haste to deliver me o’lord make haste to help me. I thank you for this situation however from going to jail to house arrest it’s been a truly life-changing situation for me. I have truly changed and repented before you god. But now I need you help for I don’t want to fight this myself I give it all to you.

I trust that you will make a way even though the courts says there is no way and that all I have to do is pray and stand and you will dispel all the evil slanderous sentences they try to throw on me. I know I don’t deserve your mercy but I ask for it anyway.

I let go and let god I’m ready for your angels and your son Jesus to have there will be done on earth. God bless everyone who reads this and everyone who’s going through a similar situation or worse it does not matter.

May god bless all of us and I appreciate everyone who reads this and takes the time out to include me in your prayer I sure could use them. Stay blessed yall. by Malcolm


A prayer for all prisoners with Covid-19


“OH MOTHER OF THE STAIRS”

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 the Polish people who are helping Ukrainian refugees


Compassionate and loving God, We ask that you strengthen the people of Poland as they continue to respond to the biblical mandate to welcome the stranger. May their dedicated efforts to provide the Ukrainian refugees with the basic needs to sustain life May the values of hospitality and fraternity that stand at the heart of the gospel continue to guide them. Extend your blessings upon them as they continue to

undertake this challenge and witness to thehuman bonding that your Son Jesus proclaimed while living among us. We express ourprayer in his name. by Father John Pawlikowski, OSM Profiles in Catholicism


Prayer for the parents of Uvalde children massacre


As a Mother of 3 sons and a Grandmother of 5 young children, I ask you to hear my prayer. My heart has been filled with prayer for the parents of the children as the beg God to help them heal from the horror of Uvalde. The parents bring the child into the world with joy and God's blessings of Baptism and graces. They steer the child through the journey of following God in their life: .from teaching them how to walk, ride a bike, have fun with others, and learn to watch out for one another. From their domestic home they learn to love the God of their parents and honor what the parents call into importance. The parents want the children to know/love and serve God and each other. They understand that the child is a constant and consistent responsibility. The parents want their children to know and love the familiarity of God's saving presence. On the day of this massacre, the parents started the day with a quiet blessing and cereal, they were busy with socks, shoes, school supplies and all that begins the day. We ask you, Lord to bless these men and women of faith as they turn to you for help. We ask you this in the name of the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism


A Prayer for the Murdered Children at Robb Elementary School Texas


God of mercy, you have entrusted us with the gift of life and the gift of our children. We stand in unbearable grief as we mourn the loss of the children and their teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Renew within us the grace to carry the grieving parents and community and to hold them close. Stir up within us the courage to do whatever is necessary to safeguard the precious lives of all people, especially our children. May we be the people you call us to be--good and responsible stewards of your gifts. Amen by Father Louis Cameli Profiles in Catholicism


Prayer for the parents of Uvalde children massacre

As a Mother of 3 sons and a Grandmother of 5 young children, I ask you to hear my prayer. My heart has been filled with prayer for the parents of the children as the beg God to help them heal from the horror of Uvalde. The parents bring the child into the world with joy and God's blessings of Baptism and graces. They steer the child through the journey of following God in their life: .from teaching them how to walk, ride a bike, have fun with others, and learn to watch out for one another. From their domestic home they learn to love the God of their parents and honor what the parents call into importance. The parents want the children to know/love and serve God and each other. They understand that the child is a constant and consistent responsibility. The parents want their children to know and love the familiarity of God's saving presence. On the day of this massacre, the parents started the day with a quiet blessing and cereal, they were busy with socks, shoes, school supplies and all that begins the day. We ask you, Lord to bless these men and women of faith as they turn to you for help. We ask you this in the name of the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism


Prison Challenges Interviews

General Interviews

Prison Challenges

Medical Journal Articles

General Prison Articles

General Articles/Commentaries

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