Mission in the Prison
By Rev.Paul Ines, SDB
Minor offenders appear to be victims of fate.
community service supervised by police
They may be both heirs of a shady past and hostages
authorities in order to expiate for the crimes
of a very dim future. It has been held that a tree is
they committed.
known not only by its fruits, but also by its roots. The
Employing the Salesian mark of
family as the root-source of each and every human
Loving-kindness, every boy is looked upon as
being plays a very crucial and lofty role in bringing
persons; each person is subject to revisions,
about the offspring’s future. Don Bosco once said:
ought not to be condemned but to
“There is no such thing as a delinquent boy for man is
encouraged to hope and to change for the
intrinsically good.” They may be victims of their
better. Meliora Eligo. Born for greater things,
respective parents. They may be casualties of unjust
they are taught to choose the better things.
social structures and decadent power struggles. Guilt
Religion is also very important. I
and blame ought not to be initially imputed upon them.
function there only as catholic priest. Other
Perhaps, they are products of a rotten system.
religions have their own. But here, I know we
Perhaps, they are just contaminated by a fatal social or
are dealing no longer with human beings
environmental epidemic.
alone but with God. I make the reception of
For the past couple of years, I have been
sacraments possible for them. We now deal
working at St. Michael School, a facility that houses and educates the
with something beyond us. We no longer deal with human structures
youth in conflict with the law. The programs cater to minor offenders who
incarcerating the human being amidst a punishable act, but now with a
are in the secondary level of education. There we have 100 students
limitless mercy given by a God who wants himself to be called the
ranging from 14-18 years of age. Central to the rehabilitative structures
“Merciful Father” despite human shortcomings. This is the beauty of the
is the primacy of privacy. Each boy is treated as a regular citizen, whose
sacraments. Beyond all human frailties, God forgives me. He is a God of
civil life entitles him to be a man of his own. Respect is at the fore of all
second chances and new beginnings. God enters my life once again.
programs. Each is treated as human person, endowed with an inner
Regular reception of the Eucharist and Reconciliation became the soul
private life that exalts the mystery of the uniqueness of their
of the facility. Basic catechism is taught and the beauty of the liturgy is
personhood. This is because each and every person, made unto the
emphasized.
image and likeness of God, is an inviolable mystery, more of a mystery
To be a victim may not be our fault. But to remain one is
to live with than a problem to be dealt with. No one is given information
definitely ours. St. Michael School has given these kids a choice to
about their past offenses except from the counselors, therapists and
redeem themselves. Now they have the capacity to empower
lawyers. This helps the boy retain his self-respect and discounts the
themselves and to do away with their wretched state. It has successfully
possibility of resorting to despair and self-disdain.
produced many lawyers, doctors, members of the navy and army, etc.
Like Tuloy and Pugad, they eat, sleep, play in that nature-
because of personal space. We are freemen. In fact, we are condemned
friendly facility and study in the beautiful school. The rigidity of their
to be free. Even if we err, we still have the right to assert ourselves and
schedule and the exactitude of their daily routine make them aware of
to assure that our choices are respected. Reason, Religion, and Loving-
the need to be holistically re-formed. They are asked to sleep on time in
Kindness do not just give quality education but produce winners. The
order that they may rise up on time. It is a facility that connects to other
Preventive System of Don Bosco gave birth not just to the most
facilities. Those who over-achieved are referred to advanced programs.
successful of all freemen, but even to the youngest of all saints. Through
Those who under-achieve stay longer or sometimes referred to other
Don Bosco, God has given us the power to employ a system that
places that can address their needs better. Some are given regular
catapults the young heaven-ward. We now go and set them free!
__________________
Fr.Ines had his first mission work in the middle of a war in Ethiopia in 1978. He was ordained for the Salesians of Don Bosco, FIN on 10 October 1996. In the Diocese of
Scranton, Turkey, he served two years at St. Boniface Church in Williamsport and most recently as the Parochial Vicar of St. Gabriel’s Church in Hazleton. He resides at
the Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary Rectory in Tunkhannock.
“That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may
have fellowship with us.” (1 John 1:3)
The Eucharist and Mission
By His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI*
In my homily at the eucharistic celebration solemnly inaugurating my Petrine ministry, I said that “there is nothing more beautiful than to be
surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with
him.” (AAS 97, 2005) These words are all the more significant if we think of the mystery of the Eucharist. The love that we celebrate in the sacrament
is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all. What the world needs is God's love; it needs to encounter
Christ and to believe in him. The Eucharist is thus the source and summit
not only of the Church's life, but also of her mission: “an authentically
THE MISSIONARY PRAYER
Eucharistic Church is a Missionary Church.” (Prop 42) We too must be
able to tell our brothers and sisters with conviction: “That which we have
seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship
with us” (1 John 1:3).
Truly, nothing is more beautiful than to know Christ and to
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Proto-Missioner of the Father, to
bring us the glad tidings of salvation.You are also the Sender
of the Pentecostal Spirit,
and the Cornerstone of the Missionary Church.
make him known to others. The institution of the Eucharist, for that
We thank you for the Faith you gifted us,
matter, anticipates the very heart of Jesus’ mission: he is the one sent by
through the foreign missionaries who brought it to our land.
the Father for the redemption of the world (cf. John 3:16-17; Romans
Bless the missionaries you now send beyond the seas unto
8:32). At the Last Supper, Jesus entrusts to his disciples the sacrament distant lands, to peoples or groups where you and your Gospel
which makes present his self-sacrifice for the salvation of us all, in
obedience to the Father’s will. We cannot approach the eucharistic table
without being drawn into the mission which, beginning in the very heart
of God, is meant to reach all people. Missionary outreach is thus an
essential part of the eucharistic form of the Christian life.
__________________
*These are excerpts from Sacramentum Caritatis, the Pope’s Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church’s
Life and Mission, Rome, 22 February 2007
are not known. (RMi, 33)
Stir us to pray for and support constantly the supreme duty
and the premier task of “going out to all nations to proclaim
Christ.” (RMi, 3)
Grant us the spirit of great pioneer-missionaries, who gave
their full and life-long commitment to missio ad gentes, ad
extra, which holds the pride of place in the Church.
(RMi,32,66,79)
Make our country a missionary country, make our parish a
missionary parish, and make our families missionary families.
Amen.
