I think Mr. Coulson would have approved, too. He never forgot what he experienced, and how God redeemed him in the midst of his incarceration.
I am warily enthusiastic about the Mass in the prison, too. Wary because, in the Catholic Church, "Social Justice ministries" are too often a mask for those who have lost the faith and become mere social workers. Enthusiastic because this is a very different behavior for a Pope, and I've found those involved in Social Justice ministry to kind of look down on those who minister to those in jails/prisons. But ministry to prisoners is one of the Cardinal Works of Mercy, and if Lent and the Easter season isn't the best time for a work of mercy, I don't know what is! This is SO like St. Francis of Assisi! And this seems to fit with all I've heard about Pope Francis.
And, finally, to Fred Weaver: I think the Scriptures are clear that, as long as a person's heart beats and they draw breath, they are NOT beyond the mercy of our loving Father.
Posted By: Carol Luscomb on March 27, 2013 3:56 AM
@Gina Dalfanzo
I was thinking the same thing when I heard about this story.
It does force me to ask if I really view the worst prisoners as still being within God's reach to be saved and redeemed.
Posted By: Fred Weaver on March 25, 2013 10:33 PM
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I am warily enthusiastic about the Mass in the prison, too. Wary because, in the Catholic Church, "Social Justice ministries" are too often a mask for those who have lost the faith and become mere social workers. Enthusiastic because this is a very different behavior for a Pope, and I've found those involved in Social Justice ministry to kind of look down on those who minister to those in jails/prisons. But ministry to prisoners is one of the Cardinal Works of Mercy, and if Lent and the Easter season isn't the best time for a work of mercy, I don't know what is! This is SO like St. Francis of Assisi! And this seems to fit with all I've heard about Pope Francis.
And, finally, to Fred Weaver: I think the Scriptures are clear that, as long as a person's heart beats and they draw breath, they are NOT beyond the mercy of our loving Father.
I was thinking the same thing when I heard about this story.
It does force me to ask if I really view the worst prisoners as still being within God's reach to be saved and redeemed.