The Easter season held a special message of resurrection and hope for the 10 inmates at Lebanon Correctional Institution who were welcomed into the Catholic Church on March 23 by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk.
Update. My mistake; the story is online:
The volunteers, representing a number of area parishes, strive to emulate the services provided at the parish level including Mass, instruction and one-on-on counseling. At LeCI, the Catholic group, comprised of approximately 30 inmates, meets weekly and Jesuit Father Gene Carmichael presides at Mass for the men twice monthly.
Shimrock, a member of St. Susanna Parish in Mason, said the opportunity to develop and share their faith is significant for the inmates on several levels. "Society is so quick to judge people for their mistakes, but God doesn’t work that way. It’s important restoratively for the inmates to recognize that we’re all forgiven. More than 85 percent of the inmates will return to society and, as a citizen, I would like someone to return having repented. This ministry enables the inmates to return full of faith and with some spiritual goals."
"They also benefit from the sense of peace and fellowship because they don’t find that in the prison culture," Shimrock added. "They find others who believe in and support them too. It’s the one place they won’t be judged, and they’re given the fundamental tools they need to rebuild their faith and their lives."
The 10 men petitioned Archbishop Pilarczyk to celebrate Easter Mass at the prison and confer the sacraments by writing letters and, along with the volunteers and LeCI staff, were thrilled to welcome him.
Joining the catechumens and their sponsors were volunteers from the prison’s Kairos program and many of their family members.
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15 comments:
wow, that's pretty cool
I was very happy to hear that he was doing this, and that the Telegraph published this on the front page this week.
To add some back story, this wasn't just a waltz in and waltz out procedure, as the warden (who fully supported Archbishop's being there) still had some strict guidelines about what could and could not be brought into the facility. (They had to have everything listed, in detail, well ahead of time.)
Also, the way he found out about it was a request from the pastors in the area to have a Vigil celebration on Easter Saturday morning. When asked why, he responded by offering to come out to do it on Sunday. The converts were understandably quite surprised and honored that he would do such a thing.
Thanks, Fr. Schnippel. This story deserves wider exposure. Perhaps Tricia Hempel could make it available online.
Whose the chaplain at LCI?
It is online, and it went out over CNS this week with pix. We agree it's a great story.
And Rich, I cooked both a lamb and turkey for Easter. Hard to get a good leg of lamb here, so I grab them and freeze them when they're on sale. Covered in garlic, little roasted potatoes. mmmm. Beats the midwest penchant for ham anytime!
I was very proud of the Archbishop when I saw that story. It reveals a side of him that many don't know about...
As does the time I sent him a note, suggesting he bring up somehow via the bishops' conference, the problem of Spanish-English ritual books, particularly for caring for the sick.
To my surprise, the Archbishop called me and told me where I could get just such a book, as he had one on his shelf.
Those who have known the Archbishop longer or work with him more closely can tell other stories of his kindnesses.
Doesn't holding the Easter Vigil on Saturday morning violate the norms found in the General Instructions of the Roman Missal? It is valid if held before sundown? Is it licit?
I believe it took place on the 23rd; Sunday.
I think you are right, but if it had taken place as "request(ed) from the pastors in the area," would it have been valid or licit?
Reading this story in the Telegraph brought tears to my eyes. I would imagine these men have some awesome conversion stories.
Anonymous:
As far as I know, there is no provision whatsoever for the Vigil to be celebrated at any other time than after dark on Holy Saturday, but before sunrise.
What the Archbishop seems to have done, however, was to celebrate the Easter sacraments as part of Easter Sunday Mass, which would seldom, if ever, occur in a parish setting, but for all I know there is provision for, or he has the authority to permit.
Assuming Fr. Schnippel's post is correct ("...it was a request from the pastors in the area to have a Vigil celebration on Easter Saturday morning"), what would motivate the pastors to ask for something for which "there is no provision whatsoever"?
Is this ignorance of their part or a symptom of liturgy-at-our-convenience regardless of the norms?
If pastors can ignore the law for convenience and / or what they believe to be legitimate pastoral reasons, what is to prevent the laity from also doing that?
Two reasons that they asked for the variance:
They can't bi-locate and had their regular parish obligations for the Vigil, and I think of restrictions on visitation time at the prison.
During the riots of 2001, most of the parishes within the City limits had to have their rites of initiation on Easter morning.
Remember there is a difference here between celebrating the Vigil Mass at a different time and celebrating initiation at a different time.
I don't think celebrating the vigil at another time is allowed. But perhaps there might be some exceptions, but I doubt it.
However, celebrating the sacraments of initiation at different time, than the vigil, is perfectly licit, but obviously uncommon in most parishes.
As Fr. Schnippel points out the Riots of 2001, was a good example of the initiation being done at a separate time. I clearly remember at that time the Archbishop (or someone in the archdiocese) putting out a press release that noted that Vigil itself could not be done on Sunday morning and its unique rituals would have to be omitted that year.
By the way, the story about the archbishop was an excellent one. I can only imagine the challenges those men must have had in their conversion process and makes me all the more grateful that I was given the gift of baptism.
i was happy to see the mention of kairos prison ministry...they do good work across the continent to bring the love of Christ to those in prison
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