Prison Ministry
From the MSC Magazine: Barry Dalton recounts a meeting with Peter Carroll MSC, longtime chaplain at Long Bay, and developing a prison ministry - with some support from the MSC Mission Office.
Our introduction into the prison ministry began almost 8 years ago when Fay and I met Fr. Peter Carroll (MSC) who has been a Prison Chaplain for 16 years. From that auspicious occasion, we became involved in a number of areas in this wide and varied ministry.
Firstly, we are part of a team of 24 women and men who volunteer at the Downing Centre Courts in Sydney. We serve tea/coffee at the morning tea and lunch breaks to the people in the holding cells down in the basement. Sandwiches are supplied at lunch by Correctional Services. However we provide biscuits for morning tea funded by MSC Mission and the SOJ Sisters at Mary Mackillop Place North Sydney.
The other areas we work in are: - Visiting Inmates in Prison; Supporting chaplains with Sacramental services; Conducting Positive lifestyle programmes; Escorted day leave for long-term prisoners; Supporting ex-offenders under a special post release EAST-works programme. (Acronym for EAST is: - Education; Accommodation; Spiritual support; Transitional services)
An often-asked question is “Why do you do this work and how does it relate to our Christian faith, the charism of Jules Chevalier and MSC Spirituality of the heart”? My response comes from Karl Rahner who said “We are not essentially different from the prisoners whom we visit in prison. It is only circumstances distinguish us and we must be grateful to God for these circumstances”.
Saint Augustine asked the question, “What does love look like”? He then said, “It is the hands that reach out in need. It is the feet that hasten to the poor. It is the eyes that see misery and want. It is the ears that hear the cries and sorrows. That’s what love looks like”. We are Jesus’ hands and feet; we are His eyes and ears. Jesus asks us to be His presence in our world today. People who are the outcasts of our society or those who are in prison, may not only have lost control of themselves but have lost the most precious thing of all--- their SENSE of DIGNITY and WORTH. Without this, nothing good can ever happen in a person’s life. I guess that is what we are trying to do in our ministry, helping them to realize that they do have dignity and value, that they are a person. “Every time you have done these things to one of these little brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Mt25: 40).
Barry and Fay Dalton