The Year of Mercy offered a graced opportunity to give a special focus to the love, forgiveness and compassion that our God has for each one of us!
For people who are spending months, years and some even life, in prison, it is a concept that is very difficult to understand. The majority of people in our prisons here in Victoria both think and believe that they are unworthy of anyone really caring about them. They think so negatively about themselves and then that is so very strongly reinforced for them by what they read in the print media or see and hear on the television.
"God’s Mercy will always be greater than any sin" Pope Francis tell us in Misericordiae Vultus, Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. On hearing me share this message with the residents in the prisons an older man, Jeff, came up to me and asked me to repeat what I had just said about God’s Mercy. When I had done this Jeff then sat there beside me in silence and pondered. Nothing further was said, yet there was a sacredness in this silence. After a lengthy pause beside me Jeff then stood up, simply expressed his thanks and left. What a message!
During the Year of Mercy the Catholic Chaplaincy Team seized every opportunity to ensure that the female and male residents in the 15 prisons here in Victoria came to meet and to know something of the God of Mercy, the God of love and forgiveness, the God of the second and the third chance who enables each of us to begin again, to make straight our ways – a God who is with us and a God who is our strength day by day.
For us as Chaplains it has been a year of privileged moments as residents shared with us their realisation that, "I just made one wrong choice and look where I am, thank you for helping me." "I am not all bad", "I'm never coming back to this place again", "You have helped me come to know the good parts of me", "Thank you for believing in me and helping me to see a way out of this mess I have made of my life."
The Year of Mercy concluded with Mass being celebrated in each prison and a small wooden cross on a cord made available for any of the 6,500 people in the prisons who wanted one. Bishops Terence Curtin and Mark Edwards OMI, Melbourne Archdiocese, Leslie Tomlinson, Sandhurst Diocese and Patrick O’Regan, Sale Diocese, were celebrants for the Masses in six of the prisons, and brought with them a message from the Australian Catholic Bishops. The Department of Corrections, the General Managers and staff of the prisons in Victoria were extremely supportive of our celebrations and provided morning or afternoon tea or supper for those present following the Masses.
As we move into 2017 we will continue to assist our people to come to know the God who is merciful and forgiving, the God of second chances and new beginnings.
This is all God’s work and as such we rely on prayer support. May we ask that you join us in this ministry with the support of your prayers.
Volunteers are always welcome and are able to support us by attendance with us at the Masses in the prisons as a prayerful and listening presence, and or facilitating Meditation groups. We would love to hear from you please contact: Mary.OShannassy@ccam.org.au or (03) 9287 5577.
Sr Mary O’Shannassy SGS is the Director of Catholic Prison Ministry Victoria. She has worked in prison chaplaincy for 23 years and was honoured with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) this year for her service in prison chaplaincy.