There were a lot of cool things I could have been doing the
afternoon of Halloween -- My friends had invited me out to lunch;I had a French
paper due later that afternoon . But, instead I was in a car heading toward the
South Bend Juvenile Justice Center.
The Celebration Choir had decided to perform at the center
that afternoon. Our choir had packed up all our instruments into vans. We got
there early to rehearse. We worried about who was going to pass the microphone
to whom. We got excited to sing our favorite songs. Apart from the metal
detector we had to walk through on our way in, it was a concert just like any
other. Afterward, we broke up into small groups and spent time talking to the
kids. We talked about our favorite things to study in school, our favorite
foods, our favorite styles of dance. It was the same kind of thing I talk about
with the students I teach.
Because yeah, they might be in the juvenile justice system,
but they are kids. They are humans. They deserve to listen to beautiful music.
They deserve to spend a rainy afternoon discussing everyone’s favorite Chipotle
order. They deserve love and dignity, just like everyone else.
At my mom’s work there is a beautiful mosaic of the Corporal
and Spiritual Works of Mercy. I would look at them as a kid, checking them off
in my head. “I volunteer at soup kitchens. I teach Sunday school. I’m doing all
of these.” And then I’d get to “Visit the Imprisoned” and think “Well I can’t
do that one.” I completely wrote it off, thinking there was no way I could do
that act of mercy. I didn’t know anyone in prison. I didn’t know how to visit a
prison. I had watched a documentary about prison in my high school sociology
class and it looked pretty scary. I just couldn’t do that one.
I got to college and began to see things a little
differently. In my classes I learned more about the problems in our prison
system. About the way a system that should be based on justice, was being
driven by quotas and laws that were laced with racism. I began to see
narratives appearing on TV that paired stories and voices to the prison
experience. I began to realize that while prison was a system, it was made up
of very real people. These were people who needed love, affirmation of dignity,
in the same way senior citizens or preschoolers do.
We are called to serve everyone, not just those who are easy
to love, not just those who are comfortable to love. Today marks the beginning
of the Year of Mercy for the church. It is a year about “opening the door” and
inviting people back in. But in many ways, the doors that need to be opened are
the doors in our hearts. God shows us
endless, radiant mercy, but we need to share that mercy with others. We need to
reach out and serve everyone. Of course, we can serve those who are easy to
love, but it is also an opportunity to reach out to those in society who are
unloved and nearly forgotten, too.
Notre
Dame has made it easy to explore prison ministry if that is something you are
interested in doing. The Reading for Life Program lets ND students serve as
leaders for book discussions at the Juvenile Justice Center. Dismas House
serves those returning from incarceration. There are even more organizations on
the CSC website. There are also “inside-out” classes where you get to take
classes at the Westville Correctional Center alongside prisoners. We are
surrounded by opportunities to go out and show mercy to others. Let this Year
of Mercy be the push you need to go do it.
As I left the juvenile correction facility that day, I felt
humbled. I felt honored to have served these kids whose lives were harder than
mine, who would deal with struggles I would never know. I was grateful t they
opened their hearts to us. Because if we can touch someone’s heart through
music, through books, through conversation, whatever it may be,we can help them
open up to love for themselves, for others, and in the end, for God.
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