This past Sunday, St. Augustine parish went further to the peripheries to serve and connect with those marginalized, underserved, and forgotten. We went inside the Shelby County Correctional
Center to celebrate Mass in English and Spanish. There are 3000 residents in this facility. In a desire to provide pastoral care to those detained by I.C.E, as well as other residents of the Correctional Center, we accepted the invitation to celebrate Mass. The men packed the classroom
Location, and we will need to move to the gym the next time.
How fitting it was to offer this service to those in need on the weekend when we remember and honor the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We reflected on the call to be Drum Majors for Peace, Drum Majors for Justice. To find within oneself the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit, and to live that peace even in the jail. We reminded them that they are not alone nor forgotten. The men were assured that they are valued, and their lives truly matter to God, to us and to the whole Church. We recalled that their identity is not what got them there, but rather, their identity is rooted in who they are in Jesus Christ. All Sons valued and deeply loved by God.
To pray, listen, and simply be present to these men is our attempt to stand with those on the peripheries. We believe that this is what the Preferential Option for the Poor looks like. Pope Francis and now Pope Leo call us to stand with the poorest and most marginalized. Not only speaking truth to power but being physically present and showing not only that we care, but letting them know they are loved, heard, and recognized.
We will extend to all five county facilities/detention centers and even the Federal Penal Farm, the love and peace that comes from Christ rooted in the life and mission of the Divine Word.
Peace
Center to celebrate Mass in English and Spanish. There are 3000 residents in this facility. In a desire to provide pastoral care to those detained by I.C.E, as well as other residents of the Correctional Center, we accepted the invitation to celebrate Mass. The men packed the classroom
Location, and we will need to move to the gym the next time.
How fitting it was to offer this service to those in need on the weekend when we remember and honor the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We reflected on the call to be Drum Majors for Peace, Drum Majors for Justice. To find within oneself the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit, and to live that peace even in the jail. We reminded them that they are not alone nor forgotten. The men were assured that they are valued, and their lives truly matter to God, to us and to the whole Church. We recalled that their identity is not what got them there, but rather, their identity is rooted in who they are in Jesus Christ. All Sons valued and deeply loved by God.
To pray, listen, and simply be present to these men is our attempt to stand with those on the peripheries. We believe that this is what the Preferential Option for the Poor looks like. Pope Francis and now Pope Leo call us to stand with the poorest and most marginalized. Not only speaking truth to power but being physically present and showing not only that we care, but letting them know they are loved, heard, and recognized.
We will extend to all five county facilities/detention centers and even the Federal Penal Farm, the love and peace that comes from Christ rooted in the life and mission of the Divine Word.
Peace
