Evangelization Supplement
Answering God’s call: Scripture verse inspires prison ministry volunteers
Heather, who is incarcerated at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis, receives the sacrament of confirmation from Father Robert Robeson on Easter in a chapel at the state correctional facility. Two women were baptized and five women received the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist during the April 24 liturgy. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
One of the most compelling Scripture passages in the Gospel of St. Matthew relates one of Christ’s core teachings.
“For I was hungry and you gave me food,” Jesus said to his disciples. “I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Mt 26:35-36).
Deacon Daniel Collier, who ministers at St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, as well as several diocesan priests and lay volunteers from Indianapolis West Deanery parishes are doing just that for some of the women who are incarcerated at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis.
“I just feel that God has blessed us to be able to provide for these women,” Deacon Collier said on Easter, “because we’re doing what Jesus asked us to do. … This ministry here at the prison has gone beyond anybody’s expectations.”
He assisted Father Robert Robeson, rector of Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis and chaplain for the women’s prison ministry, with a 6 p.m. eucharistic liturgy celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord on April 24 in a small chapel at the Indiana Department of Corrections facility for women offenders.
“Our commitment is that the women will be able to receive the Eucharist every Sunday,” Deacon Collier said, during a Mass or Communion service.
“We’re spreading the Gospel every way that we can [through the Church’s prison ministry],” he said. “I preach to them about how we’re a faith community, and we need to look out for each other, share the love and not be quick to judge others. … During a Communion service, those women who are not Catholic come up for a blessing so they’re getting the Word by being here. We’re glad they are here to listen to the Word. … They are welcome to join us.”
Deacon Collier, Father Robeson and the lay volunteers who assist with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) ministry at the prison were excited that five women—two catechumens who were baptized and three candidates who were confirmed—received the sacraments during the Easter liturgy.
“It’s truly a joyful day for many reasons,” Deacon Collier said. “We brought these women into the Church through the religious education ministry that we provide on Tuesday evenings. It’s awesome to see the women receive the sacraments, and what moved me even more was how some of the other ladies were watching [the catechumens and candidates] with tears in their eyes.”
Deacon Collier started his ministry of charity at the former Indiana Girls’ School correctional facility after he was ordained in 2008.
“When I started out here, there were 170 juveniles and now there are 700 adult women,” he said. “We probably minister to about 50 women. Twenty women are Catholic and another 20 or 30 women come to our Sunday [liturgies] regularly.”
St. Malachy parishioner Laura Kazlas of Brownsburg has ministered at the women’s correctional facility for four years—three years with teenage girls and one year with women.
“This is our first full year of ministry with the ladies at the Indiana Women’s Prison,” Kazlas said. “Our RCIA classes started in September. … I feel a sense of unity and community with these ladies, … who need the support of a faith community. They need a connection with the Church, and with Christian men and women. They need the moral support of other people both inside the prison and when they get out.”
Kazlas said she felt a personal call from God to volunteer in prison ministry.
“I wanted to encourage them that they could make something good come out of their experience in the correctional facility and change their life around,” she said. “I wanted to give them hope that they could change their life for the better, and that God can bring a greater good out of something that is negative in their lives.”
Deacon Collier and Kazlas invite priests and lay volunteers to contact St. Malachy Parish about assisting with their ministry at the Indiana Women’s Prison as catechists, hospitality ministers and guest speakers.
“We welcome guest speakers for our Tuesday evening classes,” Kazlas said. “The women need people to talk to who care about them. They give back to us more than we give to them. That’s the biggest surprise of going there. It’s a joyful experience. They have a genuine need for God. They have had everything else taken away from them, and they know that they need God.
“We’re working hard at evangelization in the prison,” she said. “We provide a lot of reading materials for the women. Once they get interested, they start coming to Mass. We welcome them no matter what their circumstances are. Some of the ladies have had a genuine conversion experience in prison.”
Heather, who was baptized, confirmed and received first holy Communion on Easter, said after the Mass that she is very grateful for the Catholic prison ministry volunteers.
“We need the emotional and spiritual support and friendship from everybody,” she said. “When the volunteers come in, it’s like a breath of fresh air to us. They bring a lot of emotion and make us feel happy.”
Madeline, who also was baptized, confirmed and received first holy Communion, said receiving the sacraments made her “feel real happy and like there is a new spirit in me.”
Father Robeson has celebrated Mass at the women’s prison on Easter twice as well as on other Sunday evenings.
“It’s a great ministry,” he said. “The women here realize that their faith is important and that going to church is what they need to be doing.”
(For information about how to help with the Church’s ministry at the Indiana Women’s Prison in Indianapolis, contact Deacon Daniel Collier or Laura Kazlas at St. Malachy Parish by leaving a message at the parish office at 317-852-3195.) †
