"Christmas in the prison".

News from Poland from our Deacon Jonasz.

"On Thursday December 21, I was given an extraordinary opportunity. I was sent by the rector of the Oblate Scholasticate in Obra, Poland to help with the yearly Christmas mass in the prison of Wrocław. This is a yearly tradition that the Oblate Chaplain, Fr. Michał Lepich OMI, organizes yearly. He invites one of the local bishops for the Archdiocese to celebrate the mass. The mass itself takes place in a junction between three corridors in the prison. It is an open space where prisoners who want to attend mass can look down from their units into the vestibule and participate in the mass.

This year the auxiliary bishop, his excellency Bp. Jacek Kiciński CMF. In his homily he underlined that tha nature of Christmas should always bring reflection. The prisoners, according to bp. Kiciński, are at an advantage to many of us, as they do not have to face the rush in which we live in and have time to reflect. Also, he reminded that God always comes 15 minutes late. He is there especially in the moments when we see no more hope, when we have no more vigor to go on. Then we are more open to accepting Jesus who comes to us.

For me this was a particularly fruitful experience. During the mass, I had a sensation that I was truly taken back to the manger and to the poverty in which Our Lord was born. I understood more clearly after this experience the words of Christ: “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9,13c)".

(deacon Jonasz Lalik OMI/photos: ppor. Paweł Cyrulik - sw.gov.pl))