Inspired by Scholastica

I correspond with a man serving a life term in a Chino,   California prison.   He abetted a murder when   he was a teenager. He seems to have found Jesus   behind bars   and has become a   Christian.   He has lost any residue of violence left from his youth. An inmate   for at least 40 years, he says he has used up all his requests for a retrial. A friend asked me to write to him since he has no family or anyone who cares about  him. I suppose some would call me a bleeding heart, but when   I try to walk in his shoes for a while, I feel   like writing a letter once in a while is the least I can do. I also send him jokes and crossword puzzles   which he enjoys. Jim (not his real name) shares a cell with another “cellie” who is often angry or even violent,  without any recourse for a change. He falls into the category of reformed prisoner, who has served his time and is no longer a threat to society. Instead of bein...

When the apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he taught them the Our Father. It is a perfect prayer because it starts with the focus on God, not on us. "Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done." We glorify God, ask that his kingdom will be established, and his will accomplished. The second part pleads for what we need. "Give us this day our daily bread." Bread respresents everything we need for the day- health, food, energy, patience, peace, and love. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." We admit we are sinners, and need to be forgiven. The tough part is for us to forgive those who have hurt us in some way. Then we ask for protection from temptation and evil. We admit we are weak and vulnerable human beings and that the forces of evil are a constant danger. During this coronavirus pandemic, prayer is extra urgent. We lift up in prayer those who are ill from the virus and those who have die...

Technology is moving way too fast for me. I tried to use Zoom for a meeting recently and it took a computer expert to help me connect. I attempted to use Facetime to talk to a friend and it didn't work without a smart phone which I do not have. Almost everyone I know has an Iphone, and I marvel at all the things they can do with it. They take pictures to show off their grandkids or birthday celebrations; they check the weather, time, temperature, news of the day, etc. They also can record talks to play later., take videos to view later, and other things I don't even know exist.. I do have a few computer skills. I can use an iPad to hook up to apps and get books, videos, and music from the public library.free. I can also play games, view TV programs, take pictures, and access E-mail. And when I don't know something, I can always ask Google. However, saving and organizing programs and recording accounts on the tablet are still foreign to me. I may be too old to learn so...

We have all been battered and bruised, hollowed out, maybe reached throes of despair. We’ve been overlooked, passed by, others get chosen even when we could do better or so we think, life isn’t fair, but we have survived. We wear bandages to prove we have not been unscathed even if no one notices. Scars have made us stronger, more humble, more compassionate to those who still bear open gashes, who still struggle to survive, to overcome. Wounded healer is our call, our place in this dog-eat-dog, overpowering world we inhabit. We bring our warm touch, our tender embrace to the burdened, the forgotten, the broken-hearted. We lift each other up and become one.