767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067
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767 ELM STREET * ROCKY HILL * CONNECTICUT 06067 |
           
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There is an old rabbinic saying: “He or she that forgives another gives that person a future.” In November of 2005 I toured the various Correctional Facilities in Enfield, Suffield and Somers, Ct. Fr. Anthony Bruno took me to meet the deacons serving as Chaplains in the various prisons. It had been some time since I had visited the facilities and I was a bit intimidated by my surroundings. But as the day moved on I began to become less apprehensive and began to wonder what it must be like to be in prison, especially for a many years. Being sent to prison has always carried a social stigma with it. Society as a whole, probably does not really want to give much thought to prisoners-they are the wayward children of our culture. Certainly, there are some prisoners that just don’t seem to be reformable for whatever reason. And that lays a great challenge at our feet. Can such people ultimately go home-are they able to be redeemed by God? In the abstract, most people would probably say, “yes”. But in practical terms it seems a real long shot! During my tour I was taken to the supermax complex that housed the inmates on ‘death row”. I spoke very briefly to them and then as I was introduced to the last man and they told me his name, I froze in the spot, numb and incredulous. He is the man that murdered one of my former students on a Christmas Eve some 17 years ago. In that moment I was catapulted to the moment when I first heard of the murder on the news and felt rage, shock, grief and a deep desire to cling the moral vision of faith I had tried to live in my life. Can people who do such things really return to God? Is that justice? Is that fair to the families and the victims? Can God allow the murderer to triumph over the innocent victim? The person of faith in me asks different questions. What would Julie have us do? If she is truly with the Father of the Lord, then she sees things in a new way-with the eyes of the compassionate Father who does not want to lose anyone! “His father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son and embraced him. Is that it? We need only turn back toward God and God runs out to embrace us. It seems so unreal for most of us, unless we have met someone whose only concern was that we decided to go back home and that person was so overjoyed that they did not ask about what we did-they just wanted us home. The “good news” is that the Father of Jesus is concerned about us coming back. God is always ready to forgive, all we have to do is to turn around and start for home. This goes for every person, no matter what they have done in life. Such a response by God seems a bit unfair to many. After all, what’s the point of leading a good life if the scoundrels can come home anytime they want and are forgiven. Well, we know it is not that easy. God does care about the life we have lead and the spiritual growth of people is something that take with them into eternal life. However, there still is that “elder brother” peace of us that wants our “pound of flesh”. And that’s where our lives get messed up. To wish a horrible retribution on another is to wish it on ourselves-what we do to the least of these we do to ourselves. God’s forgiveness gives us a new life when we have strayed because God is a God of life and does not want to lose any person. By being compassionate with others we are being compassionate with ourselves and the “scoundrel” that lives inside of us. There is no use denying that all of us have something inside us that is unattractive. The spiritually mature person names the problem, claims and works to tame it in prayer. All of this is the context of compassion for others and one’s own person. He or she that forgives another gives that person a future and we might add, ensures his or her own. Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D.Min. Return to Saint James Home Page |