Prison Ministry - May 1st Year A - Reflection

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

What do you devote yourself to? What do you do EVERY DAY?

• The teaching of the apostles
• Communal life – communism by itself doesn’t work (separation of church and state – but communism + Catholicism = works; communism the Catholic way works)
• Life could be better for everyone – not just a few – but everyone if everything was held in common and distributed according to each one’s needs
• Breaking of bread – every day – can change you
• Prayers – every day – can change the world

Dr David Jeremiah relates the following incident.
While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, I traveled every two weeks by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This required camping overnight halfway. On one of these trips, I saw two men fighting in the city. One was seriously hurt so I treated him and witnessed to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then returned home without incident.
Upon arriving in the city several weeks later, I was approached by the man I had treated earlier. He told me he had known that I carried money and medicine. He said, “Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We waited for you to go to sleep and planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.
Just as we were about to move into your campsite, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. I laughed at this and said, “I was certainly all alone out in the jungle campsite.” The young man pressed the point, “No sir, I was not the only one to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.”
At this point of my church presentation in Michigan, one of the men in the church stood up and interrupted me. He asked, “Can you tell me the exact date when this happened?” I thought for a while and recalled the date. The man in the congregation then gave his side of the story.
He stated, “On that night in Africa it was day here. I was preparing to play golf. As I put my bags in the car, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. In fact, the urging was so great that I called the men of this church together to pray for you. Will all those men who met to pray please stand?” The men who had met that day to pray together stood, there were 26 of them!
(Dr. David Jeremiah’s story about prayer is published in Prayer, the Great Adventure)

Many wonders and signs were done through the apostles

• Peter – cured the crippled beggar – I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.
• They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them – and they be cured.
• He cured a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been confined to bed for 8 years
• He restored Tabitha to life

What about today – John Paul II – apostolic succession

• 9 days that changed the world – his pilgrimage to Poland in 1979 that created a revolution of conscience that transformed not only Poland but fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th century – the fall of the Berlin wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• Beatified today – and every year Oct 22 (my birthday) will be the day we celebrate Pope John II
• BE NOT AFRAID

The way we act can and does change people – the way we live (not act) changes people – God in our lives, working through us changes people – a lone we can do nothing.

Each of us are important and a have a part to play in God’s plan of salvation.

My New Coat, God
I have a new coat, it was designed by God and given to me by Jesus Christ. All I had to do to receive this coat was to believe in God's only Son.
I find it fits me perfectly unless I allow myself to become puffed up with foolish pride, then it's too tight. If I walk with my head high, trying to be above those about, then it is too short. But if I walk humbly as I should before God, it fits me just right.
How is the coat made? The shoulders are wide and roomy so that I can help my fellow man carry his burdens.
The collar is made of God's mercy, yes, the mercy of God's promises. First that I may become his child and second, that I will one day dwell with Him in that home prepared for His saints.
The cuffs are narrow, so that there is no room to tuck away grievance and hard feelings toward my neighbors. The pockets are oversized, One is for the love of God; the other is to hold my love for my fellowman and all humanity.
There are three buttons on my coat, which stands for faith, hope and charity. I check on them often so that none becomes loose or lost.
The lining is made of God's forgiveness, which I need so often that I want it next to me at all times.
The belt is made of God's love that encircles me everyday.
The material is thick enough to protect me when the storms of life come my way, but not too thick that I will not be able to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit who guides me.
There are many threads in my new coat, but not one thread of doubt that God's promises are true. Do you wonder about the color of my coat? Why, it's the color of Jesus' eyes that must sparkle when a lost soul accepts Him.
I will need my coat all through life. When I travel through the valley of death and when I view the future, I will always wear my new coat.