Jackie Appleton and I attended the Dixon Correctional Institute (DCI) # 9 Kairos retreat 2 hour closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon, November 4, 2018. DCI is a medium security prison about a 2-hour drive from Metairie. This was a 3-day Kairos-Inside retreat for 42 inmates attending their first retreat from Thursday through Sunday.
Most of these were some very tough dudes, in every way you can imagine. Ironically Kairos tries to select the negative leaders within the unit to go on retreat. The negative leaders have more credibility going back in to build church inside. Almost all the 42 inmates got up to deliver a 2-minute witness on what the retreat meant to them. I was pleasantly surprised how reasonably articulate most were. Obviously, street-smart communication skills are necessary for survival, but apparently Toastmasters inside also provides a valuable life skill for many. But it was truly moving the number of inmates who got choked up talking about their retreat experience with their brothers. Crying is not something you do inside, or maybe ever. It was the most dramatically visible experience I have ever witnessed to someone experiencing the love of Jesus. A simple example: one inmate said he was so touched – he watched a facilitator peeling an orange. When the facilitator finished peeling, he offered a piece to the inmate. The inmate said, “ A man has never done something like that for me.” Several inmates recounted being raised by grandmothers and aunts. A loving male figure was entirely absent in their lives.Additional Reference: https://www.catholicextension.org/stories/god-breaks-through-walls
What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Psalm 116
Want to support the next retreat from right here in the parish? Contact Jackie Appleton - [email protected] (504) 858-5192
Want to join the Prison Ministry team at SCS? Contact Mark Truxillo - [email protected] (504) 510-4563