Sexy, Innocent Child-Woman

"Do what love demands."

Loyola put on a production of Dead Man Walking and Grace and I went to the opening night last Friday. It was GREAT. I haven't read the book or watched the movie yet, but I was really moved to tears by the play. Since I used to visit the death row inmates at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in the Philippines and I still take time out to visit them whenever I go home, I could relate to what Sr. Helen Prejean went through/continues to go through in her prison ministry. There were also elements of prison life that were portrayed in the play that reminded me of what my friends in CIW, especially those on death row, were going through--the way death row inmates would smoke to pass time, especially since they were gonna die anyway, the boredom, the loneliness, the isolation from their families, the way inmates would fight back their tears and any show of emotion to appear strong, especially in front of their loved ones, the stigma that comes with being incarcerated, and most of all the claim that they were innocent. When I stayed the night in death row last January, it gave me the chance to become more in touch with the experience of the inmates I visit and I felt their pain more closely--although I recognize that I could never fathom their experience because I've never been incarcerated (and I hope never to experience such, and I don't wish it, even on my worst enemy).

Sr. Helen Prejean was there and I got to meet her, which was a dream come true. She talked about her new book after the play, and I asked her what her ministry was like. She gave me invaluable advice about prison ministry--that is, to attend to the inmates according to what their needs are (e.g. plead their case if they're innocent), listen to them, walk with them, treat them with dignity, and simply to "do what love demands." She told me it's like doing what you would do in any other relationship, and I totally agree with her. Her words resonated with my experience.

So I'll keep on doing what I do. I found my calling in being there for the inmates in CIW, especially those on death row.

found herself @ 12:06 PM