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Tom and Ann, two members of their parish’s prison outreach team, joined Fr. Joe one Sunday as he celebrated Mass for the men in a local correctional institution. The couple and the priest joined about one hundred Catholic inmates in singing, praising the Lord, hearing the word of God, and receiving the Eucharist. After Mass, they all gathered together for refreshments, a Bible study, and some story-telling. Throughout that afternoon, Tom and Ann, along with Fr. Joe and the inmates, all experienced the blessings of community. They were all refreshed and lifted up by God’s presence in their midst.
Two hours later, at exactly four o’clock, the prison warden entered the room and announced that the festivities had to end. The visitors were free to go, and the inmates were escorted back to their cells.
This little story can act as a kind of analogy of our experience of being made alive with Christ. It can help as we ask ourselves: “Am I enjoying the blessings and benefits of Jesus’ resurrection? Or do I find myself experiencing this freedom only part of the time, and feeling isolated and locked up in a cell the rest of the time?”
When Paul said, “You he made alive,” he meant that it should be a full-time experience, not one that comes and goes from moment to moment. And yet, the temptations of this world—temptations to be moody, self-centered, manipulative, jealous,…
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