Monday Musings - A Prisoner You Need Not Fear

[The following is excerpted from my book, Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime.]

When we read or hear the Scriptural reminder of the eternal consequences for our failing to visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25: 31-46) more often than not the image that first comes to mind is of those locked behind bars in the far too numerous Federal and State prisons and local jails that saturate the landscape of this nation – some 2,266,800 adults in 2010 according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 2 million! Many of them are Catholic and none of them are there voluntarily!

Admittedly, Jesus is not calling every Catholic to be His representative and ambassador to our forgotten convicted brothers and sisters. Certainly though more are being invited to this needed ministry than are responding. Is God calling you? Is fear holding you back?

(Photo©Michael Seagriff)

But there is one prisoner you need not fear. One that each and everyone who professes to be Catholic, without exception, are being called to visit. He has been imprisoned and been ignored for more than two thousand years. Unlike his 2,266,800 incarcerated brothers and sisters in the U.S., He is imprisoned voluntarily and out of love. Yet, the majority of those He loves and who profess to love Him ignore Him, rarely if ever visit Him.

Worth Revisiting - Is This The End?

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan (Theology Is A Verb) for another opportunity to re-publish our favorite posts on Worth Revisiting.

Stop for a visit now (and every Wednesday). The gifted writers who post there each week will no doubt have much of value to offer you.

[I decided to share an excerpt from my book,  Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime.]  

Is This The End?


 

Neither my wife nor I had ever driven across country. We were excited to do so since the prize awaiting us in Denver was an extended visit with our daughter Tammy and her husband. We planned a leisurely trip with no set schedule, driving as far or as little as we cared to do on any particular day. We gave no thought to weather conditions along our planned route, assuming the high blue sky and feather like clouds that had been with us from the outset of our journey would accompany us throughout our trip. 

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

We drove past blighted inner cities, congested and traffic logged interchanges in and about Chicago, and the unending miles of corn fields and irrigated farmland that would stretch before and around us as we traveled through Iowa and Nebraska. I must admit that I enjoyed driving at 85 miles an hour, amused and perplexed however that everyone was passing me.

We spent two relaxing days in Des Moines, Iowa to break up the trip and give my ailing back a break.  Refreshed, we headed west anxious to see and experience the steep and majestic Rocky Mountains in Colorado. We almost didn’t make it.

Patti McGuire Armstrong had this to say about "Fleeting Glimpses of the Silly, Sentimental and Sublime"

Every author writes in hopes that others will read, enjoy and be touched by the story or stories one shares. 

What a privilege and awesome responsibility  it is to write and how humbling it is when someone takes the time to read and share their reaction to your work.

Patti McGuire Armstrong took the time to do both, for which I am most grateful. 

If you want to read what she had to say, click here.

If you want to be inspired on a regular basis visit her website often.