By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

A spirituality day for those in prison ministry around the Trenton Diocese produced a rich harvest of fellowship, encouragement and spiritual nourishment Nov. 8 on the campus of St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTO GALLERY ON THIS STORY.

That positive outcome hadn't seemed certain as 50 volunteer, professional prison ministers and those in training gathered around 9:30 a.m. in the Faith Development Center adjoining the church. There, they learned that the scheduled presenter, Vincentian Father Gregory Cozzubbo, chief Catholic chaplain to the prisons of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, was unable to attend due to illness.

All doubts as to the success of the day evaporated in the morning air as Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M., and Vincentian Father Martin McGeough, Diocesan coordinator of jail and prison ministries, began five hours of insightful support, contemplation and conversation about the ministry they are so obviously devoted to.

Bishop O'Connell opened his message with words of gratitude to the ministers, saying “I'm so grateful” for the devoted service the prison ministers bring to the 14 inmate populations in federal, state, county and private facilities the Diocese serves. “All of you give in so many ways to this empowering ministry.”

Referencing Pope Francis and his consistent emphasis on the message of mercy in the Church, Bishop O'Connell urged everyone to focus on that virtue as they look for “the face of Jesus” as they minister behind prison walls.

He spoke of the founder of the religious order to which he and Father McGeough belong. “St. Vincent de Paul,” he said, “found the face of Christ in the poor and all the poor who are in prison.” Then, in a moment that seemed to echo with those present, he sang the brief, signature line from the musical Les Miserables: “To love another person is to see the face of God. … If Christ is in the poor,” he said, “... then Christ is in prison. Working in prison is showing love for God.”

Speaking again of Pope Francis, he said “the focus is more and more on mercy. That is the message (Francis) is handing out all the time,” and the pope's emphasis, he said, is not on the “why of mercy” but in the “how,” the manner in which it is delivered.

He encouraged everyone to “see the face of the poor in prison” and to show mercy in the way they bring their message. He reminded them that “just your presence” is a means of helping the inmates to see Christ's face. “I pray for you and express gratitude for providing (them with) what I can't provide.”

In his presentation, Father McGeough spoke of the gathering as a “day of recollection, not a day on how to fill out forms.”

The focus would be twofold, he said: “to look at why we do what we do”

through the eyes of faith; the second was to share the stories of their call to ministry with their fellow prison ministers.

In far-ranging discussion periods, the prison ministers spoke compellingly of the faith that had brought them to this ministry and shared what led them to answer this particular call.

Among them was Madeline Winter, a member of St. Ann Parish, who worked as a counselor in the mental health field. “I wanted to volunteer,” she said. “But I kept running into brick walls. Spots were filled or training sessions were already underway.”

Then, she heard Father McGeough speaking about the need for volunteers for the prison ministry on WFJS Radio, the Catholic radio station. Winter said that in other efforts – such as the Mercer County Suicide Hotline, she'd always felt stymied because she could not talk about God and “That was what I wanted to do. I was hoping I could devote myself to something meaningful where I could talk about my faith to other people.”

So were Esther Byll, Queenship of Mary Parish, Plainsboro, and Celeste Jaramillo, St. David the King, West Windsor.

Byll and Jaramillo have recently embarked on a Bible Study with inmates in Jones Farm, a minimum security facility in Ewing.

Both women, who support each other as a team, shared with their group how moving beautiful they have found prison ministry to be. Byll said they don't go to Jones Farm thinking they are visiting inmates, but rather as connecting, one human being to another.

“It is beautiful,” Byll said. “We hold hands, God sends the Holy Spirit to guide us,” during the Bible study, she said. “We go there happy and we come back happy. We can't wait to return. It is a form of prayer to go to prison. When you go to prison, you have to search your ego, your pride, your prejudice and set it aside and find a deeper meaning.”

Jaramillo shared the story of her call to the ministry, saying that when she and her husband, parents of six children, left their native Ecuador to relocate to the area for work reasons, she felt out of sorts. Having worked for IBM for years in Ecuador in a demanding job, she wanted something to do.

“I joined a Bible study in church and then one day, I said, I have to do something. I took the church bulletin home and studied it and saw they were looking for prison ministers. I said, OK God, this is your call.”

Since then, she completed the diocesan certification program and like Byll, she regards it as a blessing. “It's very healing,” she said. “You see how God is always involved. I know this is what he wanted me to do.”