Christ within those walls
Saint Matthew—Levi in today’s Gospel—was one of the marginalized of his time. As a tax collector, he was not considered worthy of becoming one of Jesus’ disciples. People labeled him a traitor and a thief.
Yet Jesus says, “I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
None of us is without sin, and all of us need a physician from time to time. Through baptism, we are all called to be disciples—to be the healing presence of Jesus in the world. This call requires us to sit at table with everyone. Jesus envisioned a beloved community and came precisely to bring those on the margins back to the table.
Jesus calls us to minister to the marginalized today, just as he did then. One in five people in this country is or has been incarcerated, and nearly half of the families living in the United States have experienced incarceration in their family. These are today’s tax collectors.
Our prisons have become a way of removing the marginalized from the table—placing them out of sight and out of mind. To accompany someone who is incarcerated or returning from prison is a privilege. It is an opportunity to witness God at work, as he calls the least likely to be transformed into saints. They are there, hungry to be called, just as Levi was—now St. Matthew.
Over the years, I have witnessed profound transformation in the lives of women on Texas Death Row. Ministers—lay and religious alike—brought Christ within those walls. Through the experience of His love, the women made their residence Christ-centered as Oblates of the Sisters of Mary the Morning Star. It is a powerful lesson.
As St. Paul shows us in his letters, he made every place he lived a home from which he carried out his mission—even prison. In the same way, these women have made Death Row—what they call “Light Row”—their home, as they pray, work, and minister to others. Brittany Holberg’s book, Flowers in the Garden of Mercy: Meditations from Death Row, published by Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, testifies to this transformation.
Those removed from our table—through incarceration or marginalization by unjust systems—are not only recipients of ministry but also a source of transformation and healing for those who respond to Christ’s call to discipleship. They invite us into deeper humility and growth in faith. Christ calls us to join them at their tables, to share in and learn from their renewed faith and healing.
All are called. None of us is without sin. Organizations like Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition equip and support those who answer this call, training volunteers to bring Christ’s presence behind prison walls and walk alongside the incarcerated and returning citizens. Come, then, and help invite others to the table with Jesus.
Karen Clifton is the founding executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network and the founding executive coordinator of Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC). Currently a CPMC board member, prison ministry volunteer, member of the Texas One Parish One Prison Project, and an Associate of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph.