What greater gift can we ever receive than to have our loving God save us from our sins? Behold the cry of a baby in the cold, dark stable that became brilliant with light at the birth of the Child. Mary took hold of her child and held Him ever so close. She takes hold of you as she did her Son and places you in the arms of the Savior of the world. We all need a mother’s love, open your heart to the Christ child and receive all that God our Father has for you. Let the Holy Spirit teach you all about this loving God who forgives homosexual acts, drunkenness, gluttony, etc. Let this Christmas be the beginning of your life in Christ by repenting of your sins. He condemns no one but as He said to the woman, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus is waiting and has no favorites. He knocks at the door of your heart. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
TESTIMONY
by
SV
To St. Dismas Guild, Hello, I have been getting your newsletters for a while and I enjoy the testimonies and the pro-life stories. I must say that I am not Catholic, however I do believe that anyone who puts his faith in Christ and turns away from sin to follow Him is my brother and sister. So I want to let you know of my new address. I live to share also about my deliverance from a life of homosexuality, drugs and alcohol. The truth is that many people try to understand why some people are attracted to their same sex, but only those with such feelings can explain what a burden it really is. Nobody told me ever to do anything I didn’t want to do and so at an early age (11-12) I was performing sexual acts with boys. To me it seemed normal but everyone would hate me if they knew how I felt. I used to do drugs and drink so I could blame my feelings on the buzz, but the truth is that that was my way of being free.
Years went by. I was married twice and it never worked because of who I was. Some people knew about it and even if they didn’t say anything to me, they did behind my back. Finally at 27 I came to prison and I read the Bible. It was a horrible feeling to learn that my actions were an abomination to God, but it was a great relief to see that in Christ I could find forgiveness. So, by His grace, I repented and turned my life around. I wish I can say that my feelings have changed completely, but the truth is that it is a daily battle. I know now that the more I stay in God’s Word, the better I get. It has been over 8 years since I came to Christ. In two more years I’ll be home as a new man to see my kids. I want to be the man God created me to be and forget the drugs and alcohol and my evil desires I once gave into. I also want everyone who is struggling with this sin to know that there is freedom in Christ, but we must accept that we are wrong and He is right. Thank you and May God bless you all.
SV, He was standing at the door of your heart and you let Him in. What a powerful testimony. To recognize your actions were an abomination to God and repent of them transformed your life. You are right, staying in God’s Word and obeying it is the key to healing. Our loving God can heal you any time, but we have to open the door of our heart to receive it. The Word does convict us of our sins but when we admit them and turn to God He forgives and embraces us. I love your statement, “but we must accept that we are wrong and He is right.” Thank you for sharing. Stay in the Word and you will see even greater miracles in your life in God’s timing.
DOING TIME WITH JESUS
Dear Brother, I pray with all of my heart and soul that our Dear Lord Jesus Christ has his love and wonderful blessings around you and your dear families always and forever. Amen. I hope that you are in good health and enjoying life with a smile. Most of all that Our Lord is in your precious lives. I am in good health, thanks to our Dear Lord Jesus Christ and the good doctors here. They do a good job and care about us in many ways. When I was sent here to this hospital because I had cancer that only made me draw closer with our Dear Lord Jesus Christ and my walk has only gotten stronger as the days pass.
I read and study my bible every day and go to church every week. It helps me to live in this ugly place with love in my heart for my lost brothers. I stay away from trouble and cause no problems, and believe me, that is hard to do in here. I do my best to share about Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen to me. But I believe that a good walk with Our Lord says more than words could ever say. I can not understand what people are listening to these days. Are they that lost in sin and this world? I was once lost but then God called out to me and saved me from myself. We must pray every day for the lost and the sinners that our dear Lord Jesus Christ will save them and call them home. That is what I am waiting for: to go home with God, amen. Well, my brother, remember God loves you and so do I and Christ. Sincerely, AS
AS, We will all be home one day or another and turning to God has helped you on the ladder to heaven. People are listening to Satan and are blinded by their sins, as God waits patiently for them to turn to Him. That’s what we call repentance and you obviously have repented. Praise God! You were lost, AS, and now you have been found and you want everyone to come to Him and receive what you have, the abundant life. God wishes none to be lost. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Jesus’ gift to you this Christmas is Himself and His promises, how rich you are. Merry Christmas!
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Hello St. Dismas Guild, God be with you always. Thank you for the newsletter. It is always a blessing. It is so good to see incarcerated people giving their lives to our Savior Jesus Christ. We might be locked away, but we are still children of the Most High God, after rebirth of our lives. I surrendered my life to God after my lockup in 2003. But, as all prodigal sons, we left God to try life without him. God accepted me back into his arms saying, “Welcome back my son.” God has unconditional love for all His children. Man or woman can not give us this. Thank God for His love and Grace. Without Grace, God’s Grace, we are lost and confused. Thank you for reaching out as God wants all of us to do. Peace to you always. In Christ we live, MS
It’s amazing, MS, how many come to the Lord in prison. Fear sometimes can be a good thing when it brings you to the Lord. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18 You are right, without God’s Grace we are lost and confused, but with it we are confident and unafraid. Thank you for sharing.
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St. Dismas Guild: I wanted to tell you all “thank you for your newsletters” and ask if you could send me a Catholic Bible Study. I see your newsletter is about Mother Teresa of Calcutta. That’s something, because my family ordered me a book on Mother Teresa and I already received it and I’ve been reading it. I love the way she expresses her words of wisdom and how Jesus loves us all, and he will forgive you of your sins. I’ve been in prison for six years now and Jesus lets me see what is good and what isn’t good. I pray more now than ever and I love doing it. So I tell all those believers to pray more and enjoy the ride to the kingdom. I read the love letter from Jesus everyday and it gives me so much peace. A lot of people ask me why I don’t go outside. It’s because there are too many bad people outside in the yard! I am going to ask if you all can pray for this prison, so they can make changes and send all the young prisoners to another spot. Let them do their time there and also, to pray for the whole world. Jesus is the love of my life and He comes first in life. There is so much I learned while studying Jesus’ love letter.
I want to ask if you could pray for a little Christian man named J. He is up in age and dying of cancer. The state won’t give him his pardon to go home to see some good doctors to help him with his cancer. I’ve been praying that they will set him free from prison. We all made mistakes and Jesus forgives us, but the World would not forgive. So that way it is best for us to pray for our families, friends, priests, and the Whole Church. May God bless you and again, thanks for everything. Remember, don’t waste your time because Jesus is coming to town! Don’t forget He loves you! And so do I. Love from your Catholic brother. RG
RG, prayer is so powerful and God answers our prayers as to what is best for us. We certainly will pray for your friend who has cancer. It must be terrible being in prison and dealing with an illness like cancer or any other illness. The Prophet Isaiah tells us,
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed.” Jesus is the healer. You are right Jesus forgives us our sins. It is hard knowing you are forgiven yet still have to pay the consequences of your sins. The punishment that is given is brutal but knowing Jesus will take you through it and never leave you makes it bearable. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you” Deuteronomy 31:6
FAMILY MINISTRY
The Holy Family. This month the Church begins a new year with Advent. During this time our eyes are fixed on the Holy Family, (Joseph, Mary & Jesus), and the coming of Christ, Jesus’s birth on Christmas day. I think to myself, how can I make this season more meaningful. How can I better prepare myself to be truly worthy to celebrate the anniversary of our Lord’s coming? I reflect on the Holy Family. Mary had Joseph but they had no one but the Lord and He was always there with them. With the passing of my dad just a few months ago, this Christmas will be difficult. How hard this season can be with the loss of a loved one or just being without family. Loneliness and the longing for a brother or sister, mom or dad, husband or wife, daughter or son is heartbreaking, but Jesus says all who do the will of my Father are mother, brother or sister to me. I find hope in our faith, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) How amazing to me that one child, Jesus Christ, can make such a difference in this world and a reminder to me that our reward is not here on earth, but our reward is eternal life with Christ! May God grant us the grace to prepare us not only to celebrate this Christmas but to make our souls fitting for the reward of eternal life with Him.
PRO-LIFE
Come and pray the Rosary for Life with us in front of PayLess on Mission Ave (Center City Pkwy) every Thursday from 10:30-11:30AM. United prayer will stamp out abortion and contraception.
On December 30th “…we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. Though Jesus was conceived of a virgin, He nevertheless lived as a son in a human family — a family which points the way for the rest of us. The family is the sanctuary of life. There can be no life without family, and there can be no family without life. The family, above all, is where life is to be welcomed, no matter how fragile or inconvenient it may be. One of the many reasons why the Pope and bishops identify abortion and euthanasia as pre-eminent issues is because these crimes are committed by one family member upon another.
May the Holy Family lead us to a Culture of Life!” ~ PriestsForLife.com
Mary and Joseph embraced Life and said “Yes” to God, even up against so much confusion. Some of us may not have understood the importance of Life and chose abortion instead. But abortion is never a good answer… God gave us Life and we could have chosen Adoption or Parenting as an option to help create a Holy Family. The good news is there is always healing when we have contrition and replace the vice with a virtue…. Let the Holy Family be your guide and mentors to this healing.
So Mary said, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. ~ Luke 1:38
“Father, help us to Live as the Holy Family, united in Respect and Love. Bring us to the Joy and Peace of your Eternal home.” Amen.
UPDATE
During 2016 we shipped 1200+ packages (Bread of Life Bible Studies, bibles & more) free to prisoners! Each package cost approx. $30. Also, we mailed over 54,000 newsletters! All possible because of your prayers and financial donations. Please continue to help us spread God’s message of love and mercy.
THANK YOU!
EL PAN DE VIDA – ESTUDIO DE BIBLIA CATOLICO – CICLO A – NOW AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
St. Dismas Staff