By SP
“In GOD we Trust” Dear St. Dismas Guild, Hi, y’all. I’m 23 years young and right now I’m sitting in confinement in prison. I’m facing two years followed with 8 months. At 3 years of age I was taken away from my biological parents and placed into foster care until I was five years old. Then M & K adopted me and signed legal documents to guide and care for me as their own. Likewise, I was supposed to obey, respect and love them as my adopted parents. At age 15 my adopted Mom took me to a behavioral hospital to see if I was mentally okay. We found out through a CAT scan I had brain tumors which affected me and my growing up behaviors. Long story short, I ran away at 18 and was placed in two different Alf’s. I ran away from there and was sent to the second one. I was then placed in another Alf. I got messed up with men, trying to love them and trying to find comfort, love, and support because I felt lonely. Instead, these men turned into manipulators and took my love and kindness for granted and later took high advantage of me, sexually. I was hurt badly, emotionally, physically, mentally and financially, yet never spiritually because my Father, God, was always there.
My adopted family couldn’t help me until I learned to take responsibility for my actions and learn to help myself because there ain’t no body, going to live my life for me, but me. So yeah, like I was saying, getting mixed up in the midst of “finding love in all the wrong places” put me in a sink hole of being in jail, which led me to prison. Here I sit and patiently wait upon the Lord, facing two years and 8 months. Yes, I’m clearly upset of how I ended up in prison. Will the dear Lord forgive me – of course – because I’ve forgiven those and myself. It is all a misunderstanding of why I’m here in prison, yet, God has a bigger and brighter plan and purpose for me – His beloved child. Well, I do need some spiritual books and help, please. May I request a study guide or a study Bible for young girls like me, Please. Thanks for all y’all do. God bless y’all. Sincerely, SP.
It sounds like, SP, you found the greatest lover that ever walked this earth, Jesus Christ, and it sounds like He is meeting your needs. Whenever you feel alone just go to Him and get up in His lap and let Him hold you. He says, “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Looking to man to fill the need for love will not work unless they are Spirit filled and then it is still Jesus loving you through them. Thank you for sharing your testimony.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Hello!, my name is DF and I’m 38 years old. I’ve been in and out of prison since I was 17 years old and that is 21 years of my life gone from the world. When I was a kid I grew up in the church and a Christian home. I stayed with my grandparents and they believed in Christ, so I was in church on Sundays, Wednesdays and anytime there were activities that churches do. I was there and I sang for the church and I was an usher boy. When I got older I did not want to do anything with the church. I wanted to do my own thing. Here is the thing, though, I know that Jesus died on the cross for me and died for my sins. God never gave up on me and He has been there for me and saved my life twice. In 1996 I was on my bike going to work and I stopped at a stop sign. I looked both ways. I got halfway across the road and a truck came out of nowhere. I had a broken knee and on the other leg it broke my ankle. The doctors and others said I would not work, walk, run, or do other things that I used to do. I told myself I would walk, run, work and Jesus was there before me. He will be there for me this time and in about a month or two I was up walking, bending my knee and walking on my ankle.
God has saved my life now and it is time for me to quit playing games with my life and quit playing games with the man Jesus Christ. I’m reborn again (Eccl. 3:3), a time to tear down the old me and rebuild the new me for Jesus. It is time for me to walk with the Lord Our God. I gave up a lifestyle and I don’t want to go back to that life. When I was on the free I did a lot of stuff, sex, drugs, alcohol, and for all these things I should have been in the ground. But now I’m glad that I’m locked up in prison because it saved my life. Yes, right now I’m struggling in some things but I’m not perfect. I think about going into ministry when I get out so I can share my life story and how God has saved my life and what he has done for me. God bless you all. Pray for me and for our nation. It really needs it. Thank you. DF
Thank you so much, DF, for sharing. Your right we all struggle with some things and we will never be perfect but we continue to strive for perfection. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:48, “In a word you must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” You become perfect by loving your enemies. You might say that is a tall order but I say with God all things are possible. You can’t do that on your own power. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, and Savior you have the power of the Holy Spirit within you. Sin is what blocks God from working in your life so as you repent, turn away from the sin and turn to God, you can do all things through God who strengthens you. We will continue to pray for you and our sad mixed up Nation who has made evil good and good evil. Our blessings to you.
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Dear St. Dismas Guild,
Greetings, May the grace of God shine on St. Dismas Guild and each one of you, through His Son, Jesus Christ. I’m writing to you for I know I am being led by the Holy Spirit. I am a Christian, a follower of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I believe in the Trinity, but I am not a Catholic. It all started when Mother Mary Angelica went to her Lord in heaven to pray with the saints. I was listening to her, on her shows (EWTN) and everything I thought about Catholics that I thought was wrong was being revealed as Truth. Like Saints praying for us. Well, the Holy Spirit led me to the Holy Scripture in Revelation 8:3, which took me to 5:8 in Revelation.
The Truth is being revealed to me, but there are some things that my carnal mind is still fighting. I am praying to the Father in Jesus’ name to have this revealed to me. The theme of Mother Mary, Mother of Jesus, Our Lord, our God, why do we pray to her? Why is it said that she can show us the grace of God? I was taught that only God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can teach us and bring grace on us. I will not stop praying on this matter. Everything is coming to light because it was and is a Holy Calling on my life to worship our God, our Lord and Savior the correct way. And I will not let Satan win this battle.
Please, can you send me a Catholic bible and whatever literature you can spare to help me understand why things are done differently from other Christians? Like, are there different sacraments for each church? “Eucharist,” I never had communion. And I know Christians everywhere are to do this. 1 Corinthians 11:23-30. Here in this prison they have no Catholic bibles to hand out or any literature. So please help me if you can. And how can I become a part of the Catholic Church? God bless you all, in all of your works to gather in the lost sheep. Thank you for your time. Your Brother in Christ Jesus. BP
We ask mother Mary to intercede to her Son for us. It’s like a child who goes to his mother to get what he wants. Our Blessed Mother was given her position as our mother when Jesus was dying on the cross. Jesus gave her to John so he could care for her and she could be a mother to him and in so doing she became the Mother of us all (John 19:26-27). She is not dead she is alive with Jesus as is all our family members who have accepted Jesus into their lives and were baptized. She talks to Him all the time for our benefit. We are so blessed in our Church to have all the angels and saints rooting for us, most especially our mother Mary. Every Catholic Church has the same 7 sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation,, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. These all give us grace. Every one of these are based on the Word of God, instituted by Christ to give grace. As Catholics we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, John 6:53-55, ‘Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” ‘We sent your letter to one of our mentors. God bless you.
This month we celebrate Respect Life Sunday, 1st Sunday in October…every life is worth living. A few years ago, just before Thanksgiving we got a call, would we consider adopting a baby girl due to be born in 6 weeks. Our hearts jumped with joy as we had been praying for that day for many years. We met with the birth mom. Sarah was a beautiful woman, mid-20s, struggling to keep her life on track. She had been on drugs, no way to support the baby, the biological dad was in prison and had done some very bad things to Sarah. Being pressured by her so-called friends to abort the baby, she turned away from them as she felt there was another plan for this child and herself. Through her courageous and generous love, Sarah chose life and she chose adoption. Thus, an amazing journey began, for both us and Sarah. Since that day, Sarah has reunited with her family, gone to college and we have been blessed with a child. God does work miracles! St. Dismas Guild believes that every life is a gift from God. If you are struggling with an unplanned pregnancy ask for St. Teresa of Calcutta’s intercession, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Seek out a pro-life clinic. There are options, one of which is adoption. If it were not for the love of birth mothers who chose adoption, many would not have the beautiful families that they have, including Deacon Ken & Marie, myself and others on the St. Dismas staff.
“…Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them,
‘Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.’” (Mark 9:36-37)
October is Respect Life Month in our Catholic Church. As Catholics we learn that the Culture of Life ministries are all about informing people to respect life from conception to natural death. One such parish ministry states that our “Culture of Life Ministry actively promotes respect for human Life by helping parishioners understand the issues and importance of meeting the needs of those who are most vulnerable. Through education, support of Pro-life campaigns and ministries, parishioners are given opportunities to pray for and support Life from conception to natural death.”
Growing up in a lukewarm Christian home I was never taught this concept. I had a conscience but this certainly wasn’t important to me when my choice to use abortion as birth control seemed to be my only option. “It is legal, Right,” was my thought process. There wasn’t anyone there to tell me otherwise so what was bugging me while lying on that table questioning, “Why does this seem so wrong?” It’s called natural law, it’s God’s law written on our hearts. That’s what was bugging me. It was God calling me to choose Life for myself and my baby that day.
To this day I wish I would’ve listened to that nagging voice that told me to get up and run away. I even asked the nurse “how she could be there participating in this” and she just told me to “look up at the ceiling and focus on something to take my mind off of it.” And what did I see? I focused on the cross beams that intersected the ceiling tiles and stared right at the cross. I believe God started working on my heart that very day even though I chose to continue on with the abortion.
It took many (25-30) years before I finally sought help and went on a Rachel’s Hope retreat to heal the years of self-inflicted wounds on my heart and soul.
I have had true contrition and had taken all of this to the foot of the cross for Jesus to wash me in His precious blood. My prayer is that if you have participated in abortion that you too will know that God loves you and wants to forgive you… Run to Him for healing.
“I came so All might have life and have it to the full.” (cf. John 10:10)
Prayer for the Culture of Life…
“Father and maker of all, you adorn all creation with splendor and beauty, and fashion human lives in your image and likeness. Awaken in every heart reverence for the work of your hands, and renew among your people a readiness to nurture and sustain your precious gift of life from conception through natural death. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
In Jesus’ love,
St. Dismas Staff