Following up on my TED Talk from last week, I’m sharing a post from Jim Wallis of Sojourners. He shared this amazing video in his latest God’s Politics Blog. He writes:
I will never forget the comment of one of those young inmates. “Reverend, almost all of us in this prison are from about four or five neighborhoods in New York City. It’s like a train that begins in your neighborhood. You get on when you are 9 or 10 years old, and the train ends up here — at Sing Sing.”
I believe that if there is any hope of reducing violence in our lives and our communities, it will come from the church. No doubt many church people, myself included, have help spread violence when we passed on the hurt, the pain or the indignity, rather than following Jesus’ example on the cross, prayed: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (LK 23:24) The above video has given me insight, hope and compassion for those of us caught in the world of violence. I hope it does the same for you.
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
Very powerful video and how true.Maybe someday we will spend more money on educating all the children in poverty,providing a social network to support them,and jobs and affordable health care so they can support their families.Turning the jails over to corporations is not an answer.If we used all the money spent on fighting communism in Viet Nam on all these things,we would not need to build more prisons now.Thanks for passing this along Father Dan.