Part one of the "Profiling the Good Thief" series By Marcellus Allen Roberts * "By God's grace, the thief on Christ's right offers the last of his wretched life in exchange for a passport to Paradise and Jesus accepts the offer. Today, he is venerated in the Church as St. Dismas, or by the paradoxical [...]
During Christmastide, the streams of grace overflow their banks... By Marcellus Allen Roberts* It’s 4 am on Christmas morning. As the bulk of men who woke up for breakfast return from the chow hall and climb back into their bunks, a small contingent of Catholics trickle into the day room. There is a playful, schoolboy air [...]
We must each sanctify our own sphere of influence... even if it is in a prison By Marcellus Allen Roberts * This artist’s depiction of the crucifixion is entitled Compassion. It is by 19th century French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Musée d’Orsay, Paris Note: This essay is by a prisoner in a jail in Texas, [...]
To begin walking in the Spirit can require a "learning curve" By Marcellus Allen Roberts* “I was in prison and you visited me,” (Mt. 25:36) A priest says Mass for inmates inside a prison. Unfortunately, Catholic priests comprise only 13% of all prison chaplains across the US. During the COVID lockdown, the George Beto [...]
Exercising the courage of the children of God By Marcellus Allen Roberts* Peter Martyr Enjoins Silence, by Fra Angelico, c.1441 (fresco inside a monk’s cell), Museo di San Marco, Florence, Italy A mysterious figure stands in the foreground of a fresco in the Museo di San Marco in Florence, Italy. Fra Angelico’s genius is [...]
