Wednesday, April 07, 1999
Bishop tells jail inmates: 'God is here'
Easter Mass behind bars
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — No pews, a makeshift altar and a jailer at the door. Not your usual place of worship.
But where Bishop Robert Muench went, Mass followed. And Tuesday night, it was to the Boone County Jail.
He brought Easter to the unconventional location, making points that were particularly salient in a place full of concrete block walls and heavy metal doors.
Easter Mass has been a tradition at the jail for 10 years. But never before had a bishop celebrated it.
“Sometimes,” the bishop told the prisoners, “it might not seem like God is here. But I promise you, God is here.”
Thirty of the jail's more than 200 prisoners signed up to come to Mass in the multipurpose room. Some from the work camp came in jeans, others wore black-and-white stripes and plastic jail sandals. One came with a tattooed neck and a Bible in his tattooed fingers.
In the small room next to an old Nautilus machine and a water cooler, they sat praying and singing. Some of the words took on special meaning, given the location — words such as confession, sin, redemption, temptation.
At times, the bishop sounded more like a football coach at halftime than the spiritual leader of Northern Kentucky's Roman Catholics. He repeatedly urged the prisoners to fight hard to keep God in their lives and always to believe they can turn their lives around. He told them it was a privilege to speak to them.
“I know this is not Holiday Inn here,” the bishop said, prompting laughter. “I understand. This is not the Hilton. But even here .. I'm telling you, do not give up on yourselves.”
He reminded them of the story of St. Paul, who was knocked off his horse by a bolt of lightning and blinded before he decided to believe in Jesus. He spoke of the actions of the Apostles — one betrayed Jesus for money, another denied knowing him and the others who fled and hid.
“It's how you finish the race,” he said, “not how you started it.”
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