The problem is probably not so much the quantity of the things we have to do in a given week, but the priority we give each of them. Inconsequential things in life can take up way too much of our time and energy. Sometimes we just need to step back and regain our perspective -- remember or find what is really important.
A retreat allows us to set aside or withdraw from those day-to-day concerns, agitations, and worldly inconsequentials in order for us to grow in our relationship with God and be energized with His grace. Once we are freed from the heavy burdens of the day-to-day, we are able to see and hear Him with greater clarity calling us to an ongoing conversion --becoming a conduit through which His Holy Spirit can work.
Jesus oftentimes in Scripture provided the witness to the importance of going off by ourselves to pray and fast. Today the practice of formal retreats -- once ascribed only to religious orders and hermitages -- have become more formalized and accessible to the average layman. The retreat typically employ a spiritual director who helps the participants reflect on their lives through the lense of their eternal destiny, and guide them towards God through prayer, study, conferences, and personal instruction.
Although one might find it difficult to imagine this scenario inside a maximum security prison, or the possibility that a prisoner can 'withdraw' from their surroundings, regardless of our individual circumstances or state in life, we all called to reform, refocus -- to become again the man or woman God created us to be.
What follows is part 1 of a series of 3 excerpts from the article 'In Prison and You Visited Me', written by Eddie O'Neill and published in the National Catholic Register, July, 2009. It features the St. Dismas Holy Name Society Prison Ministry and its founder, Harry "Bud" Cope.
In Prison and You Visited Me
By Eddie O’Neill
His name is St. Dismas, but he is better known as the Good Thief. His cry of repentance while hanging next to Jesus at Calvary guaranteed him eternity in paradise. This patron saint of prisoners and reformed thieves gives hope to inmates across America through St. Dismas Holy Name Society Prison Ministry.
“The prisoners are really touched by St. Dismas,” says ministry founder Harry “Bud” Cope. “They identify with him.”
Cope has been leading Catholic retreats for inmates — from hardened convicts in maximum-security facilities to young “prodigals” in juvenile detention centers — for more than 30 years.
The 80-year-old from the Epiphany of our Lord Church, Monessen, PA, told the Register he was first inspired to take action after making a Cursillo retreat in 1970. After asking God how he could live out his newfound Christian fervor, Cope felt the Lord leading him to answer the invitation of a neighbor who was working at a nearby prison.
Cope, a former wholesale grocer, became a volunteer at the State Correctional Institute in Greensburg in 1974. At that time, he was allowed to take inmates outside the prison walls for weekend retreats. That lasted for about five years before the state of Pennsylvania rescinded the privilege.
While leading a prison retreat, Cope himself experienced a deep conversion: God showed him his own sinfulness and the Lord’s power. “It was there,” Cope recalls, “that I knew God was calling me.”
For additional information, please contact:
Harry "Bud" Cope
1823 Service Lane
Monessen, PA 15062-2317
(724) 684-4990
Please prayerfully consider providing financial support to this worthwhile ministry.
Please make checks payable to:
St Dismas Holy Name Society Prison Ministry
c/o Mr. L.P. Manns
298 Rolling Hills Road
Ruffsdale, Pennsylvania 15679
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