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Bishop Olmsted celebrates Easter Mass with incarcerated women
By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
April 3, 2008
More than 20 young women attended Easter Mass with Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted March 23 in a small chapel at the Black Canyon School, a juvenile corrections facility in north Phoenix.
The bishop said he was honored to be with the young women, “who probably feel very keenly the absence of being near those whom they love.”
During his homily, he encouraged the girls to lift their hearts and minds to heavenly realities, rather than miring themselves in earthly worries.
“It’s very easy to think of what is on earth, to remember the things that people do to make us angry or vengeful,” the bishop said. “But St. Paul urges us to seek what is above.”
What is above is Christ’s risen body, the bishop explained. And Christ’s resurrection offers Christians hope and a future to strive for.
“In the risen Christ we have a future,” he said. “What we really long for is more than this life can give. That’s why the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the best of all the Good News. In fact, if this had not happened, it wouldn’t be Good News.”
The teenaged girls of Black Canyon School participated in the Mass by proclaiming the readings, offering the prayers of the faithful and bringing up the gifts to the altar.
Eva Berney, a Catholic lay volunteer, said having the bishop share his Easter with the girls meant a lot.
“It really brings something special to the young women that are here,” she said. “It tells them that God will meet them wherever they are and I think that’s really important for them to know, especially in their situation.”
For nearly two years, Berney has been leading Thursday night prayer services at the Black Canyon School with her husband Andy. In that time, the two have transformed what was originally a bare-walled, uncarpeted space into a proper chapel with artwork and pews.
“I think the fact that we consistently come out makes a difference,” Berney said. “They see us, they know us. It gives them some stability and makes them more open to the message we’re trying to bring them about God and how much He loves them.”
For 16-year-old Desireé, that message has begun to hit home.
“At first I didn’t believe in God,” she said of arriving at the school nearly five months ago. “But then I started coming to church and I began believing. It gives me hope that God’s there for me and He’s going to help me through everything, even through my struggles. He’s teaching me a lesson right now.”
Bishop Olmsted asked the teens to look upon their time in the facility as a grace-filled opportunity for changing their lives and praying for others.
“What changes our lives is when we encounter Christ in 2008,” he said. “If [the resurrection] is just a wonderful memory from the past, it will not change our lives. The only thing that can change our lives is if the risen Christ is Someone we encounter regularly.”
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