Papal Intentions for February

As we start off the month of February, let us remember Pope Francis’s intentions in our prayers.

His universal intention for the month is for prisoners, especially young prisoners, that they “may be able to rebuild lives of dignity.”

The Holy Father also asks us to pray for the evangelization of separated spouses, that they “may find welcome and support in the Christian community.” 

The imprisoned and the separated often find themselves at the margins of our Church communities. Let us act on Pope Francis’s intentions this month, through prayer and through loving encounter.

To Visit the Imprisoned

In his July 2000 Message for the Jubilee in Prisons, Blessed John Paul II said:

The Good Shepherd is always going in search of the lost sheep, and when he finds them he puts them on his shoulders and brings them back to the flock. Christ is in search of every human being, whatever the situation!

The situation of imprisonment is often dark and lonely, but if one can find Christ’s meaning in it, it can lead to deep conversion. That is what Paulo Fernando Melo hopes for.

Melo is vice-president of the National Pro-Life and Pro-Family Association in Brazil, and he is also one of the partner proprietors of a company that sells religious articles. In preparation for World Youth Day in July, he asked inmates from Brazil’s prisons to make rosaries, bracelets, and other articles that will be placed in WYD packages. Melo said:

It's about putting into practice the truths contained in Saint Matthew's Gospel (25:36): 'I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me…'

…An important opportunity for them can be to learn the crafting of religious articles. And it might be useful for them when they return to society.

After World Youth Day, Melo plans to teach inmates how to make vestments and other liturgical items.

What an incredible way to live the Gospel and bring meaning to the lives of inmates who are often neglected by society!

That Prisoners may be Treated with Justice and Respect

Visiting the imprisoned…

It’s that corporal work of mercy we always remember for Catholic trivia games, but it’s also the one we conveniently forget about when it comes time to serve others.

It is good, then, that Pope Benedict XVI reminds us to pray for our forgotten brothers and sisters this month. His general intention is: “That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity.”

During the Church-wide celebration for the Jubilee Year in 2000, Blessed John Paul II called for a Day of Jubilee for Prisoners. Prison gates should not exclude men and women from celebrating the Holy Year, he said, and his hope was that “the Risen Lord, who entered the Upper Room through closed doors, will enter all the prisons of the world and find a welcome in the hearts of those within, bringing peace and serenity to everyone.”

In his message for the event, the late pontiff encouraged prisoners to realize that their time was not lost in prison. “Even time in prison is God’s time,” he said, and if prisoners approach their time behind bars with faith, then true healing, rehabilitation, and growth can come out of it.

Blessed John Paul II reminded government leaders of this as well. He encouraged legislators to make it possible for inmates to deepen their relationships with God. Their social recovery could then have a deeper, more meaningful impact.

The Holy Father celebrated the Jubilee with Mass in a Roman prison called "Regina Coeli." In his homily, he repeated much of what he had included in his message. One new point was made, though, and it was a reminder that Jesus Christ was also a prisoner:

To visit the imprisoned

Are you perhaps still standing idle in the market place because no one has called you to work? The vineyard of Christian Charity is short of workers; the Church is calling you to it. Do not wait until it is too late to help Christ in prison or without clothing, Christ persecuted or a refugee, Christ who is hungry or without a roof. Help our brothers and sisters who lack the bare necessities to escape from inhuman conditions and to reach true human advancement.

-Blessed John Paul II, Message for Lent (1979)

Blessed John Paul II, through your intercession may we live like Christ as we approach the time of His passion and death.