Cloistered nuns visit sisters in faith in chilean womens prison (w/pictures)

[NadaTeTurbe]

A group of 61 cloistered nuns from six monasteries in Santiago, Chile, recently made an historic visit to a local Women’s Prison Center to spend time with the inmates and to attend Mass with them.

“I don’t know if in the 400 years of the history of Santiago, there has been another occasion when contemplative sisters from several monasteries joined together to celebrate the Eucharist with a group of women who are incarcerated, but who are sisters in the faith,” said Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, who celebrated the Mass.

The nuns made the trip to the facility on May 23 to celebrate as the Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Ezzati said that the nuns made the request to visit with the inmates “so the sisters who contemplate the face of God every day in prayer could contemplate him in the face of people who are suffering, going through a hard time in their lives.”

“The dear cloistered nuns are the city’s uplifted arms to intercede before God for all of us, especially those who are suffering the most,” he said.

After the Mass, the religious sang a traditional Chilean song to honor the Virgin Mary, and to everyone’s surprise, four of them got up to dance. They then went to the prison courtyard where they continued visiting with the inmates.

For Sister Maria Rosa of the Discalced Carmelites from the San José monastery, the day was “a grace to share with them, to really feel like a sister with them, to feel their sorrow, their joy and to become one with them.”

“It strikes me that this encounter would be on the feast of the Holy Trinity. That means that God dwells in every soul,” she told the archdiocesan communications office.

Railín, one of the inmates, said that “it was good that they came and prayed for us. The sisters and bishops coming helped support us, we need a lot of people to come and see us.”

Ana Chacón, another inmate, said that the religious “give us the spirit of the Lord,  it’s a blessing to have them here. Seeing the dear cloistered nuns doing the traditional dance and swinging the kerchiefs was something new.”

This Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis runs from December 2015 to November of 2016, with the aim of encouraging Catholics to experience God’s mercy – both in the Sacrament of Confession and being concrete signs of this mercy in charitable work.

http://www.cloisteredlife.com/2016/06/cloistered-nuns-visit-sisters-in-the-faith-in-chilean-womens-prison/

More pictures : http://diarioelnortino.cl/inedito-encuentro-de-monjas-de-claustro-con-internas-de-la-carcel-de-mujeres-de-santiago/

http://galerias.iglesia.cl/galeria.php?url=Gale_574275a074087

 

[Guest]

How totally beautiful and revolutionary or perhaps more accurately, an act of reformation, rethinking!  What beautiful images and perhaps even startling in their originality and insight.    How insightful of an important aspect of the contemplative vocation and call i.e. to share with others the fruits of contemplation..........and in this instance actions vividly are proclaimingThe Gospel.

Thank you so much for sharing this, Nada - it has lifted my spirits no end, I am delighted in the extreme.  

2 hours ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

For Sister Maria Rosa of the Discalced Carmelites from the San José monastery, the day was “a grace to share with them, to really feel like a sister with them, to feel their sorrow, their joy and to become one with them.”

“It strikes me that this encounter would be on the feast of the Holy Trinity. That means that God dwells in every soul,” she told the archdiocesan communications office.

 

2 hours ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

Ezzati said that the nuns made the request to visit with the inmates “so the sisters who contemplate the face of God every day in prayer could contemplate him in the face of people who are suffering, going through a hard time in their lives.”

“The dear cloistered nuns are the city’s uplifted arms to intercede before God for all of us, especially those who are suffering the most,” he said.

 

Don't miss all the images on this link by Nada as I almost did.......... http://galerias.iglesia.cl/galeria.php?url=Gale_574275a074087 

Edited July 8, 2016 by BarbaraTherese

[Jennifer]

It must have been a wonderful experience for both the sisters and the inmates which is evidenced in all their happy and joyful faces. Thank you for sharing with us.

[Gabriela]

I have so much to say about this I don't know where to start. Excuse me for geeking out, but for years, since I discovered Goffman's theory of total institutions, I have been saying that cloistered and monastic religious have an enormous amount to offer the incarcerated. They're both total institutions, but the spiritual meaning that religious give to their enclosure has the potential to make a world of difference to the way we do imprisonment today.

Show me an American cloistered/monastic community in full habit that regularly sends sisters to prisons and I will join tomorrow.