Page 64 - Priorities #70

Doing Time at San Quentin
64
By Father Martin Mager, O.S.B.
I have been making regular visits to the State Penitentiary at San Quentin and meeting with many of the “men in blue”, the term which refers to the inmates at the prison. I began this new chapter in my life during the first semester, meeting with Christian men and women from every denomination who are a part of a team called “Kairos”–a Greek word which means “an opportune moment.” The purpose of the Kairos program is to bring the love of Christ to the men in blue, many of whom have never experienced love or the sense of self-worth.
After a number of meetings preparing for the event, the Kairos team entered San Quentin on a Friday evening and except for sleeping outside the prison at night, we were locked in all days until late Monday evening. I was apprehensive the first time I entered the prison–pretty nervous–and the sound of the heavy steel gate slamming behind me did very little to put me at ease. The facade of San Quentin is not very inviting from a visual perspective, reminding me of something out of the “Lord of the Rings.” I felt hopelessly inadequate as the only person that was not an advertisement for some local tattoo parlor.
Meeting with the men in blue was an unforgettable experience–a different world in so many ways. Most of the men were in for life or at least for long terms. Most had very troubled pasts, yet inmates and Kairos team members shared their common humanity and need for the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. It was a weekend of transformation for both.
Now I see that ugly prison architecture as a place of beauty. I return to San Quentin and the men in blue on the third Friday of every month. That is the number one priority–nothing else is ever in my calendar on that day.
MONASTERY NEWS