A Mother’s Day Behind the Walls
Mother’s Day has come and gone. As my sons remembered their mom with gifts, I remembered my mom with prayers. I am grateful because my mom by all accounts was, and still is, a role model for the women who knew her. I am also painfully aware that not all sons and daughters were so blessed. It is with this awareness that I share a different Mother’s Day reflection.
Some of you have lived a Walk to Emmaus, Cursillo or Tres Dias weekend. For those who have experienced the weekend, you know the transforming power of being in close Christian community with those who wish to deepen their faith. If you have not participated, I encourage you to give yourself this gift. Before the Covid 19 pandemic hit, I was gathering a team of 20 men to lead a Cursillo at a prison in Massachusetts. There is another 20+ men behind the walls who support the outside team working throughout the year recruiting men to attend the weekend. For the past 26 years, 30 to 40 men “live” their weekend on Mother’s Day weekend behind the walls. Of course, the Cursillo was cancelled this year as were all visits by family and volunteers. Fortunately, there have been no reported cases of the virus in the prison. For the men behind the walls, social distancing takes on new meaning without cell phones, email, video calls or virtual church. The prison chapel has been closed – no church – period.
Our St. Basil’s Cursillo community usually meets with the men on the 3rd Wednesday of the month in the prison chapel. Our last visit was in January. It could be June or July before we are together again. For us on the outside, social distancing has been at worst an inconvenience, for some even a welcomed slower pace of life. We can still visit with our moms albeit from six feet away and wearing a mask. For the men behind the walls, the Cursillo Mother’s Day weekend is something that is planned for and looked forward to with great anticipation. One of the reasons why is that on Sunday morning our families and friends join us in a closing service. Many of the men do not receive visits or even letters from family – burnt bridges have become walls within their family structure. For these men, being greeted by women of all ages is deeply moving. I imagine this Mother’s Day was particularly hard for the men, and I pray that we can join them soon.
There are many things I miss – going to work at the Foundation office and having a nice dinner out with friends come to mind. Mostly I miss church, communion, and my faith community. I miss not being with the men behind the walls. I pray I learn something from this time apart, and that I maintain deep gratitude when we all can once again greet each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.