Guest post by T.E.W., a brother in prison.
A few new men have entered our unit and one of them is Catholic. We were having a chat about prayer time and the shows he watches on TV. He likes watching (Pentecostal preachers) Joyce Meyer and Joseph Prince; I personally don’t. I was sharing my sentiments about this, saying that I prefer to listen only to Catholic sources of teaching. Then he told me that there is Mass televised at 6 a.m. on Sunday mornings on Channel 10. I am praying that the Lord wakes me up in time to be there with Him at the Mass (since we do not have alarm clocks in our cells).
[Continued the following day]
I was so happy this morning, because just as I had asked in my heart, the Lord woke me up at an appropriate time to be able to spend a few minutes in prayer giving thanks for the day before Mass started at 6 a.m. on Channel 10. The Lord is looking after me so well in here, giving me the gifts I need at just the right time, gifts which are beneficial to my developing trust in Him, however slight and gradual that trust may be.
On another day, I went out to the oval for some sun and exercise. After we finished, I struck up a short conversation with a guard about his beard. A ladybug landed on my arm. I couldn’t help but just look at it and see it as a sign of God’s abiding presence with me while I’m in here. Although I know that God is always with us, it was a nice little reminder that He is looking after me.
What I think really made the moment special is that I usually never go out to the oval because it means forfeiting “Access” to our cells. The most wonderful thing happened. I was really tired, and resigned to waiting around for access to my cell, but the guards gave us another “Access” at 3:15 p.m. until dinner. This was an exceptionally blessed day.