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About once a month I visit prisoners in a state penitentiary. It is difficult for me. The atmosphere is dismal and charged with suspicion. On one accasion an elderly woman and I were going through the visitors' line together. We were searched, asked to pass through metal detectors, produce identification. The sweet, dear lady was smiling through it all, greeting everyone in a warm, loving way. Suddenly I heard myself saying to her: "Gee, I'll bet you bring a lot of love into this world, with your smiling face and words." "Father," she replied, "there are no strangers in my world. Only brothers and sisters. Some of them I haven't met yet."
I had a deep feeling that she really meant it, and I remembered the advice of Charles Peguy: "Don't try to go to God alone. He will certainly ask you: "Where are your brothers and sisters ?"
John Powell
Through the Eyes of Faith
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