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November Featured Article

“Come down Zaccheus,” Jesus said to the short man posted in the sycamore tree watching Him
speak to the crowd.  He continued, “Today, I must stay at your house.”
The crowd buzzed, “He is a tax collector; he is a crook; he steals our money.  He collects taxes for
the Romans but keeps plenty for himself.”
Even though the crowd complained about Jesus meeting with Zaccheus, Jesus departed with
Zaccheus.  Evidently, Jesus made a great impression on Zaccheaus, for he promised to give to
the poor and pay back four times what he had taken unlawfully.  
During the Sunday homily, our pastor, Father Mike asked, “Who has made a difference in your
life?”
We always have the tools available to us, but sometimes we need a person to give us one-on-one
attention. I find that Father Mike is always available to give good advice.  I work as a correctional
officer in a women’s correctional center and find that problems arise frequently.  Therefore, I often
need to meet Jesus in the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Father Mike represents Jesus.  Many
times I receive messages that carry me through the following weeks and months
In the correctional center, the inmates recognize me as a good Christian.  Therefore, I try to be
one by keeping the rules and sometimes needing to discipline or write conduct reports for rule
infractions.  Just as the Lord teaches us to be better Christians by ways we don’t appreciate at
the time, we grow by looking inward and allowing Him into our soul.
The motto of a good correctional officer is to be firm, fair and consistent.  Does that remind you of
God?  We can always rely on Him.  I believe the inmates can rely on me to be firm, fair and
consistent, but because I am human, I may stray at times.  I may get lost in my judgements and act
negatively toward the inmates as the Jews acted toward Zaccheus.  
As I contemplate my behavior, I remind myself that I am representing the Lord.  I think about Jane,
an inmate whom I encountered about twelve years ago in another correctional center.  She had
fumed with anger after I had given her some advise on cleaning the floor.  She never hid her
dislike for me during her stay.  When she had gotten ready to leave the center for another, I told
her that I would see her again.
Imagine her irateness when she returned to be an occupant of our segregation unit.  She had
broken a rule and  had to pay the consequence. Later, when we met in the treatment wing, where
I had become a treatment sergeant, she told me that she considered her returning my fault.  She
spoke of her hatred for me.
I don’t remember what happened, but eventually we both gained respect for each other.  Even
though correctional officers build a wall between themselves and the inmates, we are human and
develop special feelings for some inmates.  I was so touched by the change in her, I wrote a poem
that she read, with tears in her eyes, at her treatment graduation.
Recently, two women, both in their fifties, came to me to say good-by as they were leaving the
center-- one for home and another for a treatment facility.  With tears in  their eyes, they thanked
me for being there for them.  Nothing feels better than to be appreciated.  Imagine the
appreciation of the Lord as we thank Him for making us feel special.