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The general prayer intention of the Holy Father Pope Francis, for the month of February, is for prisoners, especially the young, that they may be able to rebuild lives of dignity.
One of the first gestures of Pope Francis, soon after his March 13, 2013 election, moved or rather shocked the world. He broke with tradition and celebrated Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Holy Week in a juvenile prison of Rome, instead of a Rome Basilica, washing and kissing the feet of 12 young detainees of different nationalities and faiths, including two women. “This sign is a caress from Jesus, because Jesus came exactly for this, to serve and to help us,” the Pope told them in unscripted remarks. Since then, he has shown his closeness with prisoners on several times. On one such occasion in to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2013, he told young prisoners to have courage “look to the future”. Each prisoner is a person made in the image and likeness of God, someone for whom Jesus suffered and died. They and the prisoners around the world need our prayers in order to learn to live a life of dignity in often dehumanizing circumstances.
In the ‘throwaway culture’ of today, as Pope Francis calls it, it’s easy to forget those who are locked away from society. This month the Holy Father wants us to join him in praying for them that they may not give up hope and be able to rebuild their lives.
