Every summer, the student brothers are sent throughout the province to work in various apostolates. Over the next few days, we will have a few short descriptions of what some of the student brothers did.

Talking to men on death row about Jesus is no simple matter. After passing through the innumerable walls, gates, and security barriers to reach the prisoners physically, then one must begin an analogous process again in order to reach them spiritually. At the super-maximum security prison in Youngstown, OH, where I acted as a volunteer chaplain this summer with Rev. Br. Ezra Sullivan, O.P., men only ask to see a chaplain if they are seriously looking for the Lord, but that doesn't always make them ready to be found. They have a lifetime of bad habits in their past and present, and a death sentence in their future; Br. Ezra and I had seven weeks to show them that God desires them to be saints. So we tried to teach them to turn their cell into a gate of heaven, speaking to them about the Desert Fathers, enlivened with St. Thomas Aquinas' view of the human person. I have no illusions about changing their lives forever by my simple talks, but I entrust the work of our shared talks and prayers to the Lord, confident that he can plant seeds of grace by the hand of the most inexpert sower. And I was privileged to witness the fruits that their spiritual lives bore in the form of unexpected charity the men showed to each other, to us, and even to the guards in the prison. I struggle to be charitable living among men who have devoted their lives to Christ, so it was a humbling and inspiring example to see men living Christian charity in the worst of circumstances. As with all Christian ministry, this summer gave me innumerable opportunities to bring Christ's gospel to others, and to have that same gospel shown to me in a new way.

The experience of speaking about God to men desperate to hear of Him made me eager to know more theology, to be able to present a more beautiful image of God, to be able to minister as a priest. My studies last year made me eager to work in the vineyard, and my experiences there have made me more zealous in my life of study, and ever more joyful about the still-distant prospect of priestly ordination. May God grant perseverance and courage to me and the men I served in the prison.