Diocese of Tulsa
Photography by Dave Crenshaw, Eastern Oklahoma Catholic
Article by Mason Beecroft, Eastern Oklahoma Catholic
Bishop David Konderla baptized eight men and confirmed nine at the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville at an afternoon Mass on July 13, 2017. Father Hung Le, the pastor of St. Stephen Parish in Holdenville and the Catholic chaplain at Davis, and a member of the Diocese of Tulsa Prison Ministry. Before Mass, Bishop Konderla toured the medium/maximum security prison for men and then heard confessions from inmates while the rest of the congregation prayed the Rosary. A fried chicken meal followed the Mass.
In the homily, Bishop Konderla encouraged the faithful to daily focus on Jesus Christ and the freedom that comes through His Gospel.
“One of the themes that I imagine is on the minds of people in this place is, ‘When will I be free?’ But if you think about it, that freedom will not start on the day you walk out the gate. If that freedom does not already exist in your heart and in your mind, then you can walk out the gate and you will not be free,” he proclaimed.
“Now if we take to heart the words of the Gospel, if we give ourselves to Christ each day, then we can be free, even in this place. But the freedom that matters is the freedom that is deep in your heart that comes from Christ, a freedom that is yours to have even if you are locked up in this place.”
Dennis White received the Sacrament of Confirmation during the Mass. He was drawn to the Catholic Church through its teaching on the sacraments.
“As I learned more about the Church and the sacraments, I started to attend Mass and pray the rosary. The Mass brought me closer to God and I started meditating more on God. I was ignorant to a lot of things about the Catholic Church and then once I started doing it that's what brought me to the faith,” he confessed.
John Kastner was confirmed at Davis three years ago. His mother was Catholic, but converted to the Episcopalian faith when she married his father. Yet he says he had always been drawn to the Catholic faith, growing up in the Catholic culture of New York and attending graduate school at Notre Dame. When he was incarcerated at Davis, he started to take RCIA classes. The Catholic community and ministry of Father Le at Davis have been transformative for him.
“My faith and this community have given me a family,” he said. “I am able to share my struggles with them and we exchange spiritual concerns and ideas. The ministry of Father Le is powerful here. A lot of people are being drawn to our faith tradition and people here are being helped by it,”
Bishop Konderla baptized Nnokam Junior at the Mass. As a young man, Nnokam grew up in a variety of non-denominational churches, but started to attend RCIA classes at Davis to help support a friend. He found himself drawn to the faith.
“Over time attending the classes, I got hit with the stick of love,” he shared. “It is overwhelming that there is a Church so dedicated to Jesus Christ. As I keep going deeper into the faith, I keep falling more in love. The Church is so Jesus centered. It is just amazing. Now I get excited to talk about my faith. I have opportunities to teach about the Church here. The Catholic Church allows all aspects of your life to be covered.”
