Ladder

There is a wonderful person I know, Clarence O’Connor, who is a member of St. John Evangelist Church. He coordinates the scheduling of volunteers from the Gary Diocese who visit prisoners at Indiana State Prison (ISP) in Michigan City, as well as at Westville State Prison in Westville. I have had the privilege of knowing him over 25 years.

 Aside from his scheduling duties, Clarence also devotes most of his Sunday mornings to visiting prisoners at ISP, arriving early in the morning and leaving later in the afternoon. Clarence has touched the lives of many of these men and has been instrumental in helping bring a large number of them closer to Jesus.

As I was cleaning my garage the other day, I looked at the ladder kept there and thought of Clarence. One of his frequent reminders to prisoners is to take the time they have in prison to pray, study Scripture, and form a deeper bond with God.

Clarence, who is older, reminds the men often that this time of incarceration can be a precious gift. He often uses the image of a ladder saying he knows he is coming closer to having only a few steps left on the ladder that can resemble his time in life. He says that, before one knows it, there are no more steps left to climb, and so that person will meet Jesus. Clarence tells the men that none of us know when our “steps” will end, so everyone must make good use of the steps that remain by loving God and helping each other.

This is good advice for each of us. Let’s make good use of the time we have out of love of God.

By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek