Fr. Ray McDonough, C.P.
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Mt. 25:40
Each week Passionist priest Fr. Ray McDonough travels to Folsom Prison near Sacramento, California to say Mass. He offers prayer sessions and reconciliation vigils to inmates when he can, listening with a compassionate ear to what’s in their hearts and on their minds.
Conversations run the gamut of human emotions. This is not a ministry for the faint of heart, but Fr. Ray continues, week after week, year after year.
“My prison ministry began in 1989, when I was invited to join a pastoral team in the Los Angeles County Jail. During that time I became convinced that such an apostolate is not only tremendously challenging, but much needed.” When Fr. Ray was transferred to Birmingham, Fr. Ray conducted a Bible study program and celebrated Mass at Donaldson State Prison, a high security prison set deep in the pine woods of Alabama.
Bringing the Gospel to those who are incarcerated is very much a part of the Passionist charism of reaching out to those who are abandoned and without hope. “Everyone is filled with Our Lord’s grace and strength. We have to remember that God is in this prison just as much as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.”
The stress of prison life means the healing power of the Gospel is desperately needed. Gangs vie for power and many inmates suffer from mental disorders. The potential for violence is a constant reality. As Fr. Ray explains, “The passion of Christ is seen here every day. Everybody is suffering. They’re under tremendous pressures. The inmates are being punished, but they’re still God’s children. Remember, when Jesus hung on the Cross the last man He saved was a criminal.”
