Lent is one of the times when, as Christians, we tend to take the Gospel more seriously and try to render it visible in daily life. There are many ways to do this, but this year our FSP Book Center in Brescia teamed up with prison chaplains and several local parishes to concretize the words of Jesus in the Scriptures, “I was in prison, and you came to visit me.”
Reading has always been a form of escape and education, and it can take on profound importance for people who are suffering because they are deprived of their ability to move around freely. Moreover, books can change lives, which is even more true of the Gospel, since it opens doors to light and proclaims messages of hope.
This year, the Pauline initiative known as The Suspended Gospel is being held from 22 February to 2 April. It involves inviting book center customers to purchase a copy of the Gospel and place it in a special basket. The volumes collected will be donated to two prisons in the Brescia area. Each customer who wants to participate in the project is encouraged to write a short message on the flyleaf of the edition they buy for this purpose, promising their prayerful support of the inmates in the difficult reality of prison life. The Gospels will be distributed to the prisoners by the prison chaplains and Bishop Pierantonio Tremolada, head of the diocese, at the end of the initiative.
Members of about 20 parishes in the area, especially young people from different age groups, are participating more personally in the initiative by holding a “banquet” at the end of each Sunday Mass to support the book collection project. When it ends, the FSPs from Brescia will meet with their collaborators so as to consolidate the experience through shared testimonies, the input of the prison chaplains, a moment of prayer and a concluding snack. Our sisters hope that this Gospel initiative will remain a meaningful experience not only for the prison inmates but also for all those who are contributing to it in various ways.
