Kelly O’Keefe-Boettcher shares her experience working with Dismas Ministry.

In celebration of the Feast of St. Dismas, we are delighted to share a moving reflection penned by one of our dedicated Ignatian Volunteer Corps® (IVC) volunteers.

Join us in experiencing the heartfelt words of Kelly O’Keefe-Boettcher, a valued volunteer with Dismas Ministry, as she shares her profound experiences and insights gained through her service.

IVC REFLECTION ~ written by Kelly O’Keefe-Boettcher

It’s the monthly IVC meeting. We’re gathered in the parish center, circled, and safe as we listen to the reports from schools and sheltering havens. I’m taking notes. I’m a notetaker. I notice. I look up to the announcement that Dismas Ministry is looking for a volunteer. Someone to open the mail from inmates across the United States. Data entry. Clerical mostly. I notice that I’m back in my memory as a 23-year-old working in the Milwaukee County Jail. I’m screening men and women before they make their first court appearance. I work for an agency that will provide support and resource. I’m noticing the curve in the circle that leads me to approach Monica, our IVC coordinator to say, “I’m available to volunteer with Dismas. What happens next?”

At some point during the orientation at the Dismas office, I confess that I don’t know who/what/where Dismas is. Tyler, Dismas’ executive director, gently introduces me to Dismas, the penitent thief who was crucified next to Jesus. I notice the perfectly stacked piles of Bibles in English and Spanish. I notice the Catholic faith formation curriculum carefully bound into spiral books that will be sent to prisons across the United States. I notice the collapsible rosaries and prayer cards. I notice the two volunteers who are working quietly, diligently, effectively to package up the materials that will soon make their way past prison scans into the hands of the men and women who from behind a concrete wall have requested the support of Dismas Ministry.

I notice binders filled with names, prison locations, and dates of requests received and completed. I notice that no one talks about crime. No one speaks with anything but compassion and companionship. If there’s urgency, it’s the expectation that we respond to each request as quickly as possible. If a letter is returned, energy is put into finding out why. I notice that this tiny operation comprised of compact offices and a minimal budget is shaped by a mission of mercy and a world view of forgiveness.

I didn’t notice what day it was when I opened the letter from a young person in solitary confinement. You’d think a cannonball moment such as this would come with a warning, but no. After a stream of seemingly innocuous requests for material brochures and Bible Study guides, a letter from a 23-year-old facing a life sentence wrapped with solitary confinement brings me to tears and then to my knees. I pray for the 23-year-old who sent out a solitary letter hoping that it would be read. I pray for the life that was ended at his hands, and I pray for the family left to grieve and to remember. I pray for the 23-year old’s mother and the solitary life sentence she is serving within a prison of her own. I pray. I notice Dismas’ words,

“Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.”

and I give a prayer of thanks to IVC, to Dismas Ministry, and to the Kingdom that Jesus has promised us. I notice the blessing and I am grateful.

Click HERE to learn more about Ignatian Volunteer Corps® (IVC) volunteers.