‘The only solution is love.’ – Andy Prescott
‘I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.’
This quote from Dorothy Day challenges us to examine our understanding of love, particularly when it comes to those we find it hardest to embrace.
Born in New York in 1897, Day was a journalist, political radical and social activist who co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her work focused on advocating for social justice, labour rights and the welfare of people living in poverty. Her own journey of faith led her to embrace Catholicism, where she sought to embody the principles of love and compassion that Jesus taught. Her activism was rooted in a deep commitment to serving marginalised people and voicing the struggles of those without a voice. She opened Catholic Worker Houses of Hospitality, providing shelter and support for those in need, including prison leavers.
I had not heard of Day’s work until I accidentally stumbled across her quote. But her words got me thinking. Each of us has a line, a point at which we feel uncomfortable or unable to extend our love and compassion to a person. And this can lead us to distance ourselves from those who have hurt others, using their actions as a justification for our discomfort and distance.
However, Day’s words challenge us to reconsider this approach. It forces us to ask ourselves, ‘What does it mean to truly love God?’ Can our love for Him be measured by how we respond to those we deem unworthy of our compassion?
In Luke 6:32-33, Jesus teaches, ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.’
Loving those who are easy to love is not enough; our challenge is to extend love to everyone, even those who have crossed lines we find difficult to accept.
In prison, we might encounter individuals who have done things we cannot even imagine. And our instinct may be to recoil from them. Yet, embracing the reality that each person is a child of God, made in His image, and deserving of dignity and love, is essential for our spiritual growth and understanding of God’s love.
Prison Fellowship’s ministry calls us to move beyond our discomfort and recognise that love is not about condoning actions but about acknowledging humanity. We must remember that we are all fallen; we all make mistakes, and God’s grace is for us, too. We are called to cultivate empathy and compassion for all those who suffer, regardless of how we feel about the choices they have made in their lives.
Dorothy Day also said this: ‘The only solution is love. I know that, but it is not enough to know it. We must live it.’
This is a call to action for each of us. Our love must be active, reaching out to those who may have made choices that harmed others and offering them a chance for redemption, healing and transformation. By doing this, we not only reflect Christ’s love but also confront our own biases.
The challenge is profound: we must strive to extend our love to everyone, even those we find hardest to embrace. We must continually ask ourselves how we can engage with those who have crossed our personal lines, reflecting on what it means to love those who are deeply flawed.
Let us be bold in our love. Let us understand that loving those who have hurt others does not diminish our values, but rather deepens our faith and commitment to Christ’s teachings. And, as we minister to those in our prisons, may we be transformed to embody the love of God in a way that transcends our discomfort and recognises the potential for restoration within each and every individual.
Andy Prescott is Prison Fellowship’s Head of Fundraising and Communications.
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