Faith unlocked: seminarian shares the love of God to prisoners hungry for the Lord

Before this summer the only experience with prison ministry seminarian Koby Nguyen had was a scene from the movie Father Stu, when seminarian Stuart Long and a fellow seminarian are in front of a group of stony-faced prisoners, several of whom are initially abusive of Stu’s companion.

“I thought that is what prison ministry must be like – you’re going to walk into this lion’s den of hardened hearts,” he said.

For the most part, however, Nguyen found the opposite to be true.

“That’s not at all what I encountered,” he said. “I found that these men were so ‘hungry’ and so ‘thirsty.’ They don’t have the luxuries of life, everything is stripped from them. I only encountered – in a lot of ways – soft hearts, hearts hungry for the Lord.”

Studying at Kenrick

Nguyen, a third-year theology student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, said he was humbled at how the prisoners prayed and celebrated the sacraments with fervor and devotion.

“I remember watching a couple of the men at the Winfield (Correctional Facility) unit. As they were praying, I was thinking, ‘Man, these guys love Jesus.’ They love the Eucharist. They love the priesthood more than I do. Holiness can be found anywhere and I found it at the prisons more than I thought I would.”

Nguyen, the son of Nha Nguyen and Christine Gilman of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Wichita, has also visited the prisons at El Dorado and Hutchinson, the Butler and Sedgwick county jails, and the Sedgwick County Juvenile Detention Center as part of his summer assignment.

In addition to taking part in the Masses celebrated in the prisons, Nguyen said he conducted Communion services, prayed the rosary with inmates, and led discussions and Bible studies.

Ministry an eye-opener

“It was unbelievably beautiful,” he said. “It was eye-opening and broadened my perspective.”

With his prison ministry now behind him, he said, he understands how it will serve him if – God- and bishop-willing – he is ordained a priest in a couple of years.

“It’s going to change how I view the love of God and his mercy, who it is given for, what impact the love of God has, the mercy it has, and its ability to enter into the darkest places, the places that we believe are deemed the worst and that are unredeemable,” he said.

We understand that God can forgive all sins, Nguyen said, “but I don’t think we always believe that. I think this changes my view, it brings new hope. We can think that God can forgive this or that, but nothing glorious comes after that. What I saw this summer – not only were these men forgiven of their sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and being fed in the Eucharist, but their lives were renewed. They were actually helping to glorify God in these dark places of prisons where it’s evident the Evil One is present.”

Experience will serve him well

He said his experience will serve him well when, if he is ordained, he will be able to hear habitual sins in confession and remember that he has experienced the effects of God and his mercy in the darkest places and be encouraging to the penitents.

Nguyen also urged those interested in prison ministry to explore the idea.

“If they have a heart for prison ministry, I encourage them to volunteer,” he said. “It’s a corporal work of mercy to visit those in prison. Don’t be afraid if the Lord is calling you. It is safe. The officers know how to protect you and the prisoners have a deep respect for the volunteers. God knows what he’s doing and will protect you.”

He added that for all the time he spent ministering to the prisoners, “we’re actually receiving much more – the more that we give God that much more he fulfills us.”

Ministry coordinator worked with Nguyen

Cindy Kellick, the coordinator of the St. Dismas Ministry to the Incarcerated, said she and Koby started at St. Dismas at the same time and learned about the ministry together.

“Traveling to facilities allowed us to share ideas with one another and enjoy the fruits of the spirit working in those we just left behind bars,” she said. “Koby exceeded the expectations we had for his summer position at St. Dismas. He went far beyond what was expected of him and was eager to go where he was needed.”

She added that the diocese should be proud of him. “He is going to make a great priest in just a few short years and any parish will be so blessed to have him.”