From His Cell to Theirs: Fr. Matthew and the Oblates in Prison
By Rebekah Firestine
This piece by Rebekah Firestine, abridged and reprinted from a 2017 article, details an important ministry of the Abbey: spiritual service to Oblates in prison. As we approach the feast of St. Michael at the end of this month, we recall his spiritual patronage of the justice system and seek his guiding light to bring Christ to prisoners seeking God’s grace and mercy.
This article was originally published in our September 2024 Kansas Monks newsletter. See our Newsletter Archive at www.kansasmonks.org/newsletter to read the rest of the September issue.
From the confines of the monastery, reaching out across the country, one monk is doing what he can to bring the Good News of the Gospel to men and women living on America’s periphery: the nation’s prisons.
Fr. Matthew Habiger has taken the reins of the Abbey’s Prison Oblate program — an effort to spread the love of Christ to the incarcerated. “It is a challenge, and I don’t have the benefit of meeting prisoners face-to-face. But it is heart-to-heart. You can imagine how correspondence goes. These men and women have to articulate what’s on their minds and hearts and handwrite it.”
Listening to their sentiments by reading their letters has become the center of Fr. Matthew’s apostolate.
The history of this Oblate program is rich. Fr. Louis Kirby, O.S.B., as a monk of Holy Cross Abbey in Colorado, developed a special program for the prisoners in his diocese of Pueblo. Within a 20-mile radius of Cañon City, there are 11 prisons where monks of Holy Cross were involved in prison ministry. By taking the precepts of Benedictine monasticism and the call of Oblates to live in the world, Fr. Louis designed a program specifically for incarcerated men and women to reclaim their dignity and to experience God’s love amid serving a prison sentence.
Holy Cross Abbey closed in 2004, and Fr. Louis transferred his vow of stability to St. Benedict’s Abbey where he continued his ministry until his passing in 2013.
“After Fr. Louis died, the whole program fell into limbo. Two of the Oblates from Delta, Colorado, wrote me — I don’t know how they got my name,” Fr. Matthew said with a grin conveying total trust in God’s Providence. “They asked if there were any way to revive this program because it had done so much good in the past.” His response bore the true markings of a father: “How do you say no to that?”
Fr. Matthew took the idea to heart. One thing led to another, and today, he receives handwritten letters each week from Oblates in prisons across the country.
“By its very nature, the priesthood is geared to bringing other people closer to God, but I never thought I’d be involved in this work.” He’d had his share of visiting jails, prisons, and the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, but his experience and knowledge of a life behind bars was limited. “Before this work, I was kind of a babe in the woods! It takes time to get to know a system, but people are people. Wherever the need, interest, and desire to discover their faith are, we have to respond.”
But the life of an Oblate in prison is vastly disparate from the life of a monk of St. Benedict’s Abbey. Or is it?
When tackling how the prisoner (or a monk, for that matter) ought to spend his time in his cell, Fr. Matthew offered a simple but provoking thought, “If a man can discern that he’s to use his time well, he can make a retreat out of his cell.” With the help of Fr. Matthew and the whole community of Oblates, led by the Holy Spirit, these men and women can go through true rehabilitation or true conversion to grow into the virtues they hadn’t developed before and become the persons they were meant to be.
Filippino Lippi Cappella Brancacci, circa 1424-1428, St Paul Visiting St Peter in Prison, fresco
“It’s to unlock the grip of vices on their lives and to grow into the virtues using all the available means, also helping others discover what they have discovered,” Fr. Matthew said.
Following the Rule of St. Benedict, the Oblate program is a natural fit for a man or woman living in close quarters with others in confinement. Fr. Matthew explains that St. Benedict wrote his Rule for groups of men who were dedicated to their search for God as a community. Benedict understood human nature, with its strengths and weaknesses. He found a way to apply the principles of the Gospel to those living a communal life, while also serving the larger community. The Rule sets up regular times for prayer and work, spiritual reading, meals, and recreation. It stresses obedience to legitimate authority, humility, and growth in all virtues. It gives meaning and purpose to their lives, and many express their pleasure in discovering a regular prayer life, using the Liturgy of the Hours.
Prisoners can identify very much with a monastery. “They have a tighter regimen than I do!” Fr. Matthew quipped.
Oblates faithfully pray Lauds (morning prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer), read Scripture and the Catechism, try to build community, and see Christ in the needs of their fellow inmates. They attend Mass when available. They understand the meaning of the Cross and attempt to carry their burdens as followers of Christ.
Fr. Matthew works diligently to provide free resources for the prisoners in the form of books and materials to help them grow in their daily prayer lives and relationship with God. Along with these resources, the Oblates receive a monthly newsletter that keeps the community strong and connected through reflections, story sharing, and prayer.
“Everyone has problems, but you might say prisoners have an additional set. You adjust yourself to the needs of the people you’re dealing with: faith needs, human needs, family needs, all of them.”
The Oblates in prison are real people who come from troubled pasts — but don’t we all? The prisoners deeply appreciate the fact that a personal interest has been taken in them. God’s love has been shown to them in a world where the light is often difficult to see.
Fr. Matthew says it’s just about responding to the call to serve others where they are. “The more you get to know a person, the more you appreciate them, and you find out that there’s more to discover.”
In the spirit of St. Benedict, Oblates in prison show us what it means to be close to the Father. Their steadfast commitment to prayer in the midst of opposition, hostility, and lack of support from other inmates is inspiring. Through this program, men and women in prisons from sea to sea are encountering the love of God through volunteers and pen-pals.
One inmate’s words sum up the blessings of the program: “Let me tell you what you can give. You can give hope to men who have none. How do you do that? You come within these walls, build a house of love through your presence, and invite the homeless, loveless to live there. You give Living Water to men who are dying of thirst. You can help those who have never had any sense of meaning in their lives discover their purpose. You can help those who are lost and have never belonged to anything, to anyone, find a way to a place where they are loved and wanted. You can take men who are destitute, who believe they have no value, and help them discover the greatest treasure this world has ever held.”