God bless you this Christmas and each day in the New Year.

Kind regards
Dieter Fischer
Adelaide, Australia

PS God has the final say in everything. The Lord is coming back as the judge! All will be revealed!

With our non-skeptical love at Christmas,
Don and Kathy Maxwell

I hold you up at mass and will pray for you daily,may our lord hold you close and give you Peace thru all your trials as he walks with you thru this cross you carry. It will be a joyous day when you are freed! I will carry you to the creche at Christmas Mass.

Please pray for all of us to persevere to the end as we pray for you!

Merry Christmas Fr M

I was blessed to go to Poland in Oct. 06. I visited Auschwitz and the evil of sin overwhelmed all of us. I saw St. Maximilliam Kolbe’s cell.

We touched our sacramentals to the walls and prayed for his strength in the days to come. I cannot tell you how devastating it was. I do not know why, but I brought home a rock, I guess to remind me of the horror of sin.

I do want you to know that you bring me hope, maybe that doesn’t make sense to you but it does to me. You are strength and love.

Pax Christi,

Pat I.O.L.

I found your blog a couple of months ago. When I read your posts I can’t help but wonder if those in prison who you have helped/are helping would be getting that help if you were on the outside. Like Fr. Ciszek, who I have seen you mention in your blog, you are ministering to people who badly need you. People who might not have had a chance to know Jesus, and be loved and forgiven by Jesus, had you not been there.

I came across a quote recently by Catherine of Siena that might interest you: “Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind. ”

You are a priest. Those stone walls haven’t changed that. You have a parish. You’ve written about a few of them in your blog. I am very happy that you have the Eucharist. Your post about being able to celebrate the Mass helped me in many ways. I passed it onto one of my priests. Only God knows how many souls will be saved because of you.

Thank you Father for all that you are doing to save souls. Both inside and outside of those walls.

Merry Christmas Father Gordon.

Your posts are always interesting and always pertinent to me. It is as if I have a priest who listens to me and really preaches to me what I need to hear. There is hope in what you write. I wish I could say that my own parish priest, God bless him, had this much to say. But I receive consolation, by God’s grace, from you, dear Fr., imprisoned and not allowed to live out your vocation as you had always hoped.

My own dear cousin who had been imprisoned in North Carolina for the last two years died on December 4th. He had terminal brain cancer. I thank God for him and pray for his soul daily. His name was Bob. I loved him. We were cousins who got together once in a while as adults when holidays would allow us the time. As children we got together with our families often especially at holiday time.

So many memories flood my mind when I think of him. His life did not end the way any of us thought it might have. He was a young man with great promise, great intelligence and great popularity. He exhibited great faith during his trials here on this earth. He did not seem to worry. He encouraged his mother, now in her 80’s to be hopeful, not to worry.

He said the Divine Mercy chaplet and seemed to have great care takers there at the prison. I miss him and will always pray for his soul. I never knew all that caused him to end up in prison. I don’t need to know. Whatever happened in his life was his business and not mine. I just continue to love him and pray for those he left behind who really miss him and love him as well.

At any rate, his life did not turn out as he had hoped or as any of us had hoped.

But maybe in God’s all loving and all knowing ways, He turns it all into something good. In fact, I know He does. He has done that with your life and your situation Fr. And I could see it happening with Bob’s life too. As I observed the peace and love that everyone shared during his memorial Mass and afterwards at the parish hall for lunch, I could see that our great and good Father in heaven was doing that very thing, turning a sad and tragic situation into one that has lead us all to peace and reconciliation in our families and amongst our friends. How good God really is.

I have never met you but I have not forgotten you since I became aware of your situation. I pray daily for you Fr. and I just want to thank you once again for all you have spoken to us through your writing. You have helped me in ways I did not expect. I thought I was helping you in some small way. I just wanted to take the opportunity to visit you, as Christ has beckoned us. Well, thanks for visiting me too Fr. MacRae. You are a good priest.

God bless you and may the tiny Savior the Father sent us touch your heart with gladness this Christmas.

Of course, he was talking about the good..about what God sees underneath all of the evil or mental illness, or outward unpleasant looks and uncooth vocabulary, etc. I was so touched by both of these simple statements from very simple seeming people in a very poor racial neighborhood. I met Christ this afternoon where I lwasn’t even anticipating finding Him.

I hate the thought of you in prison. My son is a priest as your mother’s son is a priest. I also realize though that these are the moments you have…and you are using them well. Your letters are gifts to all of us, especially at Christmas. The prisoners are your church, your pastorate…your flock…and hopefully we on the outside can be your community of support and prayer so that you can keep on keeping on and hoping and becoming more and more like Maximillian Kolbe who gave his all until his death….

and I pray that you continue to give your all until you are released. Have great Hope…because one day, that hope will be realized when you aren’t even looking for it. I look forward to my holy hour, being with you and others at Mass Sunday night.

Sharon

I always look forward to this weekly meeting. I know you cannot write to me or entertain long correspondence. However, I think that your work – allow me to correct myself – your apostolate, has more value than that of many churchmen. Yours is a crucifixion, a long and painful one. I am sure I would not even have 1% of the moral strength you have. So, you are a beacon.

When, as a missionary in a foreign land, I get discouraged because of difficulties I meet, I think of you, and then my spirit is strengthened. You are the “angel we have heard on high”. Keep up the good work. I will post a link on my Blog for today’s posting.

As brothers in the priesthood, we remain united during the celebration of the mass. Peace !

I am glad that the comments posted here are what seem to be getting people’s attention. It is proof, hopefully, of what the power of prayer can do as well as the meaning of Christian charity.

Your posts help all of us as well. I often put them in my “Worth a Click” box on my blog. This blog is also on my Priestly blogroll.

I am glad that our comments mean something, but it is we who should thank you for your courage, perseverance, sacrifice and your wonderful sense of humor in the midst of such difficulty.

I will continue to unite my Sunday Mass and holy hour to your Sunday night Mass as well as keep you in my daily prayers. I know that Cardinal Dulles and Fr. Neuhaus are continuing to intercede for you.
Continued Advent Blessings!