69. CGS and Prison Ministry with Kathleen Tong

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35

 

Kathleen Tong joins us on the podcast today to tell us about how she has been using the method of The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in her work in Prison Ministry and the response she has witnessed in our brothers and sisters that she serves there.

 

Kathleen began her work in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 2003. She serves as a catechist at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Boerne, Texas and most recently was in the Level III atrium. She is a member of the 2014 CGS-MAPS Cohort at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.

She currently serves as a Certified Volunteer Chaplain’s Assistant (CVCA) for the Texas Department of Corrections Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas. Kathleen was invited to introduce Catechesis of the Good Shepherd to offenders of the Catholic community who facilitate RCIA in 2019. Additionally, she serves as Secretary and director on the board of Kolbe Prison Ministries and is a member of the San Antonio Kolbe CORE team. She is also the mom of a 22 year old daughter, Hannah Rose, who grew up a child of the atrium.

 

In The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, we have 32 Points of Reflection that are intended to represent the principal aspects of the catechesis as they have developed after more than sixty five years of work with children of different countries, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. Kathleen’s work of using CGS in her prison ministry work is a great example of characteristic #26 in action:

 

26. The primary commitment of the catechist is working with the children in the atrium; however, this commitment also leads the catechist to be open to the needs of the catechesis in general and making him/her responsive to other forms of service which can be necessary.

 

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