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The CD, titled ‘Hold Firm and Take Heart’ emerges from work that the Jesuit Institute team have done in prisons over the last few years, in consultation with prison chaplains. The Jesuit Institute have two main approaches to their prison ministry:

• a week of guided prayer in which they work with prisoners in one-to-one accompaniment sessions, helping them to have a retreat experience in their daily lives.

• workshops to groups of prisoners (which can have one-to-one accompaniment offered alongside them), focusing on helping prisoners to make better choices and bring about positive change in their lives.

In addition to their work in prisons, they support former prisoners by offering an online retreat once a year. They also offer an annual online retreat in daily life to support Prison Chaplains.

The CD contains a mixture of guided prayers written especially for prisoners (based on prayer exercises used in the workshops) and popular guided prayers from Pray As You Go on suitable themes. The majority of the tracks (some existing, some specially created for prisoners) will also be available on the Pray As You Go app and website in the coming weeks. Prison Chaplains will be able to distribute the CDs to prisoners where security measures allow them to have CD players.

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Scripture invites us to ‘Put on Christ’.

In my mind’s eye, I imagine I put on Christ. I wrap him around me like a cloak. I draw him close, asking that he surround me as I want with the quality of presence I need.  I let what I need settle gently on me, resting in it.

I touch in and feel that patience or understanding or courage or …

I let it cover me and fill me.

Today I live with this presence of Christ all around me.

- Excerpt from a new prayer for prisoners.

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Art by prisoners is used in the booklet to go with the CD (including the cover) which is designed by Sherene Chan from the Pray As You Go team.

Pray As You Go hope to draw many closer to Christ through this resource. If you would like to help with the funding of this project and support our ongoing work to produce more resources like it, you can do so here: https://pray-as-you-go.org/donate

One of our generous donors helped support the creation of the CDs. If you would like to donate towards this work, go to www.jesuitinstitute.org/give and select ‘The Prison Project’ from the designation drop down.

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