Dismas Ministry is a national Catholic outreach based in Milwaukee, WI for inmates and those affected by crime. Dismas Ministry focuses primarily on a spiritual approach with inmates who want to understand and strengthen their relationship with God. As one of them wrote, “Prisoners need God and the love of Jesus and Mary as much or even more than the population as a whole.”
Inmates who deepen their faith and grow in understanding of scripture will become less likely to offend others when they are released. For this reason, Dismas provides the following items free of charge to inmates that request them:
CATHOLIC BIBLES
Distribution of free Catholic Bibles in English and Spanish places the Word of God in the hands of inmates for regular, daily reading. Versions include the deuterocanonical books: New American Catholic Bible (Santa Biblia, Spanish).
PRAYER BOOK
A pocket-size prayer book (glued-no staples) designed to foster the prayer life of Catholic inmates. Includes all the common Catholic prayers, lives of saints who have been in prison, and prayers and illustrations contributed by inmates. Pray in the Spirit (Oren en Espiritu, Spanish)
BIBLE STUDY
A 3-part correspondence course for inmates on the Catholic Bible, God with Us (Dios Con Nosotros, Spanish).
- Part 1-Introduction, Pentateuch and Historical Books
- Part 2-Wisdom Books and Prophetic Books
- Part 3-Gospels, Acts, Letters and Revelation
FAITH STUDY
A 3-part correspondence course for inmates on the Catholic faith, A Reason for Hope (Una Razon para La Esperanza, Spanish).
- Part 1-The Sacraments
- Part 2-The Creed
- Part 3-Christian Morality
5. PRAYER STUDY
A 3-part correspondence course for inmates on Catholic prayer, Pray Always (English Only).
- Part 1-Prayer in the Old Testament
- Part 2-Prayer in the New Testament
- Part 3-Prayer in the Catholic Tradition
To learn more about this amazing ministry and to download free copies of the study material please see Dismas' website. Downloadable copies can be found here.
PLEASE NOTE: *Permission is granted by Dismas Ministry to download study courses for use with inmates only. Downloaded review pages should be completed with prison chaplains or course coordinators but should not be sent in to Dismas Ministry for correcting.