Next Sunday is Prisoner’s Sunday is the national day of prayer and action for prisoners and their dependants as marked by the Catholic Church and across the Christian denominations and the start of Prisons Week.

It is a day to direct our thoughts and prayers to prisoners, their families and children. Prisoners’ Sunday is the time to reflect on how we as individuals, as a Church and as a community are serving those affected by imprisonment. Prisoners’ families, prisoners and people with previous convictions often find themselves on the margins of society due to the social stigma associated with imprisonment. They are often forgotten or come lower down on the list of causes to ‘hold a hand out to’. But the gospel of Matthew 25: 36 reminds us of our duties towards them: “I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.”

For prayer resources and more information please go to the PACT (the national Catholic charity supporting prisoners, people with convictions, defendants and their families) website at www.prisonadvice.org.uk