Contact Us Free Sample

Search

New user tutorial

Log In

New subscriber?

Create your password

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe

OR

Log In

Email

Password

I forgot my password

Sorry... user email or password wrong, please try again!

We’re sorry, but that email address is not in our system. If you are certain that you have entered the address you used to register for your PTW account, please contact us to confirm that we have entered it correctly in our system.

User Account Expired

Uh-oh. According to our records your subscription to Prepare the Word is no longer active. Did you forget to renew? If so, please click the RENEW button below. If not and you believe there is an error with your account, please contact us here.

My Account

Renew My Susbcription

| Sign Up

Home
About
HOMILY PREP
LIBRARY
Take Five for Faith
How to
My Account

Home
About
HOMILY PREP
LIBRARY
Take Five for Faith
How to
My Account

Search

Search word or phrase

Search word or phrase

Any word Exact phrase

Limit results to the following...

Sundays

Exploring The Word

Homilies

Homily Stories

Take Five Daily and Weekly

Preaching the News

Pastoral trends

Quotes

Tags

Question Catholics Ask

Results

Former drug dealer finds a better fit

09 Mar 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the reading from the Book of Genesis for this Sunday, Eve and Adam discovered that while the fruit from the tree was indeed good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom, once she and Adam ate it they felt shame. Turning from temptation to the good has an ex-drug dealer looking at bodies differently.Former drug dealer-turned seniors aerobics instructor Thomas Mickens followed a path in his 20s which included selling cocaine and employing more than 20 people to deal drugs for him in a New York City neighborhood. The former drug kingpin had numerous vehicles and properties he had purchased from his profits of about $2.5 million in four years of drug sales. He was finally stopped by the FBI when a team of agents and narcotics officers from the New York City Police Department showed up at his door and arrested him in 1988. He was eventually convicted and sent to prison.During his time in jail, Mickens mother died. She had been half-paralyzed from a stroke and living in a nursing home where no one helped or motivated her, Mickens said. Also while in prison time he ended up in a facility that housed disabled prisoners. He worked out frequently and then slowly began showing them routines to strengthen their upper bodies. “They were so touched that I helped them,” Mickens said.After Mickens finished his 20-year term, he was paroled in 2008 and began leading two senior-citizen fitness classes per week. Those initial sessions led to work in more than 70 nursing homes and senior centers today where he or his staff provide exercise classes or facilities for seniors.According to a caseworker who knows Mickens, he has a special ability to connect with the elderly—and she was surprised to discover his criminal past. “That somebody could turn so completely around to becoming one of the healthiest people, and inspiring good health and wellness among seniors; it’s like two different people,” said Cathy Cahn, a caseworker with Services Now for Adult Persons. “I said to him, ‘I would have loved to have known you back then,’ and he said, ‘No, you wouldn’t.’ ”Homily hint: Recently Pope Francis observed: “God is in everyone’s life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs, or anything else—God is in this person’s life.” The Catholic approach to criminal-justice reform and rehabilitative justice begins with the recognition of the life and dignity of all persons: Those who are victims of crime but also the offenders who have caused harm. See the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ paper from last month on criminal and restorative justice. Source: An article by Jill Caryl Weiner for the New York Times

ex-convicts senior citizens fitness thomas mickens

Restricted

Word of the Week

24 November 2024

Solemnity

\sə-'lem-nə-tē\

From Latin sollemnis for “fixed ceremonial,” highest-ranking day of the church calendar that celebrates a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, Mary, the Mother of God, or another important saint. Solemnities override every other feast or memorial, including Sundays in Ordinary Time. The church assigns Sundays and solemnities three readings—from a prophet, apostle, and gospel—to instruct the faithful in the work of salvation.

Pronunciation Read more

© 2024 - TrueQuest Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

Website by ideaPort, LLC

Wait

Success

Error

We have detected that cookies are turned off in your browser settings. To ensure you have the best experience, we recommend that you change your settings to permit cookies for this website.

Get Help