Donald Stoesz

Magic of Fiction in Illuminating Transformation Donald Stoesz

This book is a direct response to the two most frequently asked questions that I receive as a prison chaplain:

Are offenders remorseful for what they have done?
Is it possible for them to change?

While the answer to the first question is often a resounding Yes!, this does not mean that it is always possible for inmates to change. Some of them find it too difficult, too much sacrifice, too much work. Others are willingly to make the long journey toward healing and wholeness.

The intractability of Tom Riddle in the Harry Potter series is used to look at the challenges of feeling remorse. The story of Jean Valjean details the journey from remorse to forgiveness, from grace to justification, from being reborn to becoming sanctified, from becoming holy to learning how to love. Jesus' remarks that "he can lay down his life and take it up again" is used to develop a stronger theology of the will. The divine and human will are ever present in enabling change to occur. The sacrificial example of Saint Francis of Assisi shows how voluntary poverty, chastity, and obedience are necessary ingredients in becoming spiritually whole. The book concludes with a reflection on Dismas, the first Christian martyr....