Fr Greg Boyle SJ visited the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS) in the first week of September. Accompanied by homies, Hector and Steve, he shared his experiences and reflections on the transformative power of love, community, and accompaniment, the same values that deeply echo in the mission of the Philippine Jesuits’ prison ministry.
Fr Boyle, who founded Homeboy Industries, the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry programme in the world, shared a powerful example of former gang rivals who once considered one another enemies and were involved in violent conflicts but who eventually found themselves working alongside one another in Homeboy Industries.
“Enemies, rivals, and guys who used to shoot at each other now mak[e] croissants together,” shares Fr Boyle.
His story offers a reminder that relationships can be transformed when people are given the opportunity to encounter one another not as enemies, but as human beings worthy of dignity and belonging.
This message is particularly meaningful in the context of prison ministry. Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) are often among the people least likely to receive opportunities for healing, reconciliation, and genuine accompaniment during their incarceration. Society can sometimes see them primarily through the lens of their offences or past actions, leading to the belief that they have little or no possibility of changing.
Fr Boyle’s ministry challenges this perception by proclaiming a different message: people are capable of transformation when they are met with love, community, and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
At the heart of his sharing was a profound reflection on discovering one’s true self through love. Fr Boyle reminded the PJPS community, “You find your true self in loving, and once you know that your true self is in loving, then you know that loving is your home, and you’re never going to be homesick again.” His words point to love not merely as an emotion but as a way of being.
For PJPS, this message is an invitation to continue the work of the Lord in prison ministry. To accompany PDL is to recognise their dignity, walk with them through their struggles, and help create spaces where healing, reconciliation, and hope can take root.
A visit to PJPS’ Ex-preso, a coffee cart enterprise run by Persons Restored of Liberty (PRL)
It is also a reminder that transformation does not happen through judgment alone, but through relationships that allow people to experience that they are still seen, valued, and capable of becoming more than their past.
Fr Boyle’s visit was not only an inspiring encounter. It also strengthened the PJPS community’s commitment to proclaim a message that the world needs to hear: love is transformative. Those whom society may consider beyond redemption can still experience healing and change when they are accompanied with compassion, dignity, and hope.
Inspired by Fr Boyle and the work of Homeboy Industries, PJPS is encouraged to continue investing in people: to continue walking with those in prison and those rebuilding their lives after incarceration through our Persons Restored of Liberty (PRL) programme. Most importantly, we are called to remain steadfast in witnessing to the Gospel truth that no person should be defined solely by their past and that every person carries the possibility of transformation.
