To go to a prison means first of all to say to yourself: “If I am not here, like this woman, like this man, it is only by the grace of God”. The pure grace of God. If we did not slip into making these mistakes, offences or crimes, some of them grave, it is because the Lord held us by the hand. You can’t enter a prison with the spirit of “I come here to tell you about God, because, forgive me, you are an inferior class, you are a sinner...”. No, no! I am a bigger sinner than you are, and this is the first step. ...
And in prison always say this, even with the many people who are suffering: why is this person suffering and not me? Why doesn’t this person know God? Why doesn’t he hope in eternal life? He thinks everything ends here, and I do not. Why is this person accused in court, why is he corrupt... and not I? By the grace of the Lord! This is the most beautiful preparation for going out to the margins.
--Pope Francis to Community of Christian Life, 30 April 2015
Not in prison by the grace of God
