John P. Aguiar, right, accepts a certificate of appreciation from the State of Hawaii for his nearly four decades of prison ministry.
John P. Aguiar, a longtime parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Hilo, began ministering to prison inmates in his mid-50s. That was 38 years ago. The sharp, humble 93-year-old is still at it. He was honored recently for his quiet work bringing the Gospel to those behind bars.
The State of Hawaii awarded “Brother John,” as Aguiar is affectionately called, a certificate of appreciation, “Living for a cause greater than yourself,” at a March 30 event organized by the inter-denominational Good News Jail and Prison Ministry in Hilo. Christian ministers, prison staff and others celebrated his legacy of loving service.
The certificate recognized Aguiar’s “honorable, inspiring and dedicated service to those who are incarcerated.”
“Your presence exemplifies great vision of a better life, peace, hope and opportunity,” it said.
Aguiar spoke about his work to the Hawaii Catholic Herald by phone from the Big Island April 7. He hoped his story might encourage others to spread God’s grace to the incarcerated.
Aguiar said his prison ministry began on a whim. He was president of the Legion of Mary lay Catholic organization in Hilo four decades ago when he and a friend decided to go to the Hawaii Community Correctional Center after a group meeting.
The two men met with the HCCC warden and expressed an interest in becoming prison ministers. They were put to work shortly afterward.
“I got that feeling to go,” Aguiar said. “I was called and I just went. That was on a Friday, and I started the Sunday of the next week.”
Aguiar was already volunteering for his parish and community at the time. He did hospital ministry and brought Communion to the homebound. Visiting the prisoner became just another work of mercy Aguiar eagerly took on.
He goes to HCCC three days a week, spending 10 hours total at the facility. Early in his ministry he’d fly to Oahu a few times a year to visit Halawa and Waiawa prisons and the Women’s Community Correctional Center in Kailua.
At 93, Aguiar no longer travels outside the Big Island. His passion for sharing Christ, however, still shines. His “classes” at HCCC, where he speaks, prays and reflects on Scripture, welcome about 100 inmates each week.
“I didn’t slow down a bit, nothing,” he said.
Aguiar may be the only Catholic volunteer presently visiting HCCC. He is acquainted with volunteers from other faiths who provide services there as well.
Prayer, fellowship, Scripture
His time with the inmates begins with an opening prayer, followed by a short period of fellowship and a Bible class. They then sing hymns and conclude with prayer.
Aguiar picks the Scripture reading for reflection before his visits. Sometimes he selects passages from the Gospels, but he said his favorite lines come from the psalms.
“To me the psalms are inspiring,” he said. “I can pick up a short homily with the psalms. Then the feedback, with the questions they ask me, that’s just the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Aguiar’s “congregation” is not all Catholic. The sessions touch the prisoners in a profound way, regardless of their faith. Aguiar said that, as he shares the power of grace, he finds just as much returned to him by the inmates.
“I can see Christ in them,” he said. “These men incarcerated give me strength.”
On Easter Sunday, Aguiar was at HCCC for three hours, conducting three sessions filled to capacity. The services were “very beautiful,” he said. “We sang resurrection music, and we prayed, and we shared, and we laughed.”
“I got all ‘chicken skin,’” he said. “We had fun.”
Aguiar also likes having “one-on-one” time with inmates. The prison chaplain and staff must approve requests for these personal appointments. Aguiar said that radical conversions have taken place after the heartfelt solitary spiritual sessions.
“I’ve seen men and women that changed their lives on the outside,” he said.
Prison ministry keeps Aguiar energized and provides him with a tremendous sense of purpose. He lives alone — “I was never married and God never game me children or family, but he gave me a beautiful mother and a beautiful sister” — but his work fulfills him.
“I’m busy all the time,” Aguiar said. “I got more friends from the prison than outside!”
Aguiar recently received a card from an inmate who was housed at HCCC about 20 years ago and is now incarcerated in Arizona. The man wrote that he might be released soon. Aguiar is overjoyed by his progress and attributes it to the power of prayer.
“Prayer is beautiful anywhere, but in the prison there’s something different,” he said. “You can feel the Holy Spirit in there.”
Stories like this were shared when Aguiar was honored March 30 at the Good News Jail and Prison Ministry event. It was the ministry’s Big Island chaplain, Mike Sidman, an ordained minister of the Church of God, who chose to spotlight the Catholic volunteer that evening.
Sidman said Aguiar has made an enduring impression on him and others in their service.
“You just never get a person like that too often,” Sidman told the Hawaii Catholic Herald by phone April 13. “Not only is he sharing Christ according to the Scriptures, but he’s sharing Christ’s love and frankness when someone needs to hear what the Lord wants them to hear.”
Aguiar is grateful to have done prison ministry for as long as he has. He understands that it is not a line of work for everyone, but encourages people to at least “give it a try.”
“Prison ministry is caring, sharing, loving and giving,” Aguiar said. “It is very rewarding.”
Deacon Efrain Andrews of the diocesan prison ministry said there is a need for Catholic volunteers to serve at correctional facilities on all islands. Those interested in volunteering can contact him at efrain.andrews@gmail.com or call Paulette Vernay of the diocesan Respect Life Office at 203-6722.
