Prisoners of hope

BY TONY DOS SANTOS

Ten years ago I was placed under house arrest for illicit diamond buying and in July 2006 was sentenced to an eight-year jail sentence. I lost everything, including my family, and my world collapsed. I started my jail sentence in July 2010, two months after the 2010 Men’s Weekend in the Cape.

After serving only two and half years at Pollsmoor I was set free, by the same judge who sentenced me — not even on parole, I was completely free.

I believed that God was going to perform a miracle. I surrounded myself with a new circle of friends. These friends I met through my parish, through an Alpha course and through cellgroups, as well as on the Men’s Weekend.

I also must give credit to my sisters and parents. But, most of all, the glory goes to God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, for everything in him is possible.

During this very tough time, the friends I made at the Catholic Men’s Weekend prayed and encouraged me to stay strong and to maintain my faith. Their constant prayer, dedication and faithfulness was seen by God, and he answered their prayers.

These men are just normal people. They chose a life with Christ and fellow believers, learnt to respect one another and to understand that we all need life challenges to grow closer to God.

If you are a man, ask yourself the following questions: Am I being challenged in my work and home environment? Are things around me falling apart? Do I have the urge or the hunger to grow? Am I crying out and feel that God is not listening to me? Do I need to increase my faith?

If you have answered “yes” to any of the abovementioned questions, then the solution may well be in a Catholic men’s ministry, such as the Catholic Men’s Weekend which has done so much for me.

They are an opportunity to meet men who have conquered difficult circumstances, men whose faith has grown and who maintain that faith.

The weekends provide Catholic men with the tools to become better persons and to awaken the greatness of God in them, the God of I AM.

God told St Paul:  “My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). This is an example of the men God wants us to be—to know the fullness of his love and grace.

During my incarceration of two and half years, God spoke to me through his Holy Word and I have become a prisoner of hope for him. He said to me: “As for you also, because of the Blood of My Covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope, today I declare that I will restore to you double” (Zechariah 9:11-12).

This promise is for us all who might be a “prisoner” of our circumstances. But we can be set free by becoming Prisoners of Hope.

A Men’s Weekend will be held at Bergkroon in Wellington from November 15-17 at the cost of R400, which includes accommodation and all meals. Contact Wayne de Villiers on 079 940 1853 or e-mail