Prayer

For those of us whose apostolate is within the world, the prayerful power and contemplative intercessions of the religious has our back, for they are a mighty arm of the Church and their prayer is one of the sharpest swords of the Word, now as it was centuries ago, when St. Teresa of Avila wrote these words: "I think we should act as people do when, in time of war, the enemy has overrun the country and the king finds himself hard pressed. He retires into a strongly fortified town from whence he sometimes makes a sortie. The small company with him in the citadel, being picked men, are better than a large army of cowardly soldiers; thus they often come off victors, they are not vanquished for there is no traitor in their ranks and famine alone can conquer them. No famine can force us to surrender--it may kill us--it cannot vanquish us! But why have I told you this? To teach you, my sisters, that we must ask God to grant that, of all the good Christians in this fort, none may desert to the enemy, that no traitor may be found here, and that the captains of this castle, or city--that is, the preachers and theologians--may be proficient in the way of our Lord. Since most of these are religious, you must pray that they may advance in perfection and may follow their vocation more perfectly. This is very necessary, for, as I said, it is the arm of the Church and not of the State which much defend us now. We, being women, can fight for our King in neither way: Let us, then, strive so to live that our prayers may avail to help these servants of God who have laboured hard to arm themselves with learning and virtue with which to help their Sovereign." The Way of Perfection, [1565]. (1997). Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers. (pp. 16-17)

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The Church

760 Christians of the first centuries said, "The world was created for the sake of the Church." God created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by the "convocation" of men in Christ, and this "convocation" is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things, and God permitted such painful upheavals as the angels' fall and man's sin only as occasions and means for displaying all the power of his arm and the whole measure of the love he wanted to give the world.

Just as God's will is creation and is called "the world," so his intention is the salvation of men, and is called "the Church." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #760)

Publications

All publications are free to members of the Lampstand Foundation.

Our publications examine the terrain where crime, history, Catholicism, human and organizational behavior, walk along paths through the criminal city we cannot readily perceive, but within which we can discern a deep rubric of transformation, redemption, the prodigal son's return, and urban-contemplative spiritual warrior knights, enriched and strengthened by Catholic teaching and daily sacramental praxis; in response to the ancient anointing recalled by the Decree of Vatican II:

"2. The Lord Jesus, "whom the Father has sent into the world" (Jn 10:36) has made his whole Mystical Body a sharer in the anointing of the Spirit with which he himself is anointed. In him all the faithful are made a holy and royal priesthood; they offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ, and they proclaim the perfections of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. Therefore, there is no member who does not have a part in the mission of the whole Body; but each one ought to hallow Jesus in his heart, and in the spirit of prophecy bear witness to Jesus." (Pope Paul VI (1965) Presbyterorum Ordinis #2)

Chulu Press Books

Chulu Press is an imprint of Lampstand.

The Criminal's Search for God: Criminal Transformation, Catholic Social Teaching, Deep Knowledge Leadership, and Communal Reentry: by David H. Lukenbill (2006) About a criminal life, personal transformation through education and deep spiritual work, the principles of Catholic social teaching, and the type of leadership needed to develop and manage effective criminal transformation programs. Paperback or E-Book is free to members, or the paperback can be ordered through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Criminals-Search-God-Transformation-Leadership/dp/0979167027/ref=sr_1_?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223677293&sr=8-1

Carceral World, Communal City: by David H. Lukenbill (2007) "The criminal world in the United States, with the carceral shaping of it, has become a coherent entity and within that entity it is the criminal world leadership to whom we must look for transformative leadership who have already transformed the pain of their suffering into the power of teaching others." (p. 8). Paperback or E-Book is free to members, or the paperback can be ordered through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Carceral-World-Communal-David-Lukenbill/dp/0979167051/ref=sr_1_1?e=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232238826&sr=8-1

The Criminal, The Cross & The Church: The Interior Journey: by David H. Lukenbill (2008) "The penitential criminal working to reform other criminals, wisely spends the rest of his life atoning for the harm he has done during his criminal life; not because the world requires it, but because the eternal balance requires it, his immortal soul requires it, and God wishes it." (Frontpiece) Paperback or E-Book is free to members, or the paperback can be ordered through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Cross-Church-Interior-Journey/dp/097916706X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233698679&sr=1-1

Capital Punishment & Catholic Social Teaching: A Tradition of Support, by David H. Lukenbill (2009) "This book is a defense of the scriptural and traditional Catholic position of support for capital punishment as expressed in the two universal catechisms, the Catechism of the Council of Trent, published by Pope Pius V in 1566, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by Pope John Paul II in 1992 & 1997 (First and Second Edition), in response to calls for its abolition." (p. 9) Paperback or E-Book is free to members, or the paperback can be ordered through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Capital-Punishment-Catholic-Social-Teaching/dp/0979167078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249062090&sr=8-1

All proceeds from Amazon.com book sales go directly to the Lampstand Foundation.

Lampstand Policy Primers

St. Dismas Day Policy Primer #1: (Terms-Thesis-Policy, March 25, 2007) E-Report (Free to members)

Summary: A criminal, as we use the term, is a professional criminal. Our thesis is that it takes a reformed criminal to reform criminals, and the policy we suggest is that of providing financial support for a model reentry program managed by a reformed criminal.

St. Dismas Day Policy Primer #2: (Catholic Social Teaching & Capital Punishment: A Tradition of Support, March 25, 2008) E-Report (Free to members)

Summary: One of the strongest statements from Christ concerning capital punishment is Matthew 18:6. The magisterium of the Catholic Church supports the use of capital punishment. Those within the social science field informed by Catholic teaching, with professional knowledge of criminal justice issues and an understanding of how evil is expressed within the criminal world, embrace that tradition. Research clearly indicates that capital punishment deters crime and saves lives.

St. Dismas Day Policy Primer #3: (Justice, Theology, Criminal Transformation & Pope Pius XII, March 25, 2009) E-Report (Free to members)

Summary: Justice informed by the theology of the Catholic Church, expressed through the social teaching and responding to the call of Pope Pius XII, can transform criminals. These stated principles, when coupled with the work of the Church through its saints, through its Popes, and the entire history of two thousand years of standing against the gates of hell, is a concrete story of standing on principle, speaking truth to power, walking the talk, proclaiming the truth to man; that will resonate with the criminal--when presented by another who shares the depth of experience represented by the criminal/carceral world--like none other.

St. Dismas Day Policy Primer #4: (Unpacking the Lampstand Catholic Reentry Program Model, March 25, 2010) E-Report (Free to Members)

Summary: The purpose of the Lampstand reentry model program is to evangelize criminals--those who are not Catholic and those who are--bringing them the truths of the social teaching of the Church, from a transformed criminal who has become a deep-knowledge leader, as it will lead to the leaving of their criminal life and conversion to communal life. The truths of the Catholic Church trump the truths of the criminal/carceral world, and as important to the criminal--as it is to all men--is the drive to know the truth; which the criminal already thinks he knows and has been living--the truths of the world--taught and learned under the influence of the prince of the world.

Lampstand Leadership Resources

Resources for Leaders of Criminal Transformation Programs (An annotated listing of professional associations, books, journals, newspapers, websites, reports and other resources for grassroots leaders.) E-Booklet (Free to members)

A Catholic Grassroots Organization Model (A workbook about a model reentry community program, staffed by one transformed criminal, helping 60-70 reentering prisoners annually on an annual budget of $70,000.00) E-Booklet (Free to members)

Annotated Catholic/Criminal Justice Bibliography (A resource that can help guide study, research, and reference around the issues that intersect with Catholicism and criminal justice.) E-Booklet (Free to members)

Lampstand Leader's Circle: Definitions, Experiential Requirements, Daily Practice, & Resources (A workbook defining the professional criminals our work is directed to, their life benchmarks, and the daily practice necessary to become a member of the Lampstand Leader's Circle.) E-Booklet (Free to members)

Praying the Rosary for the Criminal (A resource that is useful for penitential criminals who pray the rosary, incorporating prayers and brief histories of five great penitential criminal saints: St. Mary Magdalen, St. Dismas, St. Pope Callistus, St. Mary of Egypt, & St. Paul Hanh.) E-Booklet (Free to Members)

Lampstand Periodic Monographs

Lampstand Monograph #1: (Capital Punishment & Matthew 18:6) E-Paper (Free to members)

Abstract: Matthew 18:6 is perhaps the clearest expression of support for capital punishment spoken by Christ. The Catholic & Protestant commentaries about this verse and the teaching of the entire chapter reveal the vigorous sanctions - capital punishment and banishment - Christ taught as applying to the members of the church community who violate its teachings. Matthew 18 has long been acknowledged as a Discourse on the Church, but not enough attention has been devoted to its support for capital punishment; and the historic support of the magisterium for capital punishment, and the corrosive direction taken by some segments of Catholic leadership in the United States to abolish capital punishment, all of which are the subject of this monograph.

"God longs for the tears of criminals; He thirsts for the tears of sinners." (St. John Chrysostom)

The Lampstand Foundation

Publications

Chulu Press Books

Lampstand Policy Primers