God’s light reaches everywhere, even in prison on Christmas Eve
Bishop Michael Olson and Seminarian Jeffrey Ambreit Jr. stand before Federal Medical Center Fort Worth, a federal prison for about 1,500 make inmates, on Dec. 24, 2026. (NTC/Susan Moses)
FORT WORTH — From the light of candles on the Advent wreath to the lights on a Christmas tree, symbols of Christmas remind us: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5)
Across the Diocese of Fort Worth, Advent wreath candles and Christmas tree lights burned brightly on Christmas Eve, including at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth (FMC-FW), a federal prison for about 1,500 male inmates with special medical and mental health needs.
Bishop Michael Olson continued his tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve Mass at FMC-FW, accompanied by seminarian Jeffrey Ambreit Jr. and long-time prison ministry volunteers Reyna Castelán and Phil Luebbehusen.
More than 30 men participated wholeheartedly in the liturgy. Two helped prepare the altar for Mass; two others read the Scriptures; and all joined in the unaccompanied renditions of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Away in a Manger.”
For Ambreit, completing the background check and passing through security “was a hassle, but it was a good experience to serve and help celebrate Mass in the prison. Even in darkness, there’s light. [Jesus] provides the light, but we can be His instruments.”
The readings and Bishop Olson’s homily spoke of the contrast between the loneliness and fear found in darkness and the unity and love found in light.
Bishop Olson told the inmates our encounter with Jesus proves “we don’t belong to the dark. Neither will the dark prevail. We belong to the Christ Child, the light of the world.
“We can rightly and truly say that the Christ Child who has come tonight has been born for me,” he said.
All sinners
Luebbehusen makes weekly visits to FMC-FW to join the inmates for Sunday Mass, usually celebrated by Father Richard Collins, and he remains afterward to help a few men who are preparing to enter the Church this spring.
When he began visiting the facility seven years ago, he had doubts that he was equipped for prison ministry.
Looking back, he sees the impact that visiting inmates has on his faith, helping him understand “what it means that Jesus came to heal sinners. And we’re all sinners.”
As the Good Shepherd parishioner has built relationships with the inmates, he has observed, “Faith grows in importance among the men. They have fewer distractions and are forced to self-reflect, become reacquainted with spiritual and eternal matters.”
He said the prisoners are very appreciative of the conversations after Mass, especially because FMC-FW houses prisoners from across the country, making it difficult for most families and friends to visit the men.
Notwithstanding the inmates’ gratitude, Luebbehusen said, “I get a lot more from them than I give to them. It’s the most impactful thing in my life, besides family.”
The Lord’s call
For Ambreit, who is currently serving his pastoral year at All Saints Parish in Fort Worth, Christmas Eve was his first visit to FMC-FW. He initially made note of the friendliness of the inmates, who greeted the bishop warmly at the beginning and end of the Christmas Eve Mass.
Although the congregation comprised all men dressed in prison khaki and the chapel lacked some sacred objects, “at some point it kind of became a regular Mass,” Ambreit recalled.
Last fall, Ambreit and seminarian Michael Marincel accompanied Bishop Olson to the federal women’s prison in Fort Worth, where the prelate baptized and confirmed inmates.
Ambreit said the visits are a response to Jesus’ call to visit the imprisoned, “not only to visit them, but to bring Jesus’ presence to them. They are in there for a reason, but they’re children of God like the rest of us.”
Children in a place reached by the light, even in the dark of winter.