Mercy has an address

On the Catholic call to visit the imprisoned, and why a stamp can be a form of prayer.

Most of us can't visit a prison. But almost all of us can write.

The call is old and clear: visit the imprisoned. Letter-writing turns a corporal work of mercy into something anyone can do from a kitchen table — for the price of a stamp.

Mercy, it turns out, has an address. All you have to do is write to it.