The National Catholic Office for the Deaf

Continued on page 3—WYD

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From the Board

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More WYD

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Believing

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Springfield

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Signs

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Trinity

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ICDA-Midwest

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Cursillo

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Spring 2014

Volume 33/Number 1

WORLD YOUTH DAY REFLECTION -By Colin Lualdi (Boston Deaf Catholic Youth)

Today, a lot of young Catholics are finding it harder than ever to nourish their faith and stay active in their Church. With numerous media, societal and peer influences casting religion in a negative light, this is understandable. I know this because I am one of the youth I am speaking of. Many of us feel disillusioned after hearing so much criticism against the Church, and as a result, choose to keep our faith a part of our private lives. However, my participation in the Catholic pilgrimage to the 2013 World Youth Day (WYD) in Rio de Janeiro Brazil changed everything. The ten days I spent there with twenty other members from the Sacred Heart Deaf Catholic community and approximately 150 other Catholics from the Archdiocese of Boston helped me perceive the Church and my faith in a whole new way. From the moment I saw the multitude of joyful Catholic enthusiastically waving their flags on Copacabana beach during the Final Mass with Pope Francis, I realized that my perception of the Church had been completely mistaken. What I thought was a weakening Church with a declining number of faithful is actually one full of youthful energy and passion.

A Pastoral Service for Persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

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The Official Publication of the National Catholic Office for the Deaf

Published quarterly by

NCOD Home Office 7202 Buchanan Street

Landover Hills, MD 20784

Email: info@ncod.org www.ncod.org

Please email your articles, pictures, or announcements for consideration in future issues to info@ncod.org or mail them to the above address

prior to the first of August, November, February, and May

Episcopal Moderator Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend Fort Wayne, IN Region IV—Great Lakes President Monsignor Glenn Nelson Rockford, IL NCODPresident@gmail.com Region V—The Northeast Vice-President Deacon Patrick Graybill Rochester, NY pagnpa@rit.edu Region III—The Midwest Secretary Pat Richey Olathe, KS richey1976@yahoo.com Region I—The West Fr. Paul Zirimenya San Francisco, CA Zirimenya@gmail.com Region II—The South Arthine Vicks Powers New Orleans, LA avicks@bfs.nocoxmail.com Region VI—Southeast Atlantic Frania Franch Marietta, GA Frania.franch@gmail.com Region VII-Mid Atlantic Laureen Lynch-Ryan Landover Hills, MD Lynch-ryanl@adw.org Deaf Pastoral Workers’ Representative Fr. Shawn Carey Boston, MA frshawn@deafcatholic.org ICDA-US Representative Terri Matenaer Milwaukee, WI tvmatenaer@gmail.com Board Member at Large R. Gregory Schott Naples, FL rgschott@comcast.net

NCOD Board of Directors

Spring is here!!! Many of us didn’t think it would ever happen. It is a time of thanksgiving for all the blessings extolled upon us during this cold winter and to share our good fortune with others. It is a time to reflect on God’s presence in our lives. A time to see the beauty of God’s world as it awakens from its winter sleep.

It is also the time to prepare for the many activities in our future. See pages 20 & 21 for information about the 39th BIENNIAL ICDA-US MIDWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE to be held in Cincinnati.

Then there is the 2014 National Deaf Cursillo Reunion to be held in Kansas City. The reunion theme is “The Son Shines on the Cursillo Movement.” Check out page 23 for more information.

We have two great reflections on World Youth Day, one from the perspective of Deaf youth and one from the perspective of the parent/chaperone. And check out the additional pictures on page 22.

Did you know that St. Benedict’s in San Francisco is one of only four Deaf parishes in the US? Get all the scoop on page 12 or from Fr. Zirimenya the next time you see him.

Happy Spring!

NCOD Board of Directors

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Continued from page 1— WYD

Seeing millions of young adults gathered from all over the world unified in an exuberant profession of faith was awe-inspiring and made me proud and excited to be a part of a wonderful, international community that has chosen to follow Jesus’ teachings.

It is difficult to describe the amazing experience of approaching a fellow pilgrim and instantly bonding over the simple fact that you share a common faith. This occurs even in the absence of a common language! The Catholic Church is indeed a universal Church that welcomes all nations and peoples. Whether it be our friends from Fr. Jeremy St. Martin’s parish of St. John’s in Townsend, MA, the co-workers that I randomly bumped into a crowd of three million, or all the strangers that I conversed with, all those gathered for this pilgrimage belong to one Church.

My pilgrimage experience has made me realize that there is nothing wrong with being a devout Catholic. There is no need to advertise one’s faith, but there is no need to hide it away. The Church might have problems that we are not proud of, but we should be proud of its fundamental teachings. So much goodness comes out of more than one billion Catholics and their acts of faith all around the world.

Besides arriving at this conclusion, I was fortunate to experience spiritual growth as well. During my senior year in high school, a year of intense academics, I struggled to find time to muse upon the teachings of the Church for any significant amount of time, but during WYD, I had all the time I wanted to ask questions and discuss the church’s teachings. Consequently, I began to understand and strengthen my own faith. I especially enjoyed the daily catechesis that we

attended. Each day a Cardinal was invited to teach and present a topic from the various aspects of our Catholic faith. Cardinal Dolan of New York was quite entertaining, and I was especially inspired by our own Cardinal O’Malley who was also invited to lead a session.

Traveling with our wonderful group of pilgrims from the Deaf Catholic Community made the trip that much more enjoyable. It was exceptionally rewarding to experience the strengthening of our faith together. By sharing so many spiritual experiences and a variety of challenges together that began on the first day of our journey, our group has returned sharing a special bond. Despite our individual idiosyncrasies, without the peer support given by each member of our group our WYD experience would not have been as meaningful.

In conclusion, I would like to share an especially inspiring experience that we all witnessed our first day in Rio. Our group was fortunate to obtain tickets to visit the world famous Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado, and all were looking forward to seeing it. However, after disembarking the train that had taken us to the top of the mountain, we were disappointed to discover that the statue was hidden from our sight by clouds. However, just a couple of minutes after we arrived as we were attempting to define the form of the statue veiled by haze, the sun suddenly appeared and the clouds instantaneously dissolved revealing the magnificent statue of Christ in all of its gigantic splendor! It was a powerful transformation to see happen right before our eyes, and a powerful symbol of the ultimate purpose of our pilgrimage.

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Another WYD Reflection

It is August 21, 2011, and I am sitting on my couch praying. I had just turned off the coverage of World Youth Day (WYD) in Madrid, where Pope Benedict XVI had announced the next WYD would be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As I prayed, my soul was stirred with a very strong thought that God was calling me to attend WYD in 2013. Not one to travel, and feeling I was well beyond the age of participating in WYD, I flippantly asked God for a sign that it was Him putting this desire on my heart. Next to me on the couch was a book from my confessor, Richard Gribble, CSC. It was the biography of Father Pat-rick Peyton, which he had written, and had given it as a gift to me after I had shared that I had begun a ritual of visiting Fr. Peyton’s grave after our confessions, which occurred almost weekly.

I looked at the front of the book, knowing absolutely nothing about Fr. Pey-ton’s life, other that he was Irish, nearly died from Tuberculosis but had received a miracle from the Blessed Mother, he was referred to as the rosary priest, founded Holy Cross Family Ministries and coined the phrase, “The Family that Prays To-gether, Stays Together.” I reached for the book figuring I’d use it for requesting the sign, and once I was able to see I was be-ing silly, I would go back and finish with my prayers. I closed my eyes, prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill my heart and speak truth to my heart – I then opened the book to a random page, opened my eyes and as they focused I realized I was look-ing at the words, “Rio de Janeiro.”

I stored this moment in my mem-ory, astounded by these events, and even a little apprehensive – as a rule I try not to disregard God’s clear call to action in my life. A few months later, that same feeling crept into my thoughts as I was praying – that I was being called to WYD in Rio. This time, I didn’t doubt God was asking, I just needed clarification – who would I travel with, how would I pay for it, and why was I going? I can’t recall exactly how I thought of it, but within days I re-membered that the Boston Deaf Aposto-late had traveled to Madrid in 2011, and perhaps they could use an adult leader. Traveling with this group made sense, as my adoptive daughter, Faith is deaf, and I’m always looking for ways to improve my ASL and learn more about Deaf culture. I sent a quick email to Fr. Shawn Carey, head of the Deaf Aposto-late, and within minutes received his reply: “We would love to have you join us. We have just begun our fundraising drive, please come to our first planning meet-ing.” There I had my answers – the who, the how and the why.

A year and half later I was in Rio experiencing my first World Youth Day. On Tuesday, July 23rd, the twenty pil-grims in the Deaf Apostolate spent the day at Copacabana beach – at first we had plenty of space around us, we drank coco-nut milk from a whole coconut, met peo-ple from around the world, exchanged small trinkets and took lots of pic-tures. The weather was awful, with rain falling most of the day and night.

-By Allison Gingras (A member of the Boston Deaf Catholic whose adopted daughter , Faith, is Deaf)

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Continued on page 6— Reflection

After hours at the beach and a beautiful Mass, it was time for us to make our way back to the hotel. The beach looked crowded but manageable, so we hooked one behind each other, and made our way for the road. Things quickly went awry; the crowds thickened and pushed in. We could barely move, and with a backpack on my back and being the perfect height for others backpacks to be on my chest and back, I felt as if all the air was being squeezed from my lungs most of the time. I fought to get sideways, pushing people away to give myself room to breathe, all while holding onto the person in front and behind me.

My anxiety caused my heart to race, my head to swoon, and thoughts to turn dark, but I refused to succumb to any of it, and began loudly praying to Our Blessed Mother for assistance. Praise God, after 45 minutes, we were free of the suffocating crowd – but very weary from the experience. The next day, we walked to Vivo Rio where the English Catechesis ses-sions were to be held. In a definite mo-ment of God having pity on me, the day’s speaker was one of my most favorite Car-dinals, Timothy Dolan from New York. As the day progressed however, the thoughts of having to return to Copaca-bana beach on Thursday for Pope Francis’ arrival weighed heavy on my heart, and each time I pictured the scene from Tues-day night, my hands would tingle and my stomach would knot. The next day, as de-cision time drew even closer – the group was split, and I was fairly sure I could not place myself (or my son, Ian) back in that dangerous situation. A few moments later, the emcee announced that the Vivo Rio would be open that evening and simulcast-

ing the Pope’s arrival, thanks to the gener-osity of Holy Cross Family Ministries (which was founded by Fr. Patrick Pey-ton!!! The very biography who had launched this whole adventure).

On Friday, we once again made the mile plus walk from our hotel to the Vivo Rio convention site. That evening was to be the Stations of the Cross with the Pope on Copacabana, and once again we had a very difficult decision to make. All the fes-tivities were once again being simulcast at the Vivo Rio site, and with the weather be-ing dismal, the public transportation a dis-aster, and nerves still frayed, we decided once again to hang out with the other English speaking pilgrims -- enjoying con-venient clean bathrooms, delicious accessi-ble food, and a dry warm environ-ment. The decision to remain at Vivo Rio that evening was easy but we wrestled tre-mendously with the how to handle the Vigil and Closing Mass – after a group meeting it was clear we were split more than ever before.

The group was given a three-hour break before the Stations of the Cross that evening, and my small group, which in-cluded Fr. Shawn Carey, choose to walk to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Ja-neiro – to pray and discern what God was calling us to do. Fr. Shawn and I sat in the same row but at a distance, both went to our knees and began to dialog with God. The Cathedral was filled with so many distractions, an orchestra practices, people talking, bells chiming. At one point, I looked over at Fr. Shawn, with his eyes closed, his face peaceful, he looked so engaged in prayer – at that moment, I truly envied his deafness. When we finally rose,

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we genuflected and moved to the rear of the Cathedral – and at the same time signed, “I feel so at peace.” We laughed both feeling hundred times lighter from the decision making burden. We found Jenna Kish and Megan McKenna (who had walked with us that afternoon), and headed out to find something to eat. While awaiting for our food at Bob’s Burgers, of all places, I revealed what God had said to me in the Church, He had clearly stated, “This is their pilgrimage (referring to the pilgrims in our group that were Deaf or Hard of Hearing), do what they want.” Then God reminded me of the Scripture verse - Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.” The first thing I noticed was Fr. Shawn’s eyes were filled with tears, and he was signing same. I had to ask the interpreter to clarify what I thought he was telling me. Fr. Shawn had been given the EXACT SAME message I had been given, while we prayed side by side in silence.

We rushed back to share the good news with the group – whatever God had planned, we knew it was for our good, and we were ready to accept it and join in tomorrow’s pilgrimage to Copacabana beach.

Back at Vivo Rio I ran into Fr. John Phalen, President of Holy Cross Family Ministries. He told me about a disabilities area he had seen at Copacabana beach. It was carpeted, close to the stage, away from the crowds – he was fairly certain our group would qualify for entering this area. It was the first time I could think of returning to Copacabana without fear and anxiety taking over my body. The next morning as we made the 5+ mile pilgrimage to the beach, I was hopeful – and prayed the rosary as much for Mary’s intercession for grace and peace as for her intercession to help as gain access into this safe area. Half way through the journey we stopped for a porta-potty break, and which time Fr. Shawn met other pilgrims who were Deaf, and just happen to have an extra flag (on it was an ear with a line through it), used to gain entrance into the “Pilgrims with Disabilities” section! I say ‘happen’ but nothing is by coincidence when we put our

faith and trust in God, this was a GODCIDENCE!

When we arrived at the gate, we were ushered in – putting us about a football field or so away from the main stage. Never did I dream on my couch in 2011, that I would ever be this close – or that very evening, I’d be kneeled in prayer during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with the Pope! On the way to the beach, I learned that Fr. Shawn’s name had been selected to attend the Mass the Pope celebrates during WYD with the Bishops, Priests and Seminarians. Not waiting to abandon the pilgrims of whom he was in charge, Fr. Shawn forfeited this opportunity. I TRULY believe it was that sacrifice that touched Our Blessed Mother’s heart and allowed Fr. Shawn to be able to obtain that flag which was necessary for entrance that day. We were blessed because he was selfless. In adoration that evening, I considered what made Mary care so much for Priests – what entered into my heart was their sharing in her Son’s priesthood, and the sharing in her Son’s ministry and work. They are, at times, personification of her son, Jesus Christ, here on earth. She loves them so much, because they are her sons in this very profound way through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. We were able to return to that location the next morning for the closing Mass with Pope Francis as well!

“Never was it known that anyone who fled to your help or sought your intercession was left unaided…” from the Memorare

Continued from page 5—Reflection

More pictures on page 22.

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Seeing is Believing: International Deaf Culture at ICDA

Continued on page 8— Seeing

This past summer the biennial conference of the International Catholic Deaf Association (ICDA, July 14-19) was held at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. As a hearing writer with a special interest in Deaf ministry, I had the opportunity to have lunch with two of the Deaf priests who were present: Fr. Paul Fletcher from London and Fr. Joseph Bruce from Massachusetts—the world’s first two Deaf Jesuits. Here are a few highlights from our conversation, followed by a description of Fr. Paul’s enlightening and well-attended presentation at the conference, “A Deaf Perspective on Jesuit Spirituality.”

A Deaf Vocation After six years as Superior in

Stamford Hill (London, UK), Fr. Paul Fletcher now works as a retreat leader at Loyola Hall Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Rainhill, UK. I asked Fr. Paul about his vocation, and he told me the story using British Sign Language (BSL). Fortunately for me, he also voiced in his carefully trained British accent, acquired from years of speech therapy in England’s only Roman Catholic school for the deaf—St. John’s, Boston Spa. Fr. Paul is very articulate, but keeping my eyes on his face and hands was essential to experiencing the full impact of the conversation.

When Paul first recognized his vocation, he was working at the Brixton College Library in London. Eleven times he interviewed for a promotion, and eleven times he failed to get it because he was deaf and unable to use the telephone in the years before either TTY or TDD telephone Relay Services. He felt beaten by a lack of acceptance and trust and by his own deafness. Still, he needed a job, so he persevered. Finally he got the job and was promoted two grades to become Branch Librarian, but he promptly had a disagreement with his supervisor. Exasperated, he confided his troubles to a religious sister working for London’s Westminster Archdiocese’s Deaf Service. She invited him on a Holy Week retreat. “I thought it was a retreat to get away from London, the hassles of work, and my troubles,” he explained, “But by the end, I was seriously considering a vocation to the priesthood.”

A few months later, he found himself arriving in a Jesuit residence where welcoming faces greeted him. “It felt like coming home,” Fr. Paul reminisced. The novice master asked him to pray an Ignatian triple colloquy, the contemplative prayer in which the supplicant imaginatively approaches first Mary, then Jesus, then God the Father. During his colloquy, Fr. Paul had what he describes as a spiritual experience: specifically, God said He wanted Paul to use his gift of deafness.

by Marlana Portolano

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Paul’s response was “What do you mean? My deafness is a burden. It’s my cross to bear, not a gift!” At this point in the interview, Fr. Paul slowly traced the cross down and across as if it stood between us. Anticipating his next words, I said, “But the cross is a gift!” We paused, made eye contact, and he nodded. My eyes were tearing up, but he had made his point very clear with the concrete imagery of his signs.

In his colloquy, Paul questioned God: “You mean you want me to use sign language?” Yes, that was his discernment. Fr. Paul was called to be a priest who is always accessible to the deaf. Since then, Fr. Paul always signs when he celebrates Mass, even if he thinks the whole congregation can hear. “You never know when a deaf person is present. They may be there but unidentified, and the signed Mass may speak to them and draw them closer to God.”

The Deaf Catholic Archives, a Treasure of the Maryland Province

Next I was able to ask Fr. Joe Bruce about another Jesuit contribution to Deaf Catholic history: the Deaf Catholic Archives at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Because signed languages do not have an established written form, much Deaf Church history is unrecorded except in signed storytelling. Fr. Joe Bruce is a little-known scholar in this area, but he also has been collecting materials about Deaf Catholic history since he was in the seminary. Now housed in the Holy Cross Library, the Deaf Catholic Archive which he began contains over 80 boxes of

primary sources. The Archive contains manuscripts

on the idea of God to deaf people and hundred-year-old newspapers for deaf Catholics. Catholic schools for the deaf are documented in plenty, and sign language for religious purposes is illustrated from its early days. At ICDA, after the presentations, I observed Fr. Joe urging others to save important materials, some still in the hands of senior citizens who have given little thought to preservation. Like deafness itself, this kind of research is largely invisible to the rest of the world. Thanks to Fr. Joe, the Archive is a treasure of Church history waiting to be told.

During our lunch, I was able to talk to Fr. Joe about a particularly interesting text in the Archive. In the 1980s, Fr. Joe was visiting a Canadian monastery with several deaf sisters. He was given a rare French book entitled A Miracle of Faith, A Deaf-Mute Becomes a Priest, by Mme. Chaunac-Lanzac (1930, Paris). It is a biography of the first documented, born-deaf priest, Fr. Charles La Fonta (1878-1927). The story contains many parallels with Deaf men who are called to the priesthood today, including lifelong struggles to perfect spoken language, overcome impediments to seminary education, and finally minister to the Deaf in sign language. Fr. Joe brought the French text back to Massachusetts, where he asked Fr. Joseph Gautier, SJ, to translate it into English. Recently Fr. Myles Sheehan, Provincial of New England Province, gave Fr. Joe and I permission to edit and publish this translation with an introduction on the 20 Deaf vocations worldwide since Fr. La Fonta.

Continued from page 7—Seeing

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Continued on page 10—Seeing

A Deaf Perspective on Jesuit Spirituality

What does deaf ministry look like? I witnessed a vivid demonstration on July 18 at ICDA, when Fr. Paul gave his workshop on “Ignatian Spirituality: A Deaf Perspective.” The auditorium in Chapel Hall at Gallaudet University was full, with 150 deaf people giving rapt attention to Fr. Paul’s instruction on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. He presented voice-off in BSL while an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter translated and tactile interpreters signed for the few deaf-blind individuals. A voice interpreter (Mary O’Meara) spoke for the handful of hearing people like myself.

What does it mean, Fr. Paul asked, to have a deaf perspective in Ignatian spiritualiy? For the deaf, disciplined forms of prayer are most effective when they begin with concrete imagery. English remains a second language for many deaf people even in English-speaking countries, so it can be difficult for some to draw out full comprehension of a passage without first understanding the context of the scene. The deaf, he explained, are eye people. For many deaf people, communication with no eye contact is easy to ignore and disintegrates quickly. Praying through the senses (other than hearing) is key to making the experience productive for discernment.

How then, he asked, do the deaf imagine the voice of Jesus? The voice of God is incomprehensible for someone who has been deaf since birth. Fr. Paul has asked fellow Jesuits about Jesus’ voice in their own imaginative prayer practices: Does he speak English? Is it a British

accent? The answer is usually that hearing people don’t think about it: one simply communicates with Jesus and takes his voice for granted. What Fr. Paul told his audience at ICDA is a thought-provoking consequence of deafness in contemplative prayer: “I usually find the communication happens as something like telepathy. I just know what Jesus is communicating to me. I make eye contact, see his body language and his loving attitude, and I apprehend what he is telling me.”

“So,” he told his audience, “imaginative contemplation” – his sign is two fists beginning at the forehead and opening to an imaginary, three dimensional stage in front of the head. “Let’s try it.”

The passage he chose for this exercise was Mark 10:46-52, where Jesus heals the blind man Bartimeus. Jesus comes to Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people. Bartimeus cries out to Jesus, although others try to quiet him. Then, when Jesus calls to the blind man, he casts off his robe, stands, and goes to Jesus:

Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?” He answered, “Teacher, I want to see again.” Jesus said, “Go. You are healed because you believed.” Immediately the man was able to see again. He followed Jesus down the road. (Mark 10:51-52, NRSV adapted by Fr. Paul)

Fr. Paul showed a slide of the passage three times. He then interpreted the passage each time in iconic sign language that facilitated vivid, concrete imagery. “Imagine the town of Jericho,” he told them, and traced the shape of houses; “Imagine the street” – two hands marking out a way, with houses on either side;

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“Imagine the trees here and there” -upright forearm becomes the trunk and an outstretched palm the branches. “Now imagine Jesus walking down the street” – an index finger moves through the scene – “followed by a crowd of people.” Here a curved hand with five erect fingers moves behind the other hand’s single finger. The signed performance makes the scene spatially clear in ways only hinted in the text.

“Now imagine Bartimeus, the blind man, sitting on the ground with his cloak wrapped around him.” Fr. Paul mimes the poor man, hunched near the ground with a cloak covering his head until he senses the presence of Jesus. Then he then turns up his head, throws off the cloak, leaps up and encounters Jesus in person. “Now, I want you to close your eyes and imagine being in this scene. Imagine asking Jesus what you want to know from him, and see what happens. Everyone’s experience will be different, and that’s okay. This is your personal experience of the Bible story. I will stomp my feet on the floor to rouse you with the vibrations after a few minutes, and then I’ll ask you to share.”

So there I sat, surrounded by deaf and Deaf-blind people, all eyes closed, imagining the scene of Bartimeus’ encounter with Jesus of Nazareth. Afterwards, several people shared their experience. “I sensed the courage to get up, keep going, and continue my journey.” “It was the first time I noticed that Bartimeus threw off a cloak when he got up. I had to think about that.” “I felt peaceful; I nearly fell asleep.” Sleep and peace are good, Fr. Paul tells this person:

“It doesn’t matter if you fall asleep. You try to discern. Think about what you want, and what Jesus wants from you. Are they the same?”

The last person to share is Fr. Cyril Axelrod, a deaf-blind Redemptorist priest and a convert from Orthodox Judaism who is originally from South Africa. Fr. Cyril recently was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work founding Deaf schools and churches with the Deaf Society in Hong Kong. His interpreter led him to the stage, where he signed to the audience, “This is a hard passage for me to contemplate. So many times I have wanted to ask Jesus to give me sight. After all, he could do it, he is God. But he does not. So I have to think, what does God want me to do? I believe that God wants me to see with my heart.”

For me, it made a big difference to contemplate this passage among a group of Deaf and Deaf-blind Christians who understand each other so well, but who most of the time are painfully isolated from others by lack of communication. From Fr. Paul’s exercise, it was clear how Bartimeus had been cut off from society before Jesus called him. But afterwards, he was joined with others in loving company among equals. This is what these two Jesuits and many others in deaf ministry are doing: raising up those who might otherwise be left alone and calling them disciples.

Continued from page 9—Seeing

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Deaf ministry story from Springfield Diocese

SPRINGFIELD – It was his first time. He was nervous. And, if you weren’t paying close attention, you might have thought that Father Matthew J. Alcombright had made a big mistake.

At a special 1:30 p.m. Mass Jan. 19 held at Mary, Mother of Hope Parish here, he told the nearly 70 people from the deaf community to “Let today be a day that we clearly hear His voice.”

But Father Alcombright, director of the Diocese of Springfield’s Office of Ministry with the Deaf, wasn’t speaking literally. In fact, he didn’t even say the words out loud.

He was speaking of clearly understanding the word of the Lord, something the members of the community had an easier time doing since the Mass was celebrated in American Sign Language (ASL).

“Let today be a day we are all called to be holy,” he said as he concluded his homily. Since his ordination to the priesthood in 2012, Father Alcombright has often deliv-ered homilies verbally at Masses that were interpreted for the deaf and hearing impaired. However, even though he is fluent in ASL, this was the first time that he had delivered a homily using that language primarily.

The liturgy was con-celebrated by Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell, Father Michael Bernier, pastor of the parish, and Father Alcombright, who serves as the associate pastor at the parish.

Father Alcombright says that celebrating a signed Mass is in keeping with one of the mandates of Vatican II, to celebrate Mass in the common tongue. “It’s in the spirit of Vatican Two, for the full, active, conscious participa-tion in the liturgy, and that’s what we’re trying to do here for the deaf,” he told iobserve.

“That’s why it’s so important to provide this ministry,” he said.

The Office of Ministry with the Deaf is completely funded by the diocesan Annual Catholic Appeal. The office provides services so that the deaf and hearing im-paired can fully participate in the life of the Catholic Church. In addition to signed and interpreted Masses, such services include providing religious education for children and adults, sacramental preparation, and visita-

tion to homes, nursing homes, hospitals, and prisons.

An interpreted Mass for the deaf and hearing impaired is held each weekend at the parish at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Additionally, an ASL (signed) Mass is celebrated on the third Sunday of each month.

The Jan. 19 liturgy was the regularly-scheduled January Mass. However, it attracted many more than the usual number of participants because of the celebration of the feast day of the patron saint of the deaf.

Attendees from the greater Springfield area were joined by those from Boston, Rhode Island and Connecticut for the special celebration, held in advance of the Jan. 24 feast day of St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622).

Kay Woods, who has been involved in the Ministry with the Deaf for more than 30 years, told iobserve through an interpreter how meaningful it is to be able to have the deaf community worship with the broader community.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to do that,” she told iobserve through the interpretive services of Debbie Geoffroy. Geoffroy also interpreted for the hearing at the Mass.

Referring to the deaf and hearing impaired community, Woods said, “I think that our presence here helps the hearing people to see that we are a community and we are open to meeting people and that hearing and deaf people can live and work together.”

Father Alcombright said that both the hearing and the deaf communities being able to gather together in wor-ship is very meaningful.

“This is living out our Catholic faith, our universal faith,” he said. “No matter the language, no matter who we are, no matter if we’re deaf or hearing, we worship the one God. We gather around the table of the Eucha-rist and we worship here together.”

Participants also gathered at table following the liturgy as a dinner was held in the parish social center.

More information on the deaf ministry is available by contacting the Office of Ministry with the Deaf. The VP line is 413-241-3193, the TTY number is 413-391-7340, and the voice line is 413-739-0456, Ext. 7. The office’s email is cathdeafmin@diospringfield.org.

Deaf and hearing impaired ‘called to be holy’ at special Mass Story by Terence Hegarty

Reprinted with permission:

Catholic Communications

RC Diocese of Springfield, MA

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Reprinted with permission:

The New Fillmore

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The Trinity Three Ways

Posted on January 14, 2014 by lportolano

This week I observed three sermons in sign language for three Deaf audiences, all on the same mass reading, Matthew 3:13-17. It’s appropriate that I received homiletic messages “in three’s” this particular week, because tradition tells us that this gospel story is the first revelation of the trinity. As John baptizes Jesus, we see all three aspects of the trinity at the same time: Jesus the human being standing there in the flesh, the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove, and the Father as a voice from the sky proclaiming “This is my beloved son.” In similar communicative diversity, the three homilies I saw included one sermon delivered as the human body signing, one spoken sermon mediated through visual signs in the form of an interpreter, and one sermon delivered through the aether via the Internet.

The first homily was delivered in American Sign Language (ASL) by Fr. Christopher Klusman at St. Roman Catholic Church in Milwaukee. The gospel reading had also been delivered in ASL by Deacon David Sommers, also Deaf. I loved seeing Deacon Dave’s visual rendition of the baptism story — the water drenching Jesus’ head in the form of fingers trickling over his scalp; and especially the dove, which Deacon Dave embodied in giant form, flapping his arms at full length in a surprisingly graceful image that im-mediately called to mind Da Vinci’s iconic painting of the baptism. Then Fr. Christopher stood in front of his assembly, the regular 6 pm vigil mass at St. Roman Church. About 45 people attended, several hearing but mostly Deaf parishioners. At 37, Fr. Christopher is among the youngest of the few Deaf priests in the world. He has a reputation for being a great teacher and having a shining charism for joy, both apparent in his homily Saturday evening. For many Deaf signers, Fr. Christopher’s visual explanation of the symbolic meaning of baptism may be the first time the story had been presented in a language accessible to them. He spent time discussing baptism as a new birth into the family of the trinity, and he explained how holy water at the entrance to the church is a remembrance of bap-tism. Fr. Christopher’s preaching style makes use of

his whole body and a significant area of space around him, so that viewers get a clear image of baptism as going down, under water, and then rising up again, which in the language of gesture is distinctly similar to being buried and resurrected.

Then, Fr. Christopher used an example that is familiar to just about every American: the revelation of Darth Vader as the father of Luke Skywalker in the iconic movie from the 1980s, Star Wars. Everyone, Deaf and hearing alike, perked up and began to wonder where he would take this. Of course it was a negative exam-ple, ending with Luke crying “Noooo!” and denying

his parentage from the Dark Side. Fr. Christopher vividly called to mind the famous battle scene, his fingers repre-senting dueling light sabers in an ex-panded and dramatic use of space. For a moment he was Darth Vader himself, holding four fingers over his mouth up-w a r d f r o m t h e c h i n i n t h e sign imitating Vader’s mask. However, Fr. Christopher went on to compare how in the gospel story, Jesus does the oppo-site, showing everyone his resound-ing Yes! as he acknowledges his parent-age, which is, Fr. Christopher says, also our adopted parentage. It is a message for all nations, he says, as the first read-ing from from Acts of the Apostles ex-plains about those who had been in exile but still fear God. Because he is preach-

ing for a mixed Deaf-and-hearing audience, Fr. Chris-topher then needs to explain that last analogy: For many years, even to this day, the Deaf were in exile like the Israelites before the time of Jesus, but through Christ all people can be united in one body by receiv-ing baptism. For Catholics, the sacraments represent ideal accessibility, and the signed language makes good on that promise for a Deaf audience.

Most of the hearing people in the audience received Fr. Christopher’s sermon through the voice interpretation of Theresa Schmechel, a licensed interpreter who has done work for the church since before Fr. Christo-pher’s ordination. When I interviewed Theresa after-wards, I learned some interesting things about the role of female interpreters in a signed Mass. In the Catholic

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Church, a man in a priestly role is required to proclaim the gospel and preach, as a reflection of the human form of Jesus (in persona Christi). When a female in-terpreter is involved, however, the audience receives a woman’s voice or (in the case of the homily I wit-nessed the very next day), even a woman’s body as the media through which the message of God is conveyed. A former bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee would not allow female interpreters in this role. Theresa’s part in the event gave me a lot to think about.

The sermon I observed the next day was likewise on the baptism of the Lord and delivered by Fr. David Cooper, pastor at St. Matthias Catholic Church, just a few short miles away in downtown Milwaukee. The scene here was also tangibly warm and accepting of both hearing and Deaf people. A section of pews is reserved in the front for the Deaf community so they can see the priest. Most of the older Catholics in the area go to this longer-established Mass, because they are used to the location and the mode of interpretation. (There is, however, an ASL mass each month at St. Matthias, celebrated by Fr. Christopher in sign lan-guage with no voice interpreter, and attended by about 100 Deaf and hard-of-hearing parishioners.) This hom-ily was also on the meaning of baptism and the revela-tion of the trinity, and Theresa’s ASL interpreting was visually clear, making use of an expanded signing space that is similar to Fr. Christopher’s style. Her body rocked forward slightly as she signed to the as-sembly in a way that mirrored Fr. Christopher the eve-ning before. It made me wonder how much the inter-preter’s style is influenced by a particular priest whom she interprets for regularly, perhaps similar to how artists in the same studio influence each other’s style. What stood out to me most about St. Matthias, though, was the way the whole congregation incorporated sign

language into parts of their liturgy, including some of the mass responses and the psalm response. Fr. Cooper himself singed these small parts, taking a minute or two to teach the hearing parishioners these movements so that they could sign along as a united group. The spirit of unity among people of different cultures was, literally, tangible and embodied.

The third and final homily I watched this weekend was Fr. Mike Depcik’s video recording on his vlog, Fr. MD’s Kitchen Table. Fr. Mike’s vlog is for many Deaf Catholics without sign language access in their parish, the only available resource for accessible homilies and Mass readings. But it is also the only extensive re-source for preachers of the word who want models of ASL homilies for any particular day in the liturgical calendar. In my interview with him this week, Fr. Christopher Klusman expressed great admiration for Fr. Mike as a mentor and model, since he is also among the few culturally Deaf priests in the country. Fr. Mike’s sermon is short and to the point, which is ideal for the vlog format. In the first minute, Fr. Mike gives a brief retelling of the baptism story in ASL. I love the way he easily embodies first Jesus, then John, then God the Father, then the spirit as a dove, all by a small turn of his body and direction of his head while he signs. His message is about how God’s plan for us may be different from what we would want, but it is always better. Fr. Mike does not use much space in his video, just the area in front of his body that fits within the frame of the video image. Even in a small signing space, he is able to give a full picture of the reading and then preach one strong, clear point about it — all in two minutes. Few homilists could do the same as skillfully and efficiently in spoken English.

Reprinted with permission.

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St. Nicholas Deaf Catholic – ICDA Chapter #20

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“The Son Shines on the Cursillo Movement”

This is the theme for the 2014 National Deaf Cursillo Reunion on October 16-19, 2014. It will be held at Savior Pastoral Center, 12615 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, KS 66109. The Olathe KS Deaf community is proud to be hosting this exciting gathering.

God called each of us to our Cursillo Weekend. And it is God who calls us to have a personal relationship with His son, Jesus Christ. Our Cursillo Weekend made it possible to truly live out our baptismal commitment.

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