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INDIAN CATHOLIC - NEWS SITE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF INDIA
Deaf parishioner Ferdinand Ballado stood next to the Mass celebrant and made quick hand gestures as the priest read from the Gospel of Mark.
On the altar steps below, a woman led the congregation's responses using sign language. In front of her, deaf teenagers filled the front four pews at Presentation of the Child Jesus parish in Paranaque City, south of Manila.
The parish has ministered to the deaf and hearing-impaired since June, when Father Rodel Paulino, then the assistant parish priest, asked Aileen Ello of the Catholic-led Singles for Christ national movement to collaborate with the Congregation of the Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf. The nuns operate Joseph Gualandi School for the Hearing-Impaired and St. Augustine School for the Deaf.
Ello hopes that involving these students in Mass planning and service will raise parishioners' awareness of deaf people, and help them appreciate the talents and contributions of people with impaired hearing.
During special Masses for the hearing-impaired at the parish, a nun and a lay signer stand by the altar in full view of the congregation. About 30 young parishioners with hearing problems serve at these Masses. Some collect offertory. Others "read" and share as commentators, using sign language. Some lead the congregation in action songs after Mass.
On Nov. 11, church workers and hearing-impaired parishioners joined a motorcade around the cities of Paranaque, Las Pinas, and Muntinlupa, all in Paranaque diocese. Families, relatives, and caregivers of the deaf attended talks on deaf awareness, organized by the parish, on the eve of National Deaf Awareness Week, Nov. 12-18, which was instituted by President Corazon Aquino in 1991. The parish also offered commemorative novena Masses.
Sister Mary Ann Soria is a nurse and licensed health-care worker for the deaf at Joseph Gualandi School. She is looking for a priest to "hear" sacramental confessions by deaf people, since no priest in the diocese is proficient in sign language.
At a September meeting with her congregation's sisters and members of the parish youth ministry, she pointed out how people with hearing problems have been "isolated too long" even within their families.
"I'm sorry to say, but parents think giving to a deaf child is a poor investment," Sister Soria told Ello and her group during the September meeting. The nun advised youth ministers to continue interacting with the deaf beyond parish activities, which she said would help "evangelize" them.
Nerliza Miranda, 14, told UCA News through an interpreter that before the parish started the special Masses, her only friends were hearing-impaired schoolmates.
She said the Masses made her feel welcome. Once, she recalled, newly ordained priest Father Jeffrey Manlapig, 26, said hello in sign language at the start of his homily. "It was the first time a priest addressed us in our own language," Miranda signed.
Another deaf parishioner, Jullar Reyes, 16, cited the care shown by the parish workers and "being able to laugh" with young people who can hear as what he likes best about the parish.
Others credit the nuns for inspiring them. Ballado, 21, said the example of Sister Soria, who also is hearing-impaired, has inspired him to pursue his dream of teaching the deaf. The student of St. Augustine School, in Muntinlupa City, said he also is "eager for a more active parish life."
The presence in the parish of the Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf "motivated" Ello's ministry to start a formation program for the hearing-impaired. Following up on its basic sign-language crash course for ministers, the youth ministry plans to set up activities where the hearing-impaired can best use their skills and talents.
Deaf parishioner Ferdinand Ballado stood next to the Mass celebrant and made quick hand gestures as the priest read from the Gospel of Mark.
On the altar steps below, a woman led the congregation's responses using sign language. In front of her, deaf teenagers filled the front four pews at Presentation of the Child Jesus parish in Paranaque City, south of Manila.
The parish has ministered to the deaf and hearing-impaired since June, when Father Rodel Paulino, then the assistant parish priest, asked Aileen Ello of the Catholic-led Singles for Christ national movement to collaborate with the Congregation of the Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf. The nuns operate Joseph Gualandi School for the Hearing-Impaired and St. Augustine School for the Deaf.
Ello hopes that involving these students in Mass planning and service will raise parishioners' awareness of deaf people, and help them appreciate the talents and contributions of people with impaired hearing.
During special Masses for the hearing-impaired at the parish, a nun and a lay signer stand by the altar in full view of the congregation. About 30 young parishioners with hearing problems serve at these Masses. Some collect offertory. Others "read" and share as commentators, using sign language. Some lead the congregation in action songs after Mass.
On Nov. 11, church workers and hearing-impaired parishioners joined a motorcade around the cities of Paranaque, Las Pinas, and Muntinlupa, all in Paranaque diocese. Families, relatives, and caregivers of the deaf attended talks on deaf awareness, organized by the parish, on the eve of National Deaf Awareness Week, Nov. 12-18, which was instituted by President Corazon Aquino in 1991. The parish also offered commemorative novena Masses.
Sister Mary Ann Soria is a nurse and licensed health-care worker for the deaf at Joseph Gualandi School. She is looking for a priest to "hear" sacramental confessions by deaf people, since no priest in the diocese is proficient in sign language.
At a September meeting with her congregation's sisters and members of the parish youth ministry, she pointed out how people with hearing problems have been "isolated too long" even within their families.
"I'm sorry to say, but parents think giving to a deaf child is a poor investment," Sister Soria told Ello and her group during the September meeting. The nun advised youth ministers to continue interacting with the deaf beyond parish activities, which she said would help "evangelize" them.
Nerliza Miranda, 14, told UCA News through an interpreter that before the parish started the special Masses, her only friends were hearing-impaired schoolmates.
She said the Masses made her feel welcome. Once, she recalled, newly ordained priest Father Jeffrey Manlapig, 26, said hello in sign language at the start of his homily. "It was the first time a priest addressed us in our own language," Miranda signed.
Another deaf parishioner, Jullar Reyes, 16, cited the care shown by the parish workers and "being able to laugh" with young people who can hear as what he likes best about the parish.
Others credit the nuns for inspiring them. Ballado, 21, said the example of Sister Soria, who also is hearing-impaired, has inspired him to pursue his dream of teaching the deaf. The student of St. Augustine School, in Muntinlupa City, said he also is "eager for a more active parish life."
The presence in the parish of the Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf "motivated" Ello's ministry to start a formation program for the hearing-impaired. Following up on its basic sign-language crash course for ministers, the youth ministry plans to set up activities where the hearing-impaired can best use their skills and talents.
