Posted on 09/30/2014 8:55:32 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Take a long hard look at the Bible. Jesus never said someone had to be perfect to be accepted and loved. Actually, we are told that we are all a part of the body of Christ. There is no one part more important than another…… if we believe the Bible, than that means, EACH INDIVIDUAL IN THE CHURCH IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS ANOTHER. That child that maybe loud and jumping up and down everytime the sermon starts…. Guess what? They are just as important to the body of Christ as the pastor, the board members, the Sunday School teachers. Hmmmm…. So if they are just as important, than they have a vital role in the church. It is the church’s responsibility to be sure they have a role to play. They have a gifts and abilities to be used for God. Help them find those gifts and use them accordingly.
Ping! Please note that, although the title is the same, this thread features a different article by a different author
Most of our Churches have “Cry Rooms”.
Some families with autistic children choose to use them, while others do not.
Same is true for families with infants.
People have the right to attend church services without screaming and other disruption from infants and other people.
IMO there's a real problem when the Body of Christ is defined as being comprised of "people" and "other people". What must occur for these "other people" to be numbered among the adjective-less "people"?
By “other people” I meant “people other than infants,” not “people other than Christians.”
Not only is that what I meant, it’s what I said.
But we're still back to the original problem, that is, defining the Body of Christ as "people who have a right to attend church services" and kept apart from "people who are a disruption". Is being socially disruptive an excommunicable sin in your parish? Does the Catholic Church instruct the priest to without communion from people who are a social disruption?
Attending Mass during the week, there is much less music and the mass is shorter and there are fewer people to distract the child. Also, attending Mass with a Cathedral style, in the shape of a Cross, is very helpful....my son prefers to sit at the left or right side so he doesn’t see all of the people and they don’t see him rocking back and forth as he sits toward the rear.
Attending Mass at a Chapel, being small, again, during the week, is another option....the priest may indeed turn the lights down as long as the other worshipers understand its purpose.
I’ve had folks tell me my typical growing kids should not be brought to Mass due to their right to praising of God in perfect harmony and peace. There is no peace in this world. I just tell them “see you tomorrow!” They need to bear the Cross of God creating children and their parents doing their best to bring them to properly adoring Christ. We are sinners and failures, learning (and so are these fuddyduds) and there is no better place than Mass, where the angels are everywhere about the Eucharist, where God and His angels meet man, together, giving Him glory!
St. Padre Pio, Pray for us.
I think this author is very reasonable, since she observes that there’s not one easy “solution” for every church or every individual with autism. The concept of “accommodating the autistic” can seem impossible ... but if everyone is operating with love and goodwill, it might be as simple as having a seat in a corner where a child can draw quietly.
Attending Mass at a Chapel, being small, again, during the week, is another option....the priest may indeed turn the lights down as long as the other worshipers understand its purpose.
< I’ve had folks tell me my typical growing kids should not be brought to Mass due to their right to praising of God in perfect harmony and peace. There is no peace in this world. I just tell them “see you tomorrow!” They need to bear the Cross of God creating children and their parents doing their best to bring them to properly adoring Christ. We are sinners and failures, learning (and so are these fuddyduds) and there is no better place than Mass, where the angels are everywhere about the Eucharist, where God and His angels meet man, together, giving Him glory!
Thank you, "fixed" - I think that your post is about as perfect a solution and reply as I could have hoped for!
If other congregants cannot hear the sermon, it is unfair to them. Why does the need for disruptive people to be included trample over the right of other people to listen to the service? Are those who are disrupting, whether infant, child with autism, whatever getting anything out of it anyway? Aittle disruption is understandable until the parent has time to remove to another location.
See my post #7.
Lots of provocative rhetorical questions. Beats rational discussion every time.
There's a difference between rhetorical and theoretical - I work with the latter. And insofar as being provocative goes, I prefer removing beaver dams with dynamite, rather than cutting through it with a butter knife one log at a time.
Beats rational discussion every time.
Who says provocative can't rational at the same time?
That's a wonderful story - give your BIL my compliments.
The biggest problem with autism in the Church: Those with autism typically worship D-O-G
That's lysdexia, you normo.
Any church is going to fail sometimes - a person will be faced on the wrong day with a situation he thinks is too much. However, those should be exceptions to a general pattern of sincere love and sacrificial hospitality.
Heh, good one.
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