Dozens more names have been added to the autism prayers widget in the sidebar of the blog from Mary Ann’s great autism prayer page! Meanwhile, on Holy Souls Hermitage blog, we see this on the Mass Page:
- Saturday, 22 September, 2012, Holy Mass is offered for all autistic persons and their carers, living and dead. Motu proprio.
- Sunday, 23 September through 2 October, 2012, Holy Mass is offered for the repose of the soul of J.T., at the request of B.S.
J.T., mind you, was the sole carer of his serverly autistic teenage son as well as a daughter with other health conditions. His tragic death will bring others into the picture, but will they be able to provide what he did? A relative informs me…
“He was their anchor and aggressively advocated for his son. A couple of weeks ago I put his son on the international prayer list for autism I found at your site, but hadn’t seen him to let him know. I am especially worried about the children so if you could keep them in your prayers I’d appreciate it. [...] I really don’t know how a severely autistic child comprehends death or that he will never see his father again, but I imagine the disruption in the children’s lives is severe.”
Dear readers, if there is an “autistic family” (autism involves everyone) near you, see if you can’t get involved to provide respite care, or do some shopping, etc. The same suggestion goes for those who have someone in home hospice or similar situations. Carers are in dire need of care as well.
Autism is not a punishment. It is simply another consequence of original sin. In the next life, the tables will be turned. I imagine that autistic persons will be right up with seraphic angels, next to the throne of the Most High. Here, autistic persons provide a great opportunity — doing us an invaluable service — to assist others in whatever way. Respect for autistic persons and their carers (who are also often looked down upon) is a clarion call for respect for life that should wake up the whole world. People look down upon carers of autistic persons because the great charity of those carers is felt to be an incrimination of their own lack of charity.
Quality of life does not depend on one’s I.Q., but on being a child of the Most High, whose tender mercies, respecting the consequences of original sin in all justice, would have us reach out to have mercy. That is the life of enthusiastic love which He brought to us while at the moment of the greatest quality of life ever known, that Hour, when He was upon the Cross, being tortured to death for us, taking on the worst effect of original sin, and thus having the right in justice to have mercy on us, to show us the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father, to show us that we too can live in His love, and manifest that love to others.
Let’s say a quick prayer for autistic persons and their carers, living and dead: Hail Mary…
Now, go to Mary Ann’s site to see who’s been joining in with those international prayers. Yikes! Here!
UPDATE (from Mary Ann):
I read the posting on your blog, where the man wondered, how a severely autistic child comprehends death, or that he will never see his father again. I can offer a small insight into this. My dad died on the 21st of June, 1988. My severely autistic, non-verbal brother came home to mum and dad every weekend, and then he went back to the place where he lived. After dad’s death S. came home, and looked everywhere for his dad, when he realised that there was no longer a dad, he went into dad’s bedroom, put his head on dad’s pillow and cried. S. suffered from epilepsy and passed away just over a year later (at the age of 24.)
Today C. and I went to a beautiful Marian Shrine near Penrith. The Archdiocese of Sydney ran a wonderful retreat for carers, (fully catered!) The Archdiocese printed out some copies of my updated version of Help from Heaven (Answers to Prayer) for the participants at the retreat, and gave me a free rein to distribute St. Philomena cards, and other devotional materials. There was a talk by an Australian member of the Missionaries of Charity, and by an auxiliary bishop from the Archdiocese.
The Archdiocese of Sydney, asked to interview me a couple of days ago for their website. It is a nice article, but has some mistakes in it. The lady reporter must have misunderstood some of my answers, but that does not matter. One thing which I am a little concerned about is, that she has written that I don’t get to Mass on a regular basis (due to being a carer.) I actually told her that C. and I go to different Masses on the weekend, not that I don’t get there on a regular basis! I hope that no one thinks it is okay to ditch The Sunday Mass obligation. The article with pictures is HERE.
From an email:
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
