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  • Writer's pictureProfiles in Catholicism
    • Apr 30
    • 18 min read

Autism



A Message from the Editor

In my brief association with children with autism I learned that children with autism often do not communicate in the same way.

 

Pope Francis has chosen as the theme for the upcoming Nov. 26 celebrations "Rejoicing in hope," from Romans 12:12. And for World, Youth Day Nov. 24, 2024, he chose: "Those who hope in the Lord will run and not be weary," drawing from the Lord's promise in Isaiah 40:31

 

I hope that the organizers will address teen suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in USA young people ages 15 to 24. The CDC reports that  boys are 4 times more likely to die from suicide than girls. Girls are more likely to attempt suicide than boys. This is why we are promoting the book The Word in Your Heart: Mary, Youth, and Mental Health by Francis Etheridge . If you have a teenaged child, this book should be read as soon as possible.

 

 

Donald Trump is a pathological liar. It is unfortunate that we do not keep the old Roman law that when men testify, they did so by placing their hand over their testes.  If they lied, their testacies were removed (which is where the word testify comes from). If that was still the law, Trump would have an orchiectormy (An orchiectomy is a surgical procedure to remove one or both testicles).

 

Chocoholics who claim that Ferrero Rocher chocolate is heavenly are literally correct. Ferrero Rocher: The Chocolate Inspired by Our Lady of Lourdes.


A Quote to Remember


It was missing from he layout

If you need a quote, use this

"Let us walk together with people with autism, not only for them, but above all with them!"

by Pope Francis

 

Prayers

 

A prayer to love people with autism

 

“Unconditional Love”

 

Dear Lord, your Holy Mother and Saint Joseph, you took others

Into your family life as and when you were the Holy Family,

Taking others who were understood to be your own, as Joseph

Was understood to be the father of Jesus, and so we ask, even

Now, that you take our autistic children, whether young or as

 

They grow and get older still, so that they may be planted in your Holy Family and watered with the Holy Spirit, under your saving Care, the watchful eye of Joseph, and your mother’s maternal, Ground swelling gift of gathering love, which unfolds an ever Opening embrace of people coming into the heart of your Church.

 

So we pray, dear Lord, that the guardian angels who exist now,

Both visible and invisible, whether parents, grandparents, brothers

Or sisters will, like a lively electric current, induce the desire to

Pray in those who may know you in some secret way, seeking a

Way out into the daylight of consciousness and contemplation.

 

Dear Mary, we do not know how your extended family grew,

But now it grows in the Church and we would love those close

To us to be close to you, so when we lie awake, troubled over

The future, the possibility of our death and our absence from

Their lives, that in our turn to hope in you that you will help.

 

Dear Joseph, foster-father and patron saint of all foster-fathers,

Help all those calling out to us to be loved, to be understood in

Ways too silent for words, like a smile, like a hug, like the gift

Of a gift of a flower, of an almost picture, poem, heartfelt and true

And all those unfinished beautiful gestures that speak simply:

 

I love you.

 

Dear Lord, now you and I, they and us seem to be so often veiled

From one another, too hidden and in a way too open to be left alone,

And so let labels peel and curl and drop off, except in so far as they

Help with getting the help that is needed, but otherwise let the Paperwork be pedalled to the bin and stay there, lest Harry, Martha,

 

James, Sibyl, or people with names become namelessly labelled.

 

Let there, Lord, be a better understanding of who each person is and That God does not have favourites and that we will awake from the bludgeoning that there are less and more important lives, some to let Live and some to let die, and we will see, if you help, that each of us

Has an imperishable dignity, given freely, from our very beginning.

 

Dear Holy Spirit, your invisible presence is everywhere, within all

Of us, making sense of our lives and helping us to navigate the inner

Path of hidden lives and how to help them turn outward to others.

 

You alone know the intimate cause and causes of what comes to Exist in our inner development and how it can be helped, even as we See the early signs of repetitious actions imprisoning a child’s life.

 

Dear Holy Family of the Church, just as I have held a child’s hand

And brought them to you, just as others have held my hand and Brought me to you, so be ready to hold the hands of those I am

Holding ready, like floating lilies, to unfold their beauty and talents

And take their place in a sheltered place, fostering their future and

 

Hoping against hope that there will always be an angel, visible or

Invisible, to guide the gift of these children, of these people, who

Ring out with the individuality you have given, shining out with

The unique dignity that each one of us has received and which is,

As it were, imperishable, so we may hear the echo of the beginning,

 

That each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God!

 

Let us hope, with a heavenly and indestructible hope, that whether

We or they go first into that impossibly, unimaginably blessed

Dwelling, that we will be there, that they will be there, that we will

Be there together with you and the untold numbers of all who love.

 

by Francis Etheredge, Catholic married layman, father of 11, 3 of whom are in heaven, and an author. Just published: “

 

 

A Prayer of St. Francis for Autism

 

Sun shining through trees on a dirt road

The silhouette of a person climbing on a mountain with the sun in the background

The silhouette of pine trees with blue sky in the background

Lord, let thy peace fill me up until I overflow;

that where people cannot speak, I may be their advocate;

that where anyone is rejected, I may extend my arms in welcome;

that where parents are heavy burdened, I may offer a word of comfort; that where our children struggle, I may lift them up and cheer; that where some see disability, I may reveal to them extraordinary gifts; that where others judge, I may share with them my deep gladness; and that where any are overlooked, I may help the lights of all to shine.

Oh giver of these gifts,

grant that I may not so much seek to be reassured as to reassure;

to be praised as to praise;

to be accepted as to accept;

for it is in all our uncertainty that we are inspired to hope;

it is in great challenges that we discover our greatest joys,

and it is in our community of wanderers that we find the way home.

Amen.

By Tim Tucker

Both Hands and a Flashlight

Provided by the National Catholic Partnership on Disability Autism Task Force

 

A Prayer to Protect College Students from Antisemitism Acts

 

Lord God, as you have protected the Jewish people over time, we ask that you now ensure that Jewish

students on university campuses are free of harassment and intimidation.  Inspire them to work

with their fellow students to stand up for peace, justice and human dignity  throughout the world, in particular

in the Middle East.  Shower them with your blessings in this time of global challenge.

 

 

Lord, the suffering of innocent children is hard to bear. Help us to mourn and express our sadness. As a society help us o help those who suffer from mental illness. We fail so often to help those in distress. Forgive us and give us the grace to be more caring. We pray for the grieving father and all those who suffer a tragic loss. Be with them in their loneliness and grief.

This we ask through Christ, our Lord

Amen

 

A Prayer for the Murdered in Burkina Faso

 

God of mercy,

bless the victims and their families

of those murdered and injured at Mass in Burkina Faso.

Hold them in your hands.

Let them know that you are close.

Turn the hearts of those who perpetrate violence

to thoughts of peace.

Make all of us aware of our vocation to sow seeds of peace. Amen

 

 A Prayer for Murdered Police Officer Luis Huesca

 

Good and gracious God,

As a Professor Emerita of many men who looked similar to Luis Huesca, my heart cries out with disbelief and sadness. This man coming home from work was brutally gunned down. Lord, this is so difficult as we look at Luis and see the sweetness of God swelling within him. Lord, help his Mother and his uncle to open their hearts to the forgiveness required of each of us. Help us all to forgive and find a way to live in peace with one another. We are taking the seriousness of life with respect to every living creature.  Help us to see Luis Huesca as a man of valor in the police department. Help us to send our love to his family and friends as they try to understand your will for us to live in peace.

 

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Autism Articles and Commentaries




Please help us continue to publish Profiles in Catholicism. 

We are desperate for funding. In 2023 we only received a donation of $15.00. Please make a donation of $5.00 or $10.00 (tax deductible in the United States) to Profiles in Catholicism to help pay our hardworking staff and help us support people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, orphans, those living in extreme poverty, and the organizations that help them.  Some of those people whom we support may die without our help.


General Articles and Commentaries




Please help us continue to publish Profiles in Catholicism. 

We are desperate for funding. In 2023 we only received a donation of $15.00. Please make a donation of $5.00 or $10.00 (tax deductible in the United States) to Profiles in Catholicism to help pay our hardworking staff and help us support people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, orphans, those living in extreme poverty, and the organizations that help them.  Some of those people whom we support may die without our help.


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We are desperate for funding. In 2023 we only received a donation of $15.00. Please make a donation of $5.00 or $10.00 (tax deductible in the United States) to Profiles in Catholicism to help pay our hardworking staff and help us support people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, orphans, those living in extreme poverty, and the organizations that help them.  Some of those people whom we support may die without our help.


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