A recent survey shows that less
than 10% of Deaf people attend church! Deaf
and Hard of Hearing people need to know that Jesus is not just for hearing
people. Jesus loves Deaf people and wants Deaf people to know and love him
too!
Fr. Henry has a Total Communication Mass (voice and ASL)
every Saturday night at the 5:30 pm Mass with an ASL Interpreter. The
Deaf often go out afterwards for a meal and fellowship.
"What's it like growing up not knowing that you are "hard of hearing?" I was
born at home, in Pride, Kentucky, with a country doctor, no fancy hospital. My
earliest memories include mom and dad talking and my saying "buh?" I was
accused of "selective bearmg."
Before school I was a bright, outgoing child, loving to
showoff, but at age 5, in first grade, I didn't learn as fast as the other
kids and became very shy. Everybody thought I was just "dumb. "
I wanted to be a priest, but in the 7th grade Sister
told me I was too dumb to be a priest. I felt God was calling me so I fought
to get in but only made Cs and D's. The first day of college a priest made me
sit in the "first now, center," so I would pay attention. Never did I know
what a difference that would make in my life. Four years of college I got A's
and B's. everybody thought I was just a late bloomer, no one ever thought I
was a Up-reader and hard of bearing.
In 1963 I decided to not be a priest but went to Fordham
University to get a Masters in Counseling Psychology, sitting in front row
center. I changed my mind about the priesthood again in 1983, and got a
Masters in Theology and became a priest, sitting in the first row center!
I did not find out I was deaf in my left ear and hard of
hearing in my right until the military tested and rejected me in 1965. All
those years I never knew I was hard of bearing, I just thought I was dumb. It
was not until I got into Deaf Ministry that I realized how well I read lips
and always sat on the right of everybody close to my good ear. I had a hard
time saying I was hard of hearing and I refused to get a hearing aid, I kept
on compensating.
In July 1996, I got two hearing aides, the left sent a
signal to the right to help me hear. When I wore them I felt self conscious.
My right ear felt full and my left ear stuck out. My voice boomed and made me
nervous. For a while I gave up on them and decided I would just be hard of
hearing, the way God made me, the way I was born. But after 2 years, I am
accepting my deafness more and I am beginning to wear one of the hearing
aides. I look forward to many years serving the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and the
Hearing Communities.
