Category: Getting to Know You
Hi, I am considdering converting to Catholicism. I don't know wny other blind Catholics and am curious to know what it's like to be blind and Catholic. I'm not trying to start a religious debate here. So if you have a problem with Catholicism, please don't respond.Or, at least do so in a nice manner. Any comments would be apreciated. I respect people of all religions. I am a Christian. bw
Hi. I'm blind and I'm a Catholic and have been one for all my life. I'm not familiar with the differences between a Catholic Mass and one from non-Catholics, actually, I've only been to one that I can remember and the only difference it had from the Catholic one was that there was not much switching between the kneeling, sitting and standing, the service itself of course, and that we didn't need to get in line to receive Communion. To get to church and during the Mass, I'm with either my mom or someone else I know, and they would let me know the periods when to stand, kneel, or sit, when to put my hands together in prayer, etc, but that's mainly if things are being done a little differently for whatever reason. But usually I think the Masses are pretty similar and predictable, plus you usually already get cues of when to stand, pray, and some other things from the priest. When going in line to get Communion, I go behind the person who's with me so I'll know when she/he has gotten it and therefore when it's my turn. And for confession, the person behind me will quickly show me where to enter/exit the little room and the kneeling thing is easy to find or I could ask the priest, but I haven't needed to do that myself. I haven't had much trouble with the physically getting around or anything, and the churches and most people were nice as well. So my overall experiences as far as that have been good.
I think my only thing has been not being able to read the printed material. For instance, in a big church (for each person) there is a Missalette and another book (I don't want to assume what the other book is I think it's a hymnal or Bible), and near the front or back of the chapple there can be Catholic calendars or bulletins in print. For the bulletins, I can easily scan them or have someone read them to me, but I'm not sure whether the actual books and calendar are available in Braille or another format. It would be nice to have access to those things but not sure where to get them and/or if they are available. But I did find a good website that is pretty informative and that has tought me more about Catholicism. I think it can explain a lot for you and others interested. It's at www.catholic.org. Hope this helped.
Oh cool! I just now also found a website that involves the Catholic calendar. This one is at www.easterbrooks.com/personal/calendar/index.php
. It also has other information as well.
thank you for posting this. I have actualy been thinking of converting to catholicism as well.
You' welcome. Also, for Catholic materials available in an accessible format, there is Xavier Society for the Blind, which you can call at, 800-637-9193. There are other places I found out about also, but that's the main one I think. Actually, I will post the list of sources for religious material on another Board since the list is in alphabetical order and involves the various religions. But yeah, Xavier Society is the one I've repeatedly found when I Googled "Catholic, Braille", and actually, they have Braille as well as audio and large print.
Hi, thanksfor the great tips. Very informative. I am currently Lutheran, and myliturgies and the Catholic mass are quite similar. We don't have kneeler in our church, but your communion description seems almot exactly lie what my mom and I do. I've been to catholic.com several times. It is a great website. Anyon interested in discussing this topic further with me is free to write me back. Again, thanks for the information. God Bless.
Brenda
Here's kind of an amusing story that I thought of because of the talk of kneelers in Catholic churches. I'm not sure what kind of cane any of you guys use, but here goes. A few years ago, I was at Catholic mass with a couple other blind friends. We all use straight canes, so they were laying on the floor in front of the pew. We put the kneeler down, and kneeled, and we heard this horrible crunch sound, and knew that one of our canes had gotten caught under there. Turned out it was a cane that belonged to one of my friends, not my own, but it was definitely toast. So be careful your cane isn't under the kneeler when it goes down. *Grin*
I was raised as catholic, but honestly with all the scandalls that have taken place, and some of our teachings which in my opinion we need to broaden our views on, I don't practice it much. I do have very fond memories of going to religion classes and making my communion.
I was raised Catholic, but don't practice any longer. Ironically, I got in touch with my spirritual side when I became a Church Musician. I've been playing in churches almost every Sunday for nearly 18 years, and substituted a few years before that. So as not to start an argument, I'll say the thing I learned from Catholicism is a sense of responsibility and a sense of discipline that has stayed with me and helped most of my life. When I was growing up, we weren't encouraged to question our faith. Had I felt this was "allowed" I might have stayed with it. Good luck in your quest.
Lou
What's a kneeler?
Hi Nymphadora, a kneeler is a narrow beam that's not more than about a foot and a half off the ground. They're usually padded. The ones I've seen in Catholic churches fit into the pew in front of them. They fold down and as the name suggests, you kneel on them during certain parts of the liturgy. Maybe some of these are attached to the floor. We don't have them in my Lutheran Church, but I'm told that we used to. It's not difficult to tell when the congregation is kneeling. If you're with another person, you could always ask them politely to let you know when to kneel. Just a word of caution, capri pants are definitely not a good idea! I went to Mass just after Pope John Paul II passed away. I was with a friend who was converting to Catholicism at the time. I wanted to look respectable but also be comfortable since I was new at the kneeling in church thing. I wore a pair of nice khaki capris and a nice button down shirt. I soon found out why capris are not a good choice for kneelerwear. The priest had the congregation pray the rosary for the late pope. The kneeler was upholstered with a vinyl cover. So when we rose to be seated, I got stuck on the kneeler and had this weird mark where it had made an indentation on my skin. Another tip, wear shoes that you know aren't gonna slip off while kneeling. You can always send me a private message if you have any more questions.