The Organic Catholic Tomato - A Homily - Catholics with Hearing Loss:                   Captioning the Catholic Mass 

               The Organic Catholic Tomato -
                            A  Homily

"You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, they put it high for everyone to see!" (Matthew 5:13-16).  

                                                       ( Source: http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/a3.htm)

Over the past summer when my family and I were on vacation, there was a homily at a church no one forgot.  It involved an organic tomato. The priest was using the organic, authentic, non-toxic tomato as an analogy about how we should practice our faith as Catholics.  He actually held up a real organic tomato with the organic seal on it showing the whole congregation.  He said something to the effect;  'Are you an organic authentic Catholic (as he holds up the tomato) ?'  I'm deaf so I didn't hear the homily but even I could figure out the essence of the homily.    He talked for about 25 minutes or so, and I was wishing I could hear the entire thing because it sounded interesting.  Later, I asked my family what the homily was about.  They remembered it! Why did they remember the homily?  The priest used an object, a visual representation to 'seal' the homily.  It was an effective teaching approach that addressed various learning styles of the congregation.  In this case, by association of the tomato as an object in their memory and remember they did.  Months later, they still remember it. 

 Captioning (CART or Remote CART) allows you to get the entire message, and not have to rely on asking someone after Mass for a 'summary' or get tidbits or 'notes' (sometimes subjective) during homily either via a layperson that is not even word to word of what the priest is saying.  You get it entirely from the priest himself in an authentic way, instead of a 'second hand homily' by a lay person.  It is also  in 'real time' to allow connection with the community and engagement during the homily, reflecting on it at the same time as everyone else.   Captioning (CART or Remote CART) is verbatim in REAL time -two important components for active participation. It allows you to feel included.  Now that's a real tomato.

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Excerpt from U.S. Department of Labor

"People tend to eye-minded, and the impacts visual 

aids bring to a
presentation are, indeed, significant. The studies, below, reveal
interesting statistics that support these findings:
- In many studies, experimental psychologists and educators have found
that retention of information three days after a meeting or other
event is six times greater when information is presented by visual and
oral means than when the information is presented by the spoken word
alone.
- Studies by educational researchers suggest that approximately 83% of
human learning occurs visually, and the remaining 17% through the
other senses - 11% through hearing, 3.5% through smell, 1% through
taste, and 1.5% through touch.
- The studies suggest that three days after an event, people retain
10% of what they heard from an oral presentation, 35% from a visual
presentation, and 65% from a visual and oral presentation.
"Presenting Effective Presentations with Visual Aids" May 1996
OSHA Occupational Safety & Health Administration U.S. Department of
Labor
http://www.osha-slc.gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/traintec.html

(Source:  http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/73682.html)

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"We know that the neurotypical brain 

processes visual stimuli much quicker 

than sound. For someone like me {i.e. 

severe or profound

 Hearing losses} I must use three times as

 much effort to process, understand and

 respond to sound. So it makes sense that 

live captions are much easier for me to use 

than an FM system." 

 (Source: http://accessiblecommunications.wordpress.com/tag/remote-captions/)

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US Bishop Pastoral Statement:


"Parish liturgical celebrations and catechetical 

programs should be accessible to persons with 

disabilities and open to their full, active and conscious 

participation, according to their capacity."

Source: http://www.ncpd.org/views-news-policy/policy/church/bishops/welcome-and-justice


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" This technology is primarily used by people who are late-deafened, oral deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have cochlear implants. Culturally deaf individuals also make use of CART in certain situations. "  (Source: http://www.everyonecommunicates.org/methods/captioning.html)

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How does Remote CART (real time captioning )

 work?:    See http://hearinglosshelp.com/weblog/remote-cart—heres-what-you-need.php

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Funny Catholic  talk – 

:http://www.austincnm.com/index.php/2012/04/animals-with-catholic-captions/#.VF9djkuezRo

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The Deaf/deaf/HOH need Universal Access:  

"When designing a space or 

planning 

an event, we need to strive for 

universal access—so that all 

members of our communities can 

attend and participate. This means 

that, in addition to ramps and 

elevators, we need assistive 

listening technology like hearing 

loops and captions, and signage 

that makes it clear that the service 

is available. This is a goal that we 

can achieve, but in order to do so, 

we need to change the way we

 think about communication and 

hearing access. "


- See more at: http://agewisekin
gcounty.org/en/134/1/661/Too-Many-People-with-Hearing-Loss-Miss-Out.htm#sthash.em7Uhug6.nW91Nm7I.dpuf

(Source:  http://agewisekingcounty.org/en/134/1/661/Too-Many-People-with-Hearing-Loss-Miss-

Out.htm#sthash.em7Uhug6.dLa2G9JJ.dpuf)

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Pray For Us All!

See: http://catholicbridge.com/catholic/mary_do_catholics_pray_to_her.php

Online Prayer Chapel :  http://ubiamor.org/vcandle/

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Come Pray the Rosary with others - together Online:  http://www.comepraytherosary.org

(text guided version offered to follow along)

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Caption Catholic tidbits:

Reaching Catholics: http://catholicbridge.com/catholic/are_catholics_christian.php

What Are the Top 10 Reasons People Come Back to the Catholic Church?:  http://www.askacatholic.com/_WhatsNew/myfavorites/TopTenReasonToReturn.cfm

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"Accessible meeting space allows 


everyone to participate." 


(Source: http://www.ada.gov/business/accessiblemtg.htm













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Catholic Mass for the deaf and hard of hearing:




"For the Deaf or Hard of Hearing:




Arrange for seating the Deaf community in the 

front, near the

 speaker.

Arrange for interpreter or real time captioning 

services at 

least 

two weeks in advance.

Utilize room amplification system or personal 

amplification

 system.

Provide all materials to the interpreter or CART

 reporter one 

week in advance.

Provide bright lighting.  Avoid creating a special 

atmosphere 

with dim lighting."

(Source: http://www.dioslc.org/ministries/disabilities/guidelines-for-accommodating-people-with-disabilities)









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"Of all the barriers to full participation and inclusion, the barrier of unexamined attitudes is the most difficult to address," states Ginny Thornburgh, director of the American Association of People with Disabilities' Interfaith Initiative." 




(Source:  http://www.disabilitiesandfaith.org)




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US Bishop Statement:  






'It is essential that all forms of the liturgy be completely accessible to people with disabilities, since these forms are the essence of the spiritual tie that binds the Christian community together' 



(Source:  http://www.disabilityawarenesstraining.com/component/content/article/3/40)



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The purpose of this blog is to raise  Diversity Awareness among those with hearing loss and deafness, and to raise  awareness that many  with hearing loss are being excluded from full participation at the Mass if the church does not have Captioning. Catholics with hearing loss deserve the fullness of their faith.   Does your Diocese/Archdiocese have at least one Mass service in Captioning at a church that one who benefits from it can reasonably travel to in order to fully and actively participate at the Mass? Contact your Diocese/Archdiocese - find it here:    http://www.usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses.cfm.)




















Is your church or Diocese/Archdiocese  inclusive to all those with hearing loss and deafness by providing Real time Captioning, Sign Language and Audio Loops?   If not - Diversity and Inclusion Awareness is needed in order to share the joy of the gospel by applying Universal Communication Access.  It is very important to share the Word of God with everyone.  Let's pray for that!







Prayer of Inclusion: http://www.ncpd.org/ministries-programs/spirituality/prayers



















"Be not Afraid, Open Wide the Gates" - Pope St.  John Paul II  

 (Source: http://jp2forum.blogspot.com/2013/12/be-not-afraid-resounding-from-1531-to.html)

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