A Mass to Remember
By Kim Fiore, "Johnny's Angels" team captain, Pittsburgh Walk Now for Autism
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
By Kim Fiore, "Johnny's Angels" team captain, Pittsburgh Walk Now for Autism
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
My son, Johnny Fiore (a non-verbal autistic young man), was fourteen years old, and the hormonal changes of puberty were hitting him hard. The first Sunday in December, my husband, John, and I were in tears after Mass as we shared
with our Pastor (Fr. Regis Farmer) stories of Johnny's self-abuse that were escalating out of control. Our fear was that Johnny would harm himself in such a way that we'd lose him. Due to Johnny's disability, he, unlike his siblings, was never able to attend classes for First Communion and Confirmation, and this saddened us, as religion is very important to our family.
A few days after our tearful talk with our Fr. Regis, he called with unbelievable news. Unbeknownst to us, Fr. Regis had placed a call to Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh who volunteered to take time out of his extremely busy holiday schedule to come to our church (St. Catherine of Sweden) and perform a special mass for Johnny where he could finally receive his First Communion and Confirmation, like his siblings. Fr. Regis gave me a large photo of Jesus and during the days leading up to the event, I practiced over and over with Johnny trying to get him to say “Jesus” when I asked “Who is this?” Simultaneously, my husband worked with Johnny using unconsecrated Communion wafers trying to get Johnny to eat the wafer without spitting it out.
On December 21st, the church filled up with our friends and family. Johnny, surrounded by his brother, sister, father and I, sat down in the front pew of the church. Johnny, who loves to clap and jump, did just that throughout the entire mass. Bishop Zubik kindly and graciously acknowledged Johnny's actions by saying, “Yes, Johnny – God's love is exciting!” When the time came for Bishop Zubik to ask Johnny … “Who is this?”, as he showed him a photo of Jesus, Johnny shouted “JESUS!” Thanks to my husband's hard work with the Communion wafers, First Communion went beautifully and there was not a dry eye in the church!
To this day, it still makes me laugh when I see a photo of Johnny and Bishop Zubik. Johnny does not like people to wear hats, hoods,
visors … anything on one's head. Well, a bishop wears a liturgical headdress. My husband and I were “on guard” throughout the entire ceremony in case Johnny reached up to grab it off Bishop Zubik's head. Our prayers worked. The Bishop's “hat” stayed on, and Johnny did all he was supposed to do and more! We found out later that Bishop Zubik told Johnny's special Confirmation story throughout the holiday season as an example of a family's love, faith, hope and joy.
December 21, 2001 was a day the Fiore Family will never, ever forget!
A few days after our tearful talk with our Fr. Regis, he called with unbelievable news. Unbeknownst to us, Fr. Regis had placed a call to Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh who volunteered to take time out of his extremely busy holiday schedule to come to our church (St. Catherine of Sweden) and perform a special mass for Johnny where he could finally receive his First Communion and Confirmation, like his siblings. Fr. Regis gave me a large photo of Jesus and during the days leading up to the event, I practiced over and over with Johnny trying to get him to say “Jesus” when I asked “Who is this?” Simultaneously, my husband worked with Johnny using unconsecrated Communion wafers trying to get Johnny to eat the wafer without spitting it out.
On December 21st, the church filled up with our friends and family. Johnny, surrounded by his brother, sister, father and I, sat down in the front pew of the church. Johnny, who loves to clap and jump, did just that throughout the entire mass. Bishop Zubik kindly and graciously acknowledged Johnny's actions by saying, “Yes, Johnny – God's love is exciting!” When the time came for Bishop Zubik to ask Johnny … “Who is this?”, as he showed him a photo of Jesus, Johnny shouted “JESUS!” Thanks to my husband's hard work with the Communion wafers, First Communion went beautifully and there was not a dry eye in the church!
To this day, it still makes me laugh when I see a photo of Johnny and Bishop Zubik. Johnny does not like people to wear hats, hoods,
visors … anything on one's head. Well, a bishop wears a liturgical headdress. My husband and I were “on guard” throughout the entire ceremony in case Johnny reached up to grab it off Bishop Zubik's head. Our prayers worked. The Bishop's “hat” stayed on, and Johnny did all he was supposed to do and more! We found out later that Bishop Zubik told Johnny's special Confirmation story throughout the holiday season as an example of a family's love, faith, hope and joy.
December 21, 2001 was a day the Fiore Family will never, ever forget!
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