Newsletter - 18th June 2023
Peter Dyson
This Sunday at the 5:30 pm Mass 16 year old Peter Dyson will have his first communion. I have had the pleasure of preparing Peter for this event over the last six months, using material from the atrium, our program for young children using the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. So I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to this remarkable young man.
At the age of two Peter was diagnosed with severe autism. His parents, Geraldine and Ashley and twin sister Mary Ellen have embraced this reality with much love and commitment and are still discovering ways to help him learn and cope with the outside world. He needs earphones and dark glasses to prevent sensory overload. He won’t leave the house without his hat.
They started coming to Christ the King in 2013 after the priest in their former parish asked them not to bring Peter to Mass anymore because of disruptive noise and behaviour. At Christ the King they found acceptance and welcome. Fr. Christophe recalls a moment when Peter was six during a more informal Mass where he had allowed Peter to roam around. He was spinning around close to the altar as Fr. Christophe held up the host at the moment of consecration. Peter suddenly stopped and stared at the host and was completely still, entranced by the sight. As it was lowered he continued his random movements but when the chalice was raised, he stopped again in rapt attention.
Now Peter is able to sit through the Mass. The Dysons find the monthly Sunday evening Mass especially conducive to his participation. You might hear strange sounds coming from him that at first can be unsettling. But there is meaning to everything. After an especially rousing song, he may cry out, “Clap”. Or just laughs if he finds the priest’s words at the altar somehow exciting.
In the atrium I introduced him to Christ the Good Shepherd, who loves and cares for his sheep. I gave him the presentation where the sheep gather around the altar, the most particular place where the Shepherd feeds his sheep and where the priest recalls Jesus’ words, “this is my body”, “this is my blood”. We looked at the Last Supper when Jesus himself says those words. We repeated these words around the small altar showing the gestures of the priest. Every week we repeated these same presentations. Peter loved putting the sheep into the sheepfold or the disciples around the table.
Nancy Wood, ccn
I’m not sure what he “understands” of the Eucharist, but I have the conviction that he is in love with it, that he understands that Jesus is present, and that this is for him.
Focus of the Week
DAY FOR LIFE
18 June 2023
The Church teaches that life is to be nurtured from conception to natural death. In England and Wales, Day for Life is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year. The theme is ‘Listen to Her’ and focuses on post-abortion trauma and the impact of abortion primarily on women, but also men and others. Each year a message is released, usually by the Church’s Lead Bishop for Life Issues, offering a reflection on the year’s theme. The 2023 message is unique in that the bishops’ have given it over to a Catholic woman who has had an abortion to share her experiences. The hope is that this will help break this silence and offer further opportunities for healing and reconciliation. Find out more on their website.