Special Needs Mass

PATERSON  Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here, wears a dramatic expression on his face as he holds up a wooden starfish during his homily. He points to the object, asking the faithful, especially the young people, to identify it by completing the sentence, “This is …”

“A starfish!” shouts Mia Campagna, 14, who has mild learning and developmental challenges due to Williams Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopment genetic disorder. She waves her hands in excitement from her pew during that 5 p.m. vigil Mass on Jan. 2 for the Feast of the Epiphany, which also marks St. John’s third Special Needs Mass that began last October.

During his homily, Msgr. Sylva, also diocesan vicar for special projects, used the wooden starfish to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men to the Baby Jesus in celebration of the Epiphany. But his message to the congregation that night might also suggest one of the purposes of the new Special Needs Mass: to encourage people with physical and developmental disabilities in attendance to become a light that shines the love of Jesus in their lives — any way they can.

“The Mass is fun. I like Father Geno. I like answering his questions,” said Mia, an outgoing child from Little Falls, after the Jan. 2 liturgy, which she attended with her mother, Graciela Gimenez. The Special Needs Masses for disabled people and their families are scheduled at the cathedral on first Saturdays for the 5 p.m. vigil Mass.

Mia’s mother told The Beacon that a friend invited them to the first Special Needs Mass in October. Mia, she said, has the intellectual capacity of a six-year-old.

“Mia loves to talk and sing. The Mass is beautiful, and it keeps her interested. She loves it here,” Gimenez said.

Like the handful of special needs people who now attend the Masses, Mia likes to sit in the front pews. A young man with Cerebral Palsy (CP), Andry Alvarez, 21, sits in a wheelchair to one side of the altar. Some of them exhibit unusual behavior during the liturgy — letting out occasional moans, fidgeting with their hands, or standing the entire time. But they are so subtle that they do not disturb the congregation in the large church during what is otherwise a typical Saturday vigil Mass.

“It [the Mass] is a wonderful time to acknowledge the fact that we all have disabilities and there is something that is physically, mentally, or spiritually imperfect about each of us. We come here today to ask for God’s grace to heal us and to inspire us,” Msgr. Sylva said at the start of the Jan. 2 liturgy.

Throughout, Msgr. Sylva keeps the Mass as interactive for the special-needs churchgoers as possible. He opened the liturgy by wishing Andry a happy birthday. Later, he noticed that some of them were having difficulty making the Sign of the Cross before the proclamation of the Gospel, so he motioned to them by placing his fingers on his forehead, lips, and heart. It shows that “we think about God, speak about God, and love God,” he said.

In his homily, Msgr. Sylva posed more questions about stars to the special-needs churchgoers with help from his starfish toy and then after, invited them to approach the altar to pick out one for themselves from a basket he held out.

“The Star of Bethlehem led the Wise Men to Jesus. See, children, each one of you as a Christian is a beautiful star — bright and alive and joyous, and all of us can see you and get to Jesus,” Msgr. Sylva said.

In the intentions, the congregation prayed for “all those with disabilities that they be treated with dignity and respect.” Then, Msgr. Sylva invited the special-needs young people to join him around the altar, wearing face masks and observing COVID­-

19 social distancing protocols like the rest of the congregation. He encouraged them to recite the Our Father with him as parents were snapping photos on their cell phones.

“When you look out [in the pews], what do you see — your moms, dads, and all the people? You light them up when they see you. You are a child of God,” said Msgr. Sylva at the end of the Our Father when the children made their way down the steps or handicapped ramps at either side of the altar back to the pews. “Give your families a big Sign of Peace,” he said.

At the closing, Msgr. Sylva told churchgoers that, with the new Special Needs Mass — and the new Special Needs Ministry that developed it, St. John’s “wants to show the world that every child of God, according to his or her capacity, has a right to receive the Sacraments of the Church.” St. John’s welcomes special-needs faithful to any Mass, not just to the liturgy for the Saturday vigil, he said.

St. John’s launched the Special Needs Ministry in October, which grew out of its efforts to teach several physically and developmentally challenged children in its Family Faith Formation program. The cathedral did not hold a Mass in December, said Ivannia Vega-McTighe, Family Faith Formation director.

Many of the special-needs congregants at the Mass benefited from the weekend of tremendous charity that took place at St. John’s from Dec. 19 to 20. An army of volunteers, clergy, and staff distributed a record number of winter coats and toys to children along with an opportunity to visit with Santa. The weekend ended on that Sunday with a “Christmas caravan” through the streets of Paterson to visit the homes of 11 of the special-needs children and give them Christmas gifts — part of the activities of the new Special Needs Ministry that Msgr. Sylva promised would grow in its outreach in the future.

After the Jan. 2 Mass, Bryany Alvarez, 23, got her brother, Andry, and his wheelchair ready to go home. She told The Beacon that with CP, Andry is not able to walk; he is not verbal “but can understanding things,” said Alvarez, coordinator of Young Prophets, the cathedral’s youth ministry.

“Some people don’t accept someone like Andry who is different. But people at the Mass see him as a person,” Alvarez said. “At home Andry moves around a lot. But the Mass is quiet so he pays attention. He loves it,” she said.