By this morning, there were 149 people jammed into every room of the Retreat Center.   The day started out with a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, enchiladas in a salsa sauce, rolls, and steamed milk. The Conference was divided into three sections. Over 40 sign-language interpreters would meet all day.(Sort of a Catholic RID Conference!) Approximately 100 deaf Catholics from over half of Mexico would have Conferences on the Catholic Faith.My job was to work all day with priests and seminarians from Mexico who want to work in the deaf community.

   Deacon Pat Graybill from New York had several talks to give that day along with other presenters from Mexico.   I spent almost the entire day with the priests/seminarians.  We discussed Deaf Liturgy, how to use interpreters at Mass, the relationship with bishops, evangelization(especially with young people), catechesis and religious education.  I would shut off my voice, sign in English and either Chelo or Gerardo would voice in Spanish.  In the middle of the day, the Committee approached me and asked me to celebrate the Mass that evening for the entire Conference.I was stunned, because this is always something Mexican priests do (and I had not prepared a homily!!!) Lunch is the main meal each day. We had a delicious soup of fresh vegetables, wonderful sandwiches with various toppings, always lots of tortillas. 

    That afternoon, several of the priests from Mexico asked me to talk about the recent Conferences held at the Vatican and then to discuss with them the issue of sexual abuse and deaf children. The afternoon was very intense.   The discussion about the Vatican Conferences (November and June) got us talking about "the Church and the deaf" and all that means.   Then, for over two hours we had an extremely honest, at times overwhelmingly emotional, sharing about sexual abuse, priests, families, etc. By the end, we were all exhausted and ready for Mass.

   So  here I was, a hearing priest from Chicago gathered in a small chapel with 150 priests, brothers, interpreters, deaf and hearing people almost all from Mexico, to celebrate Mass.   It was, for me, a very emotional and spiritual experience.   I preached about my "teachers" of faith: my parents, and about Willie Mae Boyce, a deaf lady I will bury Monday in Chicago.(Later I found out that many of the people were very surprised at my homily. They are NOT used to priests sharing their personal stories or feelings at Mass or anywhere else. Even the interpreters said that they were quite moved and stunned by this.)  At the end of the Mass, I was totally spent. And then the surprise.  I had seen a young deaf woman during the Conferences. She was very pretty, but there was something about her that kept me looking at her.  When Mass was done, she shyly came up to me and signed in ASL; "do you remember me?"   Oh my gosh! It was NEYDI SEGOVIA, a young deaf girl who had grown up in Chgo, had two deaf brothers, had attended Whitney Young H.S. and four years ago moved back to Mexico. She was now married, has a son, and we just hugged and laughed and she had a million questions re: Chicago and the deaf community.

   Dinner was withy Neydi and a whole group of deaf Mexicans teaching me Mexican sign-language and Neydi talking about Chicago pizza!  By the time I went to bed, I was so tired I fell asleep forgetting to turn off the lights!

   Deacon Pat Graybill had also been extremely busy and told me that his sharing with the deaf community had been very powerful for him.  These are people, many of whom, come from extreme poverty, yet they have a faith that puts us to shame! THEY ALSO WERE VERY INSPIRED BY PAT S VERY PERSONAL AND HUMAN WAY OF SHARING HIS STORY OF FAITH.