Hands of Grace: The Catholic Sacraments in American Sign Language

There are roughly 5.4 million deaf or hard-of-hearing Catholics in the United States. With English as their second language, many of these Catholics are left searching for scarce resources, often not finding what they need.

Hands of Grace: The Catholic Sacraments in American Sign Language is an innovative program that features video presentations by Father Séan Loomis teaching in ASL, as well as a workbook that is specifically designed with a visual emphasis to provide a better, dynamic learning experience for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Through 7-sessions, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the sacraments and the Catholic Faith as they:

• Learn the story behind the sacraments.
• Discover the Church’s teachings about the sacraments.
• Live out the abundant grace given to us in the sacraments.

• Hands of Grace, DVD set, which includes the 7 sacraments, which are divided into 3, 6-10minute segments (21 total segments)--plus the video glossary of Catholic signs. The videos are presented in American Sign Language with voiceover, graphics, and closed captioning.
• Hands of Grace Participant’s Guide is a full-color, high-quality guide that includes an opening prayer, full-page sacramental image & discussion questions, segment overviews & discussion questions, saint quotes, catechism quotes, fun facts, and a “going deeper” section.
• Hands of Grace Video Glossary of Catholic Signs informs participants how to sign religious terms that are covered within the video. Father Séan Loomis finger-spells the word and then shows how to sign the sign! This glossary is available on the 2-DVD Set, streaming via Ascension’s online access, and free on our website.

The Hands of Grace Glossary is a unique online resource that teaches you how to sign religious terms that are covered within the Hands of Grace videos. Father Séan Loomis finger-spells the word and then shows how to sign the sign!