A Statement from Father Mark Nolette

The National Catholic Register today published an article entitled “Autism and the Priesthood: How the Church is Responding”. I was sent some interview questions by the author beforehand. As a result, I have been quoted or mentioned several times in the article. I did not get to see the article before it was published. Neither I nor Autism Consecrated necessarily agree with the opinions of others cited in it.

When we read that seminary formation for autistic seminarians involves making their autism “invisible”, or some seemingly offhand comment that “we’re all a little bit autistic”, would any human person be surprised if we experience such things as a slap in the face? Making autism “invisible” is another name for masking. Research and experience have shown how harmful masking is. Yet, it is ultimately dehumanizing, just as it is when representatives of the Church speak about autistic people only in terms of their inconvenience to the community.

So much of this flies in the face of everything we seek to promote at Autism Consecrated. None of it is the Way of St. Thorlak. The most positive thing I can say about it is “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they say”.

– Fr. Mark Nolette
August 20, 2026

Domestic Prayer Missionaries of Saint Thorlak

Tomorrow (14 December) begins the Novena in Honor of Saint Thorlák, prayed during the nine days leading up to his feast day of 23 December.

This year, we would like to suggest praying this novena as a spiritual bouquet to the clergy serving in the Diocese of Reykjavik: offering our prayers for the intentions and wellbeing of its sixteen priests, one deacon and one seminarian.

This bouquet reflects the prayer on a regular basis throughout the year by the Domestic Prayer Missionaries of Saint Thorlák, a volunteer corps of missionaries-in-place whose work is to pray from where we are, in our current circumstances, in our present states of body and mind.  We are “domestic,” meaning, staying in place; we pray from wherever we are able to be, transforming “everywhere” into one, common household, one family of God: “Domestic” Missionaries of St. Thorlák do our work from within the “home” of God’s Household. This Domestic form of missionary work differs from that of missionaries who leave home to do their work elsewhere, publicly.

The Domestic Prayer Missionaries’ focus is prayer in any way we are capable, including all forms of communication: fully spoken, low speaking, variably spoken and non-speaking. Our prayer takes the form of however we best express our hearts and intentions to God, in the place best suited to our abilities: at home, in chapel, outdoors; standing, kneeling, sitting, walking; wherever we connect fully with God at any given moment. Many Domestic Missionaries spend their time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, but others may pray better in motion. Some “practice the presence of God” throughout the day, offering as we go, and some simply focus on the breath in prayer (e.g., breathe in “My Jesus,” breathe out “Mercy”) to create a “chapel of the heart” wherever we happen to be. Domestic Missionary prayer deliberately minimizes physical and social demands to keep our efforts focused on prayer. We draw special inspiration from the ways of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, whose Practice of the Presence of God is an excellent model for anyone, in any state of ability or disability, to offer prayers efficaciously and sincerely alongside those called to more conventional and active forms of missionary work.

To learn more about the Domestic Prayer Missionaries of Saint Thorlák, or to become a Prayer Missionary yourself, download our prayer manual or contact us at AutismConsecrated.Com.

 

Domestic Missionaries of Saint Thorlak – Prayer Booklet