SPRED

Archdioceseof Chicaeo DEVELOPI\4ENT

SPECIALRELIGIOUS
2956 SouthLoweAve.Chicago,Illinois 60616
3lZ-842-1039 www.spred.org

March 2017 Volume 92 Number 3

Christmasand New Year are behind us. The excitementleadingup to Christmasand

the day itself is over for anotheryear. ln somerespectsChristmascanbe a time of
anxiety,concernand loneliness;the anxietyof the monetarycosts,the concernthat
i,vhatthey haveboughtor madeis enoughand the lonelinessfor someof not having
family and friendsaroundthem or no longerpresent.
\^
At the startof a new yearandwith the gift-giving seasonof Christmasbehindus, we

?i
4
in Spredare abouthalf way throughour year and the gift-givingjust goeson in the
nicestpossibleway without amiety, concernand loneliness.

RalphWaldoEmersonsaid,"the only gift is a portion of thyself."

And that is eractly what happensat a Spredsession.Eachcatechistwillingly givesa

little piece of themselvesand their lives to their friends and everyoneelse in the
group,while our friendsdo the same.
,/( --\-
/ brings them along,be it a
On arrival at the centreor hal1,theTriendsand r.r'hoever
family member, carestaff or driver aremet andwelcomedcheerilyandwarmly by an
/
activity catechist.A11aretreatedthe sameway - quietly,pleasantlyandwith a smile
- beforethe peoplewho have deliveredthe friends departand the friendsare brought
into the room readyto begin the session.The friendsreciprocatethat welcomewith
a warrn welcomeof their own to eachof us.

The first gift is given and received;the gift of friendship,welcomeandrespect.

During the preparationphase,we sit quietly side by side in calming light with our
activities;we work slowly andpeacefully,stilling ourselves.Thereis beautiful,gentle
music playing to soothebody and spirit in readinessfor the celebrationroom. We
probablydon't eventhink aboutgift-giving, we may be unawarethat we have any gift
to give, but we do.

The gift we give and receiveis a specialgift indeed,and that is the gift of peace.

alike it may be one of the very few times in our

For someof us, friendsand catech-isr,s
busy lives when we experience that level of peace.
 The peaceof friendship,quietness,stillnessand togethernesssuroundsus and
seftleson each of us. We shareit willingly and gratefilliy and, like many gifts,
we may not realize at the time how specialit is.

The mood achievedduring the preparationphasehasbeenset and goeswith us

and readiness
into the celebrationroom. That feeling of peace,togetherness
walks with us into our sacredspace.

ln the celebrationroom we arereadyto receivethe greatestgift of all, the gift of

God. God is truly presentamongus.

"For where two or three come toqether in mv name. I am there with them."
Matthew 18:20

As the Evocationof theHumanExperienceunfoldsin the celebrationroom,the

ieadercatechistbringsthe Word of God aliveto eachone. The leaderoffersthat
word to the groupbut all catechistshelp makethe gift of God'sword real. With
their sharingand support,the friendsarehelpedto feel the gift of God'sword.
They hearthat the sameword is for everyone.

With the reverenceandcareshownto the Holy Book by the leader,the friends

knor,vthat they have heard somethingspecial. The rvhole group understands
that they have receivedanothergift.

When the Word hasbeenbroken and shared,the leaderthen deliversthe mes-

sageto eachperson. This messageis a gift from God. It is a gift of light and
love from God the Fatherthroush ChristHis Son to eachof us individually.

is delivered
It is said thal the eyesarea mirror of the soul,so thatasthe message
with the leaderlooking directly into the eyesof eachperson,and they in turn
looking into the leaderseyes,eachseesdeeplyinto the soul of the other.As we
listen to the message,gazingintothe eyesof the other,we aiiow the Holy Spirit
to renew and transformus.

"It is not abouthow much we give but

ho,,vmuch love we put into giving."
of Calcutta
St.Teresa

Whiie listening to that very short, simple messageboth friends and catechists

w
experiencethe love that flows betweenthem. The touch of handsbeingjoined
and held, which for our friends is somethingthey may not be comfortablewith
in normal circumstances,is waited for eagerlyand acceptedwillingly. We are
all awarethat we areall being given a gift.

The gift of silence.

It is an easysilence;no one feelsuncomfortable;no one rushesit; no one feels
the needto breakthe silence;everyonerelaxesin the moment.

Although all haveenjoyedthe brief minute of silence,the groupis now readyto

continuewith the next part of the sessionwhich is not so silent!

Everyonehelpsin whateverway they can to preparethe agapetable. Tabiecloth,

napkins,crockeryand cutlery are all laid out beforeplatesof simple, tasty food
arebrought andthe group all sit togetherready to sharefood and friendship.

As we go aroundthe tablelisteningto everyone'sstoryof what they have been

doing sincewe were last together,thereis joking, laughter,and singing and yet +
anothergift is given and shared.

The gift of companionshipand recognition.

We recognizethe gift of eachother;that eachof us is a gift to the other.

Like anygift, noneof us is perfectlywrapped- we all haveour faults,failingsand

problems,but we arehuppyto be a gift to anotherwho acceptsus as we are.

"Only by giving areyou ableto receivemore thanyou alreadyhave."

Emmanuel James'.Iim'Rohn

We haveall cometo be catechistsfor difrerentreasons,many and varied,but at

the heartof thesesurelymustbe the willingnessandurgeto sharethe gift of faith
that we haveby which r,vejiveour lives.

I listento catechists
talking abouttheir experienceof Spredandthe thoughtsand
expectations theyhadwhentheyfirst startedandhow dramaticallytheir vier,vhas
changedover time.
-J/,,
:/

All camewith a wish to help,encourageand sharewhat they had experiencedon

their faith journey with others. All of them could speakof the gifts they had
receivedon thatjourney andwantedothersto be ableto experiencethe same.

Ard all of themtalk aboutthe wonderful feeling of how much they get from their
specialfriend and the other group members;about the gifts they receive w-hich
they had neverexpected;and how they all hope that the giving and receivingof
all theseamazing,wonderful gifts will just go on.
RECEIVI]YG
The gifts of Spredhaveno monetarycost but have a value way beyond any'thing
any of us could afford.
Emma Robertson
Spred,Edinburgh,Scotland
 CALENDAR

SPRED TRAINII\G OBSERVATION - Spred Center

6 - 1 0M o n .6 p * M a r c h1 3 , 2 J ,M u y 1 , 1 5
*3-1 Role Orientation. English and Spanish 11-16Tues.7pm March 28, May 2,16
SpredCenterSaturdayMarch 11,18,20111:00to 6:00pm 22+ Mon. 7pm Malch 27,May 1, 15
2956SouthLoweAve,ChicagoIl 60616,312-842-1039
SPRED FAMILY LITIIRGIES SIIIYDAYS 11:OOAM HELPER CATECHIST TRAINING
Mar. 5, APril 2,}l4.aY7 ENGLISH
WORJGHOP FOR LEADER CATECHISTS Sat.March4, 1:00to 6:00SpredCenter,2956So.Lowe
Sat.April 1 9:30to12:00SpredCenter,2956
S.Lowe RSVP-312-842-1039
SPRING MAMRE DINNER DANCE FI]NDRAISER SPANISH
DruryLane,OakbrookSunday,Aprit 23,2017 Sat.March25, 1:00to 6:00SpredCenter,2956So.Lowe
312-842-1039

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