‘Blessed are those who believe in me …’: SPRED Mass participants are encouraged to believe Jesus is always in their midst

Altar servers Thompson Manuszak, left, Steve Mailloux, P.J. Sylvester and Maddie Lindley listen to Bishop Christopher J. Coyne during the 13th annual SPRED Mass on May 1 at St. Pius X Church in Indianapolis. The altar servers are members of St. Pius X Parish. (Photo by Mike Krokos)

By Mike Krokos

It’s about building community.

That’s how Ken Ogorek, archdiocesan director of catechesis, described the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’s SPRED (Special Religious Development) program, which ministers to children and adults with developmental disabilities.

That community building was on full display on May 1 at St. Pius X Church in Indianapolis when the archdiocese hosted its 13th annual SPRED Mass.

Nearly 200 people, including SPRED participants, family members and catechists, attended the liturgy celebrated by Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, auxiliary bishop and vicar general.

In his homily, the bishop discussed how, depending on how things are going in one’s life, it is easy or difficult to believe that Jesus is present.

“It’s like you need to believe when things are going along [well],” he said. “If my health is good, if I have a nice job, a lot of good things happening in my life, … you say, ‘I believe God is with me.’

“Then something happens. Things don’t go well. You get a bad diagnosis … or troubles start. ‘Lord, I’m having a real tough time believing here. Where is God?’ ”

Like the first disciples, we need to believe that Jesus is always in our midst, Bishop Coyne said.

“He stands in their midst, and things are a lot better,” he said.

We need to remember, as the Gospel of Matthew teaches us, “where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst” (Mt 18:20), Bishop Coyne said.

“He is in our midst right now, in the Spirit, in the word and in the sacrament,” he said.

As Jesus tells the Apostle Thomas in St. John’s Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Easter, “Blessed are those who believe in me, even if they haven’t seen” (Jn 20:29).

That story from 2,000 years ago is a story of hope, “and it continues today,” Bishop Coyne said.

“In our suffering, in our problems and in our sorrows, we have someone who walks with us, who knows us, who helps us along the way,” he said.

Walking along with Jesus in their lives of faith is what SPRED participants do at both their parish and in larger settings like the annual Mass.

“One of the neat things about the SPRED Mass is that members of different SPRED groups throughout the archdiocese are able to spend time with each other,” said Ogorek, “and I think you can tell folks who are a part of this ministry, they just love being together.

“They enjoy a sense of small community throughout the year in their respective SPRED groups in different parishes, but this is really an opportunity for them to experience that sense of community with SPRED friends and catechists throughout central and southern Indiana.”

Nick Shewman, 31, a SPRED participant and member of Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Parish in Indianapolis, was among the people who read the general intercessions at the Mass.

“I think it [the Mass] was really nice,” he said. “I really liked doing the prayers.”

Shewman, who has attended several SPRED Masses over the years, takes part in the SPRED program at St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, where he serves in various ministries.

“I am an usher, and I did serve [as an altar boy] when I was 12, too,” he added.

P.J. Sylvester, 33, a member of St. Pius X Parish and SPRED participant who assisted Bishop Coyne as an altar server during the Mass, said he has several favorite priests.

“My favorite priests are Father [Gerald] Kirkoff, Father Jim [Farrell] and now the bishop,” Sylvester said. “I liked serving with the bishop. He’s a tall guy [6 feet 4 inches tall].”

Like Sylvester, Ogorek said he felt everyone in attendance welcomed Bishop Coyne’s presence.

“I think this was a great introduction of SPRED to Bishop Coyne,” he said, “and I know that all of us SPRED friends, families and catechists really appreciated his presence here.”

(For information about the archdiocesan SPRED program, call 800-382-9836, ext. 1446, or 317-236-1446.) †