Mcguire Memorial Awakening Spiritual Dimensions: A Model of Catechesis and Prayer Services for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

By William Gillum OFM Cap. M.Div M. Ed.

McGuire Memorial Awakening Spiritual Dimensions: Catechesis and Prayer Services with Persons with Severe Disabilities offers a program and method whereby persons with severe intellectual and physical disabilities and their catechists are given the tools to awaken the Spirit of God within them and learn about the love of God for them. The book begins with the purpose and methods used in the program to allow its participants to evoke and awaken the love and presence of God during a time of catechesis and prayer. It is a sensory-based program of learning allowing the person with a disability to experience a sense of the sacred by way of sight, sounds, aroma, and symbols. The sessions are brief and composed of prayer, scripture, a lesson and a simple written activity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728341958

William Gillum OFM Cap. M.Div M. Ed.

Fr. William Gillum, OFM Cap., M Div., M Ed. is a Capuchin Franciscan friar and priest of the Pittsburgh PA Province of St. Augustine. He received his M.Div. from the Washington Theological Union in 1976 and his M. Ed. in special education from Loyola University in Baltimore MD in 1985. He served as Director of Special Religious Education in the Diocese of Cleveland from 1986 until 1989. Fr. Bill served at McGuire Memorial in New Brighton, PA as Director of Spiritual Programs from 1995 until 2013. Presently he is serving in the Capuchin post-novitiate formation program at Capuchin College in Washington, DC.

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© 2020 William L. Gillum, OFM Cap., M.Div, M.Ed. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-7283-4194-1 (sc)

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Published by AuthorHouse 02/17/2020

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Appreciation

Sr. Mary Thaddeus Markelewicz, CSSF, Executive Director of McGuire Memorial, New Brighton, PA. 1989 – 2019.

Janice Benton, ofs for her guidance and support with this project.

The Province of St. Augustine of Capuchin Franciscan Friars, Pittsburgh, PA.

The photographers Gary Yon, Pat Gerard, and Lauren Smith whose photography appears throughout this publication. Used with permission.

The individuals and staff who live, learn, or work at McGuire Memorial and whose photographs appear throughout this publication. Used with permission.

Robert Malloy, OFM Cap., Capuchin Franciscan of the Province of St. Joseph, Detroit, MI, whose past inspiration and guidance has led me to this ministry and publication.

The staff at McGuire Memorial, New Brighton, PA, for their cooperation with the spirituality program Awakening Spiritual Dimensions.

The volunteers from St. Cecilia Parish, Rochester, PA, for their support and participation in the spirituality program at McGuire Memorial.

Janice Benton, Matthew Palkowski OFM Cap., Rigo Azanwi OFM Cap., Christopher Johnson OFM Cap. and Paul Rahn OFM Cap. for proof-reading Awakening Spiritual Dimensions.

Dedica

ted

to

The Felician Franciscan Sisters

of North America

and

The individuals and staff who live and work at

McGuire Memorial

New Brighton, PA

Foreword

Awakening Spiritual Dimensions by Fr. William Gillum, OFM Cap. is an invaluable tool for catechists wishing to share the faith with individuals with profound intellectual and physical disabilities, providing to them the means to connect with God. His introduction to symbolic catechesis stresses the importance of forming relationships as well as creating an environment where all the senses are engaged. Thirty-two lesson plans provide leaders with specific language to guide the learner to an appreciation that God is love, God made our beautiful world, and made each person just the way they are. It also offers valuable lessons on Jesus, and preparation for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Having had the honor to witness a lesson in the beautiful chapel at McGuire Memorial, I can attest to the power of the peaceful, gentle spirit of the lessons that can lead each person to an encounter with our loving God. As Gillum explains, this program of prayer and catechesis attempts to meet the spiritual needs of those with severe disabilities using an approach that is simple, contemplative, and sensory-based. It is a simple program with a simple format. When used correctly, God’s presence comes alive. God’s peaceful presence can be learned, felt, experienced, and celebrated.

While this method was developed by Gillum for use in a residential setting, it can be equally applied in parishes, and include individuals with and without disabilities. In sharing the stories of Roy and Emily who participated in Awakening Spiritual Dimensions, he stresses that they were welcomed and included…into the life of a local parish…[and feel] a part of a wider Christian community. This is a crucial component of the program – participants are engaged rather than isolated from their peers and parish families. As our U.S. bishops counseled in their 2017 Revision of the Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with Persons with Disabilities, They [persons with disabilities] should not be segregated for specialized catechesis unless their disabilities make it impossible for them to participate in the basic catechetical program. Even in those cases, participation in parish life is encouraged in all ways possible.

Awakening Spiritual Dimensions is an essential addition as individual lessons or incorporated into an existing catechetical program. It brings the love of community alive for families and pastoral leaders seeking to awaken the faith and experience of God for individuals with significant disabilities, and provides a rich personal prayer experience to encounter Jesus in their lives and walk in His loving company.

Janice L. Benton, ofs

Executive Director, 2004-2019, National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD)

McGuire Memorial

Awakening Spiritual Dimensions: A Model of Catechesis and Prayer Services with Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

CONTENTS

Preface

Emily and Roy

Part 1 -  Introduction

Part 2 -  An Overview of Awakening Spiritual Dimensions

Relationships, Friendships and Symbolic Catechesis

The Sacred Flow

The Goal of Awakening Spiritual Dimensions

Sacraments, Sacramentals, and Evocation

Evocation

Awakening Spiritual Dimension: for First Eucharist Preparation and for Catechesis and Prayer

Guidelines for First Eucharist Preparation

The Objectives for using Awakening Spiritual Dimensions for First Communion Preparation

The Strategies for Awakening Spiritual Dimensions

Summary and Conclusion

Part 3 -  The Time for Prayer and Catechesis

Gathering for Fellowship

Entering the Sacred Space

Catechesis and the Prayer Session

Welcome and Introduction

Opening Prayer

Reverencing the Bible

Lesson

Lesson

Activity

Blessing and Exit

Conclusion

Part 4 –    The Prayer Sessions and Catechesis

McGuire Memorial

Awakening Spiritual Dimensions:

Prayer Services with Persons

with Intellectual Disabilities

Preface

Emily and Roy

Catechists often struggle with a practical way to share the Christian faith with people who have severe physical and intellectual disabilities. These particular individuals may not be able to hear, see, speak or walk and also have severe intellectual limitations. Thus, they are often left in the background never having the opportunity of knowing and feeling the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the reason for this struggle is that the majority of people communicate verbally. We are more comfortable with cognitive processing especially when it comes to defining and expressing our faith. We know the questions and we know most of the answers. This is the typical way for catechesis within religious education programs.

Using this typical model of catechesis, persons with severe disabilities, left in the background, often fail to enjoy and learn in a way that meets their needs. However, they are able to learn through experiential, sensory and a symbolic method of conveying our faith. Symbolic catechesis, which I will describe later in detail, is a catechetical method that assists those with severe disabilities to experience a sense of the sacred, i.e. the presence and love of God.

Step into the world of Emily and Roy. In their world one will discover a new and exciting way of experiencing the joy of two young adults who discovered the Lord by experiencing the program Awakening Spiritual Dimensions. Emily was, and Roy is, a resident of McGuire Memorial in New Brighton, PA.

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Emily was eighteen years old when I first met her. This beautiful young lady and I became friends. Emily had cerebral palsy and was unable to speak, walk or even see. Emily had been labeled as being severely disabled. However, she learned to communicate in a simple and direct manner. She raised her right arm as her expression of yes,, and she raised her left arm for no. With a huge smile her large dark brown eyes widened when she was excited about any person or situation. Her face seemed to fall when she felt saddened. You definitely knew when Emily was happy and you knew when Emily was sad.

Once you looked at Emily you came to realize that her abilities overshadowed her apparent disabilities.

Emily knew my voice. She always welcomed my presence. Her formation in the faith and preparation for first communion led Emily on a journey of understanding the love of God and the person of Jesus. This happened in and through meaningful experiences of prayer and friendships with significant people suggested by Awakening Spiritual Dimensions.

As the year of formation for first communion progressed, Emily showed many signs of feeling the presence of our loving God, that is, a sense of the sacred. Her facial expressions said it all. Emily smiled while taking in the aroma of scented candles, the wonder and curiosity of stroking a crucifix or tabernacle, the joy of dipping her fingers into holy water, being helped to make the sign of the cross, and by receiving the Precious Blood in the Eucharist.

The excitement of being able to carry a bouquet of flowers to the altar when we prepared the gifts at Mass, and the outbursts of joyful sounds when she was approached with the Eucharist, all brought joy to her. Emily came to know the Lord! She knew Him through her senses by way of symbol, ritual, music, routine, structure, and loving relationships with those who joined her for prayer.

One afternoon Emily and I enjoyed a brief visit to the McGuire chapel. There I led her to the bright and shiny gold tabernacle. It seemed that the light in the room made it brighter. Emily was able to see a faint glimpse of the gold. Silently, I led her hand to the door of the tabernacle. With a serious expression, and with my assistance, she felt those doors. Jesus is here with us, I whispered to her. All of a sudden, she broke into a huge smile. She voiced sounds of joy and excitement.

Quietly we left the chapel. We returned the following week and again I took her to the tabernacle. I said nothing to her. Quietly, I lifted her arm and placed her hand