The Leaders School of The Cursillo Movement
Of The Savannah Diocese
Savannah, Georgia

Simplicity of the Cursillo Weekend

References:

a. Fundamental Ideas of The Cursillo Movement, 1992, {FI-xxx}

b. Leaders Manual, 1998, Appendix C {LM-p x}

c. 3-Day Manual, 1999 {3DM-p x}

d. Savannah Diocese Team Coordinators Manual {TCM}

Introduction

Good morning. Let us pray;

LEADERS' PRAYER

Lord, grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success.

My God, give us a spirit of self sacrifice so that we may offer everything for Your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary. Instill in us courage in our initiatives, good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that determination which in spite of failures assures victory.

Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which divides or discourages.

Help us to maintain at a high level a meaningful, supernatural, and mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by preference the most humble tasks and will rejoice at the good performed by others, so that all our spirits united in a common purpose will have one single spirit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces, Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living Presence among us. Amen.

Our Lady of Guadeloupe, Patron of the Americas, Pray for us.

St. Paul, Patron of Cursillo, Pray for us.

Purpose

The purpose of this presentation is to give you a sense of the simplicity of the weekend.

As team mebers of a Cursillo weekend, our purpose is to move the candidates from the “Pre-Cursillo” stage to the “Post-Cursillo” stage by proving instruction and example of the whole of Christian life. The talks obviously provide a structured learning environment. Each talk has a specific message and is delivered at a specific point in the weekend to provide continuity and basis for progression as the talks become more complex. But equally as important is the example we display as who we are. Each one of us that claims to be a Christian makes a statement by our word and action that describes our ideal and beliefs about Christianity. If the weekend is a “short course in Christianity” then the most simple instruction we can provide is the example we display of who we are as Christians. For us to do that effectively, our Christianity must be natural, something we practice every day. The simplicity in the instruction comes from simply being a Christian. For that reason, we must be genuine. We must practice our faith. The joy we experience will be evident without conscious effort if we live our faith.

To provide a good learning environment, we need to eliminate the distractions that prevent us from focusing on our intended objective. People that are comfortable and at ease have more effective learning experiences. They are able to take in process and understand more. At the beginning of a Cursillo weekend, during the introductory talk by the coordinator we are told:

“Now that you are here, we hope that you will relax, get comfortable and try to shut out all those outside distractions and responsibilities you left behind. What you left behind are in good hands - they are in His hands. We encourage you to let go, and just let this weekend happen for you.”

We usually ask candidates and team to put away cell phones, watches, and our pagers. We ask them not to worry about the news, the weather reports, the job, the family, the house, and all the routine tasks in our busy lives that nag at us. We are asked to set these things aside to allow us to focus our interest to the task at hand.

The retreat phase of the weekend (Thursday evening to Friday morning) allows the candidates and team to “take a walk in the desert” as a participant of the silent retreat. At the start of the retreat, the coordinator tells the candidates;

“In order for all of us to be able to accept the ideas that will be presented, it is essential that we have open hearts and minds. Without openness, the walls that we build, or allow to remain standing, may prevent us from actually hearing and absorbing what is being said. Maybe we can do as Jesus did after his baptism in the Jordan river. He went to an empty barren place, fasted, prayed, and opened himself to his father.”

Simple time with no distractions allow us time to examine our relationship with the Father.

Should we ask candidates to set aside all the distractions of life – for the sake of them learning the meaning of Christianity, only to substitute our own set of distractions different from theirs? We must foster an environment free of anything that distracts the candidates from the true experience of the Christian Community.

To properly understand a teaching, we need time to digest the message; to reflect on its meaning and to compare it to our personal Ideal to determine it’s value. In our personal contact with one another, we share life experiences and learn from each other.

The guidelines provided for conducting a 3-day Cursillo provide methods and techniques to create an atmosphere conducive to an encounter with the Lord and to overcome any obstacles blocking or slowing down reception and acceptance of the message. {FI-301}

Technique can be hazardous if it gets out of control, becoming inflated into something that exists for its own sake. Its value consists in the subordination of teaching resources to the action of grace. "Apostolic technique" is deserving of the name only when its role is that of an instrument of something superior to itself; failing that, the intended objective can never be attained. We should not underrate or try to do without [teaching] resources, nor should we try to limit or direct the paths of divine action; but at the same time we should not let ourselves fall into an activism that all but obliterates the supernatural. {FI-302}

The Cursillo would lose its value if it deviated from its unique method. Without its particular strategy, a Cursillo might still have the best of results, but it would not be "a short course in living Christianity." We must combine the instrumental worth of the human with the causal, definitive worth of the divine. {FI-303}

Heterogeneity

The Cursillo will always strive for heterogeneity {diversity}, both in the leadership team and in the group of people making the Cursillo. {FI-304}

Ephesians 4:5 tells us:

"There is, therefore, one chosen People of God: ,one Lord, one faith, one baptism' (Ep 4:5); there is a common dignity of members deriving from their rebirth in Christ, a common grace as sons and daughters, a common vocation to perfection, one salvation, one hope, and undivided charity. In Christ and in the Church there is, then, no inequality arising from race or nationality, social condition or sex, for 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is neither male nor female. For you are all "one" in Christ Jesus. {FI-306}

Creation of an appropriate environment and atmosphere contributes greatly to the effectiveness of a Cursillo. This task is the responsibility of all the team leaders. {FI-308}

Atmosphere is something we generally think of as being incidental or accessory. But it can make the whole experience pleasant or unpleasant, agreeable or disagreeable. In the case of a Cursillo, we would have to say of its atmosphere that we are dealing with realities which, although secondary, do affect the degree to which those who make the Cursillo will internalize it. {FI-309}

We are not referring here to the atmosphere of prayer and reflection that is indeed vital to the Cursillo, but to an atmosphere of joy and spontaneity which expresses itself in openness, naturalness, sincerity, and friendliness. {FI-310}

The Cursillo program incorporates appropriate means of bringing about this kind of atmosphere in such a way that it does spring forth spontaneously and is suited to the character of each session. It is important and worthwhile to provide opportunities for psychological release, to open up escape valves within the parameters of normal life. {FI-311}

Experiencing friendship and being happy are good appetizers for appreciating friendship with God and the Good News of grace -- Joking flows into dialoguing, singing together into working together, and an atmosphere of sincerity into communal friendship. {FI-312}

PERSONAL CONTACT: LIVING TOGETHER AND DIALOGUING

Among the principal functions of each and every team member is an openness to living together with, and dialoguing with, each and every cursillista. {FI-313}

The Cursillo involves an experience of shared living, such that the team leaders "open themselves up as friends, without trying either directly or indirectly to find out the spiritual condition of the cursillista. Honest friendship is the only path that can lead to genuine openness and effective dialogue. Technique here is a blend of opportunity, delicacy, tact, and an apostolic spirit. {FI-314}

Personal dialogue is not meant to offer solutions to problems of a moral nature, but rather to communicate, out of human honesty and Christian friendship, a valid and effective set of criteria for structuring one's whole life ‑ that of each individual ‑ which is something that extends far beyond the duration of a Cursillo weekend. {FI-315}

The personal dialogue has a different focus for each of the three days. On the first day, the goal is to get better acquainted with the cursillistas; on the second day, to free them of any prejudice against the proclaimed truth, by showing how it relates to their individual circumstances; and on the third day, to help them plan their re‑entry into their respective environments. {FI-316}

This person‑to‑person style of evangelization is, endorsed by Evangelii Nuntiandi: Communication of the Gospel from person to person must be encouraged and esteemed. This is the method which Our Lord Himself constantly employed as we see in His discussions with Nicodemus, with Zaccheus, with the Samaritan woman, and with Simon the Pharisee. It is the method employed by the Apostles. It may be said that the only true form of evangelization is that by which the individual communicates to another those truths of which he or she is personally convinced by faith. We must not allow the necessity of proclaiming the Good News to the multitude to make us neglect the person-to-persoon method by which the conscience of the individual is touched by some inspiring words which he or she hears from another. {FI-317}

It is not acceptable to shirk this task on the grounds that one lacks the talent, intelligence, or competence for it. Christifideles Laici has the answer to this objection: "In Christ, God calls each of us by name, personally and unmistakably." To each faithful lay person "He has entrusted a unique task that cannot be substituted for or delegated to someone else." This is "an apostolate which is always and everywhere profitable, and which in certain circumstances is the only one appropriate or even possible"; a form of apostolate making "the radiation of the Gospel extremely strong, constant, and incisive. {FI-318}

GROUPS IN THE CURSILLO

To foster a spirit of communal living and of dialogue founded on friendship, the cursillistas are divided into small groups, {usually called table families}. At least one team member is placed into each table family. {FI-319}

These groups are, in effect, small communities. Among their many purposes, the most important ones are: {FI-320}

to facilitate a most cordial and affectionate experience of community living,
to come to a solid understanding of the doctrine proclaimed in each talk,
to encourage openness and friendship, and to initiate the experience of community spirit.

At the end of each day, a joint meeting of all the table families is held. In this meeting, ‑ summaries of the talks, and comments on them, are shared. Each table family shares its general feeling about the experience of the day; ‑ points that may have been presented in an incomplete or confusing way are clarified. Openness and intermingling among the table families is encouraged, so that on the last day of the Cursillo an authentic community spirit prevails. {FI-322}

SCHEDULE

The schedule is of vital importance to the success of the Cursillo. People have their limitations ‑ physical, psychological, and emotional. The schedule will, of course, vary somewhat from Cursillo to Cursillo, absolute uniformity being impossible; however, every schedule should be designed in such a way as to make plenty of allowance for free time, personal conversation, and time to rest. {FI-324} The experience of the weekend suffers when people do not have sufficient ‘down-time’ and sleep.

ROLLOS CHARACTERISTCS

The different proclamations made in the Cursillo have, from the very beginning of the Movement, been known by the popular and colloquial name of "Rollos," or "talks" ‑ a word chosen expressly because it does not carry the academic connotations of a word like "conference" or "lesson." Although the talks are not everything in the Cursillo, they are one of its essential elements. They contain the doctrinal substance of the Cursillo, which determines the essence and shapes the style of our Christian spirituality, and they are the means for the proper, conscious, and solid achievement of what is essential: the living of what is fundamental for being a Christian. {FI-347}

The various proclamations of the Cursillo should have certain characteristics in common that can be summarized:

‑ The talks should be the proclamation not of an academic truth or of a theological speculation, but of a truth that is active and dynamic, something that is lived or at least meant to be lived vigorously. They are an appeal for "a new way of life." {FI-348}

‑ In the talks the truth should be presented in an incarnate (bodily or human) form, in context of the specific persons and circumstances involved. That is why the proclamations should be made not by "professionals," but by those who in one way or another have answered the call of the Lord Jesus. {FI-349}

‑ The message should be proclaimed in a joyful voice full of the living faith, optimism, and hope befitting those who feel the beckoning presence of the Lord Jesus. {FI-350}

‑ The talks should inspire the making of a full choice. The spirit of the Gospel should pervade all dimensions of one's life. It is enough to set forth only what is essential to elicit a personal encounter with Christ. {FI-351}

‑ It would not be in keeping with the truth proclaimed if we were to proclaim it with false humility or in a flippant way; that would subvert the whole purpose of the Cursillo. Every talk should shine with simplicity, naturalness, and the authenticity of a life which, having the boldness that comes of true living, nevertheless feels a holy blush at being exposed to others. {FI-352}

‑ In giving the testimony of personal experience, preference should be given to experiences shared by the community. And among those, it would be best to choose the ones having most to do with life in the world, since they are the ones most typical of the ordinary life of a committed lay person. {FI-353}

‑ The talks can and should be kept constantly subject to revision, in a way that shows careful respect for, and fidelity to, the basic charism and the body of doctrine that in each moment is being conveyed. Revision should never be done arbitrarily or independently, but rather in a thought‑out, responsible, and coordinated way, "with fear and trembling" (I Co 2:3).” {FI-354}

Team Coordinators Manual:

“It is your job … to present to the Candidates a way of life that can be lived in the Fourth Day and not an artificial experience that can't be recreated when they return to their environments. If the weekend is presented according to the Three-Day Manual, then the joy, exhilaration, and elation will follow, it doesn’t have to be created.

Avoid the temptation to put your own mark on the weekend.' do not add anything not called for in the 3-Day Manual, These little things tend to be held over from weekend to weekend and soon we have many practices never intended to be a part of the Cursillo weekend.

It is not the Intention of the movement to have the weekend full of good things, only that it present what is essential, what is normal and natural for a Cursillo weekend. (Leaders’ Manual 1981)

WE HAVE A DREAM {LM p 164}

We have a dream, an ideal, and the dream is that by sharing the living experience of Jesus, and also praying with others, we might by the grace of the risen Christ enable all to see that we are on a pilgrimage together to the Father. As mature Christians, we refuse to resort at any time to any sort of trickery or, deceit. We are consecrated to the truth, the truth that makes people free and gives them a freedom based on the dignity of the individual human person. Maturity is based on that prayer life, which is essential to, precedes and sustains all Cursillo action. It is the "communication" which enables us to recognize that God loves all. It is the source of our living witness to that love in great simplicity, loving not only God and neighbor' but also the world the Father created. The fundamental element of our spirituality is the person of Jesus. The Father has drawn us to Jesus, and we even seek to adopt His mentality. We wish to continually empty ourselves that we might be filled with the Spirit of love-who will work through us as through a hollow reed to recreate the world.

The method of the Cursillos is not unchangeable, as long as a distinction is carefully made between what is essential -- that which is always absolutely necessary and cannot be altered-and that which is important or merely incidental. … Too often, individuals make changes in the method on their own initiative without understanding either the purpose of what they have changed or its integral part in the total method.

At the same time, as alert Christians of our own day, we must endeavor to use the gifts that the Father gives us at this moment. We should also be sensitive to the needs of the various overall and specific cultures. {LM p 164}

CURSILLO {LM p 167}

The purpose of the Cursillo Weekend is that the candidates, "Meet the integral, living, joyful nucleus of Christianity" …. Therefore, the Weekend structure and elements must fit together to achieve the desired response to that encounter.

The team of lay leaders must be a living example, in a natural way, of the talks that should express their love of Christ, of others and the world. All team members should be spiritually formed in an ongoing manner and understand totally the essence, purpose and method of the Movement. {LM p 167}

We must be cautious about building distractions from the message. We should not establish such a unique and emotional experience that we cannot be fulfilled in Gods love outside of a Cursillo weekend Our goal is to provide an atmosphere where the candidate can learn and experience the Christian life. We want the candidates to have an experience that will influence them to change to a life of Christ lasting for eternity – even if the weekend has become a faded memory.

The simple approach is one of genuine love – a Christ like love; it is sharing a real and active faith as Christian community,. We must be authentic and genuine. We must display by our actions the simple message that we truly strive to live our faith every day – not just on Sunday.

De-Colores

For today’s discussion, we will again break up into small groups.