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Your monthly news & updates
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Each month, the secretariat will send out a monthly newsletter with news and links to inform the Cursillista community. This is the first of what we hope will be a better experience for you on your desktop and mobile devices.
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Deacon's Beacon - Lent 2017
In the Gospel, we read how Satan tried to get Jesus to question his identity. He prefaced his temptations by saying. “If you are the Son of God….” The devil knew that if he could get Jesus to be unsure of his Father’s love, he might walk away from the plan God had for him. He does the same with us tempting us to doubt by saying; “if there is a God, why is there so much pain & sorrow in the world”, or “if God loves you, why are you having so much difficulty with your job, your spouse, your family?” You see if we doubt the Father’s love for us, we might walk away from our prayer life or attending church. Then the devil wins !!!
Every day we make choices – what choices will you make. Every day we will be tempted – how will you handle those temptations. Lent is a time in our church year that asks us to slow down and take inventory of our lives. To ask ourselves how are we handling the evil temptations in our world? Sin is not a onetime occurrence. Sin is giving into those weaknesses within ourselves that get us into trouble.
As Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations, we can overcome our temptations by uniting ourselves to Jesus.
The author John Shea says:
If you want to be wise, hang around wise people.
If you want to be a good Catholic, hang around good Catholic people.
If you want to improve your spirituality, hang around spiritual people.
A few years ago Sheila & I were invited by some parishioners to attend an awards dinner in LA. They told who we were sitting with plus we were told there was one surprise guest. When we got there we found out that the surprise guest was Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon. Buzz Aldrin stated in his book that the Apollo 11 astronauts achieved their goal and overcame their obstacles by focusing on the stars and surrounding themselves with smart aeronautical engineers.
We will reach our goal and overcome our obstacles and temptations by focusing on the things of heaven and by surrounding ourselves with holy faithful people. In Cursillo we call these Faithful People our Groupies.
Color, Doug Deacon
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Cursillo Regional Meeting
Twice a year Cursillistas of all cultures from all over California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii gather in Fresno for a weekend Encounter. I was joined this last weekend by Susan and Efrain Gutierrez and Laurie Bois who is the English Regional coordinator.
In addition to the valuable sharing among our various Secretariats about our experience and best practices , we also experience some fine presentations in addition to an Ultreya, Mass and Adoration.
Among the speakers Juan Ruiz gave a fine talk about the Cursillo charism – the essence of what Cursillo is. Juan is a long time Cursillista and is National Director of the Spanish language Cursillo. He also had the privilege of knowing and working with the founder, Eduardo Bonin. Juan has agreed to share his presentation with our School of Leaders and we are working on a date.
The Encounter is open to all Cursillistas and we would very much like to increase our profile at this important event. If you would like more information please email me at [email protected].
De Colores!
Nick Williams
Lay Director
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Ultreyas are a great way to keep the Cursillo spirit alive and introduce potential candidates to Cursillo. All Cursillistas are invited to attend Ultreyas.
List of Upcoming Ultreyas
Are you interested in organizing an Ultreya at your parish? If so please contact
[email protected] for more information.
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Did you know we have a new Facebook page? In addition to sending emails, the secretariat plans on using Facebook for communications. Please visit our page at
http://www.facebook.com/occursillo and like the page. We hope to increase awareness of Cursillo on Facebook.
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School of Leaders for April again convenes on the second Saturday, which will be the 8th, following Morning Mass. We normally get started around 9:00 and finish at 11:00.
In March we heard Manny Castro present his Piety Rollo, which came from a time when Cursillo still called it a Formation Rollo. Manny's rollo made a strong use of the concept of applying the love of sports before Cursillo to the love of Faith following the three days. This comparison worked extremely well, as did his use of acronyms like Family: Forget About Me, I Love You.
Deacon Doug, in particular, liked that one.
We also had a meditation from Deacon Doug and a discussion of what the order of Rollo presentations should be for formation meetings. One point raised during the discussion put forth the possibility that two presentations should be presented at each meeting so that every member of the team would be able to hear all rollos for the weekend ahead of time.
Following all of the presentations, a dozen attendees visited the Shroud of Turin Exhibit at the Santiago Retreat Center. Lee Sweeney introduced the attendees to the history of the burial cloth which covered Christ at the time of his Resurrection, and the controversies surrounding the image of Our Lord since that time. The information is compelling, and all in attendance appreciated the opportunity to understand the value of the new knowledge for Christian Action.
The April SOL will cover the structure of Cursillo, with presentations from Secretariat Members to explain the functions of our movement, both locally and from the perspective of Region and National administration.
Please click
here for a list of upcoming School of Leaders events.
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Team Formation News
Are you interested in working on a Cursillo team? This is a great way to cement the knowledge acquired during your Cursillo and also a wonderful way to give back after receiving so many graces during your Cursillo weekend.
Being a member of the team involves commitment. The team meets weekly for 7 or 8 weeks prior to the Cursillo weekend. Meetings begin at 7 PM with Mass. Following Mass, the team listens to the rolllos and gives feedback to the rollistas. This is followed by a spiritual reflection and small group sharing. The meeting ends with announcements from the back table members and prayers. The time involved for each meeting is 3 hours, from 7 to 10 PM. Currently, most of the meetings are held at Servite High School but there is usually one team formation in South Orange County each year.
It has been said that the only thing better than attending a Cursillo is working a Cursillo! Sign up to work a team and see for yourself.
Team sign ups are available during the Thursday Meet and Greet, the Sunday morning Mananitals of the Cursillo weekends, and at the Post Cursillo Ultreya. You can also sign up by emailing
[email protected].
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Congratulations!
Let's put our hands together and congratulate our Cursillo Man of the Year (David Rime on right) & the First Friday Friars'Man of the Year (John Aust in the middle) with Deacon Doug.
Your contributions to the Cursillo movement are greatly appreciated!
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The Season Finale…
Christ Cathedral Drama Series Vianney
St. John Vianney was not afraid of the consequences of proclaiming Christ, even if it meant death or imprisonment. God will reward us if we promote his beloved Saints…. So please attend and encourage others to attend one of the following performances on April 7th (7 PM), 8th (7 PM), and 9th (12 PM). Not only does this conclude our second season of the Christ Cathedral Drama Series, but this will be the last opportunity to see this production at the Freed Theater for at least two years.
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After attending this performance, you will be able to share/evangelize the following points to describe St. John Vianney…
- He is the saint for the renewal and conversion of a parish.
- He is the patron of Priests, and therefore this is very important for the identity of priests, the respect for priests and prayers for priests.
- He is a model for all seminarians who are strugglin
- This show, this saint, more than others, exposes the reality of Evil and the presence of the Devil. It is a gripping story in that sense…and a real battle.
- It is a show that promotes Reconciliation and unity, through the sacraments and keeping the commandments. Powerfully portrayed.
- Ultimately, it is St. John Vianney’s concern for the salvation of all souls in his care. That is the purpose of the priesthood… forgiveness and salvation.
Ultreya! Onward!
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Your Cursillo Needs You!
Not just for prayer and palanca but to help with the many activities which keep the wheels of our movement turning. We will be talking about the "organization" of Cursillo including the Secretariat at the next School of Leaders on April 8th but we would ask you to consider prayerfully if you are called to help in some way. In addition to the Secretariat, where we have some vacancies arising this year, there are also opportunities to help in other areas if your time is limited.
Please contact Nick Williams at [email protected] if you would like to offer your services or just get some more information.
De Colores!
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