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Messages Lay
Director's Message - Fall, 2002
Lay
Director's Message - Fall, 2002 When we study
the disciples and the lives they led following the Resurrection
we see the true meaning of commitment. Look into the daily lives
of the Saints who followed, and the true meaning to "pick up
your cross and carry it" comes into being. Two thousand years
later the need is just as great and the horizon just as bright.
We call ourselves disciples, but do others see us as one? I am not
convicting here but confessing! I have always viewed myself as a
fairly normal person. When listening to a speaker and determining
my depth of understanding I figured that what I didn't Jesus says in
Matthew " you will be given at that moment what you are to
say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit". It is
only for lack of faith that my environments suffer. When I look
at what I think I have accomplished within my family, work and social
environments, my proud moments quickly disappear under the weight
of what I have failed to do. How many times have I held back and
not spoken the words of the Holy Spirit? How many times have I cowered
under the fear of verbal, social, maybe even physical persecution?
The answer is,"more times than I would like to admit to".
When I discuss this with others, it is easy to get caught up in
the frenzy of compliments thrown back at me. "Jim, you do so
much." " Jim, you're always helping out." "
Jim, you are making such a difference." However, only Jim can
look inside and see the missed opportunities, the failed chances,
and the rejection of Jesus due to fear! I assure you,
no one is exempt from these failures and these fears. As offered
earlier, if you consider yourself fairly normal, this must be part
of your life. I challenge you to look inside and address the times
you fail to measure up to what Jesus is asking. During these past
three months, my work environment has been subject to many conversations
about the trouble in our Church today. Yes, I have taken a stand,
but oftentimes while moving backwards. Oftentimes I was a pebble
being kicked around instead of the immovable Rock of Gibraltar.
I should be more like my groupie Mike May! He has t en the words
of the Holy Spirit to the streets (see article "Taking it to
the Streets" inside this issue). He is not afraid of persecution. One of my good
Cursillista friends' daughter Katie was a high school classmate
and friend of my oldest son. While on a medical mission to the Far
East she truly found Jesus. She discovered the "heart of Jesus"
which is more important that just who He is. I am in awe of her
spiritual growth, her conviction to her faith, her willingness to
speak out and tell others what they are missing in their life. My
son, who now is not walking this journey with Jesus, thinks she
is wacky. I should be so fortunate to be called "wacky"
for Jesus. She doesn't worry about what to say, her faith carries
her along. The Spirit speaks through her. She is not afraid of persecution. Further along in Matthew 10 we find Jesus saying "everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my Father". When we acknowledge Jesus we speak of who He is, what He stands for, what He wants us to do, and who He wants us to become. When Cursillo asks us to change our enviroments, we must do that by acknowledging Jesus to others. I can't tell you how many conversations I have had with Cursillistas about work environments. Many have stated that they are not allowed to bring religion into the workspace, especially when in a government or civic environment". My standard answer is "bologna"! Jesus never set conditions on discipleship. He never said spread the word in only some places. When we fail to acknowledge Him now, what will happen to us when it is too late to acknowledge Him? Someone might be able to dictate to us what we hang on a wall, or place on our desk, or wear around our necks, but NO ONE can remove Christ from us. Therefore, NO ONE can keep us from being, sharing or teaching Christ to others. If our companies or bosses place a roadblock in our path of evangelization, then we are OBLIGATED to find a new path. Jesus says, " Do not be afraid"! What makes Cursillo different and special is our approach to evangelization. We are asked to study our environments. This means "find a way" to get it done. If we don't succeed the first time, try and try again. Don't deny Christ to others because some "non-believer" gets in your way. Please do not let fear of persecution stand between you and a life in Christ. Who knows, your changed environment could be the "history" that generations will read about in the next century! I am not writing this because I have conquered all and solved all problems. I am also not writing this because these suggestions are easy to undertake. Remember, we are all pretty average, thus all suffer the same failures and moments of indecision. Cursillo, like no other group or movement, aids us on this journey. We have our friendship groups to lean on. We have spiritual advisors to seek counsel from. We have Ultreyas to hear other stories of successes and failures to learn from. We have Healing Days, Spiritual Formation Days, weekend retreats and a School of learning and discernment to reach out to for guidance and information. Nobody does it like Cursillo! Don't pass up the opportunity to build your strength and commitment in Jesus, to fight the good fight, to await your time to be acknowledged before the Father. God bless! Your friend
in Christ,
Spiritual
Director's Message - Fall, 2002 When, as a young
priest serving a Scottish regiment as a member of the Royal Canadian
Army Chaplain Corps (although a US citizen), the troops would assemble
on the parade square, just outside my office on Chapel Hill, I heard
the command: Forward, march! a hundred times a day along with the
squealing sound of the bagpipes. Last September
21st, the members of the San Cursillo community, enjoying the hospitality
of Sacred Heart parish in Coronado, assembled for a Grand Ultreya
at which our dedicated leader, Jim Koed, likewise could have shouted:
Forward, march! urging us all to move out into the world around
us to evangelize. Our Grand Ultreya fulfilled one of the wishes expressed in article 452 of the same booklet, namely that the Church and all the communities within which we Cursillistas are immersed will be "constantly leavened with the spirit of the Gospel." Time and again, we have been reminded that the Cursillo experience is not first and foremost for our individual spiritual advancement, but for the growth of the Christian community. through evangelization of our respective environments. And that can happen only if and when the individual members work at growing spiritually themselves in order to dispense to their sisters and brothers what they have received on their 3-day weekend and beyond and lived every moment of their 4th Day. Ultreya, the booster shot, the "energizer bunny" that keeps Christ before our eyes in good times and in bad and makes His presence real and alive in our environments. Let us all be
faithful to our 4th day commitment to live spiritually productive
lives because Christ "is counting on Us". Aware that we
most likely cannot do it alone, let us rely on our Cursillo sisters
and brothers and in prayerful mutual support listen to His command:
Forward, March! De Colores! Lay
Directors Message - Summer, 2002 When we study
the disciples and the lives they led following the Resurrection
we see the true meaning of commitment. Look into the daily lives
of the Saints who followed, and the true meaning to "pick up
your cross and carry it" comes into being. Two thousand years
later the need is just as great and the horizon just as bright.
We call ourselves disciples, but do others see us as one? I am not
convicting here but confessing! I have always viewed myself as a
fairly normal person. When listening to a speaker and determining
my depth of understanding I figured that what I didn't Jesus says in
Matthew " you will be given at that moment what you are to
say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit". It is
only for lack of faith that my environments suffer. When I look
at what I think I have accomplished within my family, work and social
environments, my proud moments quickly disappear under the weight
of what I have failed to do. How many times have I held back and
not spoken the words of the Holy Spirit? How many times have I cowered
under the fear of verbal, social, maybe even physical persecution?
The answer is,"more times than I would like to admit to".
When I discuss this with others, it is easy to get caught up in
the frenzy of compliments thrown back at me. "Jim, you do so
much." " Jim, you're always helping out." "
Jim, you are making such a difference." However, only Jim can
look inside and see the missed opportunities, the failed chances,
and the rejection of Jesus due to fear! I assure you,
no one is exempt from these failures and these fears. As offered
earlier, if you consider yourself fairly normal, this must be part
of your life. I challenge you to look inside and address the times
you fail to measure up to what Jesus is asking. During these past
three months, my work environment has been subject to many conversations
about the trouble in our Church today. Yes, I have taken a stand,
but oftentimes while moving backwards. Oftentimes I was a pebble
being kicked around instead of the immovable Rock of Gibraltar.
I should be more like my groupie Mike May! He has t en the words
of the Holy Spirit to the streets (see article "Taking it to
the Streets" inside this issue). He is not afraid of persecution. One of my good
Cursillista friends' daughter Katie was a high school classmate
and friend of my oldest son. While on a medical mission to the Far
East she truly found Jesus. She discovered the "heart of Jesus"
which is more important that just who He is. I am in awe of her
spiritual growth, her conviction to her faith, her willingness to
speak out and tell others what they are missing in their life. My
son, who now is not walking this journey with Jesus, thinks she
is wacky. I should be so fortunate to be called "wacky"
for Jesus. She doesn't worry about what to say, her faith carries
her along. The Spirit speaks through her. She is not afraid of persecution. Further along in Matthew 10 we find Jesus saying "everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my Father". When we acknowledge Jesus we speak of who He is, what He stands for, what He wants us to do, and who He wants us to become. When Cursillo asks us to change our enviroments, we must do that by acknowledging Jesus to others. I can't tell you how many conversations I have had with Cursillistas about work environments. Many have stated that they are not allowed to bring religion into the workspace, especially when in a government or civic environment". My standard answer is "bologna"! Jesus never set conditions on discipleship. He never said spread the word in only some places. When we fail to acknowledge Him now, what will happen to us when it is too late to acknowledge Him? Someone might be able to dictate to us what we hang on a wall, or place on our desk, or wear around our necks, but NO ONE can remove Christ from us. Therefore, NO ONE can keep us from being, sharing or teaching Christ to others. If our companies or bosses place a roadblock in our path of evangelization, then we are OBLIGATED to find a new path. Jesus says, " Do not be afraid"! What makes Cursillo different and special is our approach to evangelization. We are asked to study our environments. This means "find a way" to get it done. If we don't succeed the first time, try and try again. Don't deny Christ to others because some "non-believer" gets in your way. Please do not let fear of persecution stand between you and a life in Christ. Who knows, your changed environment could be the "history" that generations will read about in the next century! I am not writing this because I have conquered all and solved all problems. I am also not writing this because these suggestions are easy to undertake. Remember, we are all pretty average, thus all suffer the same failures and moments of indecision. Cursillo, like no other group or movement, aids us on this journey. We have our friendship groups to lean on. We have spiritual advisors to seek counsel from. We have Ultreyas to hear other stories of successes and failures to learn from. We have Healing Days, Spiritual Formation Days, weekend retreats and a School of learning and discernment to reach out to for guidance and information. Nobody does it like Cursillo! Don't pass up the opportunity to build your strength and commitment in Jesus, to fight the good fight, to await your time to be acknowledged before the Father. God bless! Your friend
in Christ,
Spiritual
Director's Message - Summer, 2002 By Fr Louis Merchandisers like to get our attention by using slogans or catch phrases that contain apparent contradictions, like Christmas in July. Perhaps a similar approach, referring to Mother's Day taking place in August rather than in May, will help us focus on Marian devotion within the Cursillo Movement. Indeed, the upcoming Feast of the Assumption calls our attention to the place the Mother of God should occupy in the life of each and every member of our Cursillo community. "The Cursillo is above all a living experience of what is fundamental for being a Christian. " (Spiritual Director's Manual, p.22). And I submit that devotion to Mary is truly integral to Christian Living. The Manual adds: "She is the first and the ideal Christian," (p. 110). "Only faith," says The Catechism of the Catholic Church, "can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty power... The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith, for she believed that "nothing will be impossible with God," and was able to magnify the Lord: "For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name." (Article 969). We recognize Mary as Mother of the Church, our mother, given to us by Jesus himself on the Cross when he said to the beloved disciple: "Behold your mother." (John 19:27). Moreover, "the Motherhood of Mary continues uninterruptedly ... Taken up to heaven, she did not lay aside her saving office, but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation." (Catechism, Article 969). It is true that, in the three day weekend, there isn't a talk specifically dedicated to Mary but, as the booklet The Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo Movement states: "it is also true that she is always, in one way or another, very much part of the Cursillo. She is included in several of the talks, in many of the prayers (especially the Rosary), and in every decisive moment of the Cursillo (Article 340). The Rosary:
the fourth Glorious Mystery deals specifically with Mary's Assumption
into heaven, a feast we celebrate in August 15th, what I have labeled
Mother's Day in August. While feasts in honor of Mary under various
titles occur all through the year and the month of May is dedicated
to her, this particular feast celebrating Mary's Assumption, proclaimed
a dogma relatively recently, affords us with the opportunity to
concentrate our attention on her continued interest in us, her children
and call for her protection. Pope Paul VI put it well when he Stations of the Cross: On many three day weekends, Redemptorist Father Richard Furey's Mary's Way of the Cross is used. The author tells us his booklet "allows us to see through Mary's eyes what Jesuse was going through ... it attempts to enkindle within the reader a sense of both prayerful repentance and grateful redemption as it lets him or her walk in Jesus' steps with his Mother... feel with her the "sword of sorrow", the confusion, the feelings of helplessness, as well as her ever-present faith. It will hopefully lead the reader to a personal experience of redemption, one which may bring about conversion (metanoia) where it is needed". And isn't that in keeping with the goals of a Cursillo weekend, "conversion where it is needed"? The objective of our Second Day is to get to know Jesus - and who knew him better? Our Pilgrim's Guide reminds us that "Mary should be a model for us. Mary's life should be the example to what we as disciples are called to be" (p.67). "It should not be surprising that we a singular devotion to Our Lady, who is the Mother of Our Redeemer, Mother of the Church, "a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim people of God." (The Fundamental Ideals, Article 339a). In our parishes and institutions special devotional practices honor Mary in May. Let us add this August date to our Marian calendar, and perhaps even other days throughout the year, to honor Mary as our Mother, thank her for her continued interest in us and ask her to continue to watch over us as Church and our Movement in particular. Let us "be moved to a filial love towards our mother and to the imitation of her virtues." (The Fundamental Ideas, Article 341). Reprising the petitions of our Pilgrim's Guide (p.63), let us ask our mother Mary to give each and every one of us "a big heart capable of surrendering, without bargaining, to the work of Evangelization; a tender and compassionate heart for all; a faithful and generous heart, incapable of denying anyone." Mother dear, continue to intercede for us Cursillistas, assist us in our quest for personal holiness and help us to bring your Son's message of love to our respective environments. De Colores!
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