Thursday February 21st rolled in like a lion, having already set a new record for snowfall, and being darn cold at the same time. That afternoon before arriving at St Joseph the Worker, I reviewed the weekend’s timeline of events— and in the process rediscovered a bunch of additional instructions that I vaguely recalled having read months earlier; initially they’d seemed extensive— now, they were the next items up. But enough about me—  because it’s not about me; it’s about the candidates, the new Cursillistas.

On site at the parish, the liaison team had already been long at work, and most of the set-up had taken shape. The rest of the team arrived in due course and everyone got settled in. After mass and a meal, it was go time. And did the weekend ever get going. I have to give a kudos to the sponsors, pre-cursillo, and table leads; no one came in against their will, everyone seemed prepared, raring and ready to go. And that also means the 4th day must have done an extraordinary task of palanca. I think the Holy Spirit filled our space- right along with the candidates— and never looked back.

The first evening progressed right on schedule– which was not indicative of the rest of the weekend- we were habitually late much of the time. But, we were on God’s time, and that worked for the new Cursillistas just fine. Every morning we were  back on schedule  at 6:00 am. The rollos, the discussions, the summaries, and the posters were thoughtful and well done. Our Spiritual Directors were wonderful every step of the way. With the Kitchen team and Palanca team handling every situation that arose, we found no distractions from a spirit filled weekend encountering self, Christ, and others.

Friday was just plain fun as everything took shape. Then, in the blink of eye, it was Saturday night, and we were in the chapel reading evening prayers for the final time. I loved living this weekend with the candidates and formation team, and now have dozens of thoughts of things we could do differently if we had another chance. But, of course, there is no 2nd turn at rectoring a weekend-  because, again, it’s not about me. And, it’s not about the production we could make out of the weekend. It is about the new Cursillistas encountering Christ- and that is a Charism of the Holy Spirit- not any of us.

Michael Rief