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Becoming the Good News!
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  • April 25, 2019 9:06 PM | Deleted user

    Because you are precious in my eyes, and glorious.
    And because I love you. Isaiah 43:4

    The women’s weekend 372 was a witness to the power of Christian friendship and love. We were all called to be on this weekend at that particular time and place. Whether candidate, sponsor or team member, each had a part to play in God’s plan to grow in faith by our witness to each other on Weekend 372. It was beautiful to watch the quietness and anticipation of Thursday turn quickly to a joyful noise in the coming days. We were women growing in love with Christ, for each other and ourselves.

    The women’s weekend began with a feeling of anticipation and maybe some worries of what we left behind at home, or at work, and thoughts of what really was to come of the weekend. The days evolved with many talks, prayer, conversation, food, tears and laughter. The Prayer team and those who prayed and sacrificed, transformed us, in doing so. The Rollo team added to our shared learning of our faith and the ability to see God’s plan and how it manifests differently in each of us depending on where we are planted, where we live out God’s mission. Our time in the Rollo room provided great discussion allowing a shared and maybe renewed or enlightened, understanding of our Catholic faith. Our discussions and posters allowed each of us to remember and realize the many ways Christ works in our lives. Many were touched by spontaneous prayer for those in difficult situations and by our shared time of prayer during our reconciliation.

    The Chaska GA prayer shawl ministry surprised us with a prayer shawl for each candidate and they were literally wrapped in love and prayer. Our kitchen team and the facility liaisons made the weekend extra special by serving wonderful meals and providing a place to pray, discuss, discern, eat, sleep, laugh and cry. We were served by all with great love. All of this together brought deeper meaning to “De Colores,” as the many colors of
    our spirit filled community came together for Weekend 372. One important message that resonated throughout our time together was “We are God’s beloved daughters.” We are all wonderfully chosen, different and precious to God. We each have a unique mission and a unique story. Sometimes our story is not an easy one or a happy one. We make mistakes, and others may make choices or decisions that impact us. But… we can all find joy in being chosen by God to live with Him and for Him, no matter our circumstances, or our particular life story. We all have God’s grace to strengthen us. We all have the gift of God’s mercy to renew us. We all have God’s love to comfort us when others may not. And we all have new sisters and brothers in Christ to lean on for prayer and support.

    We have hope.

    We are God’s beloved.

    Laurie Forner 

  • March 27, 2019 10:29 PM | Deleted user

    Since 2003 I have had the privilege of using public transportation, using a combination of buses, the Northstar and the Lightrail to get to and from work (which is currently the VA Medical Center).

    Being a part of this 'public transportation community' is a wonderful way to step out of my sheltered neighborhood into the heartbeat of the city. I have had several powerful experiences/lessons over the years, of which one follows.

    The doors opened at the US Bank Stadium and a young man got on with a handful of 8 1/2 x 11" flyers. He began soliciting for money, and signatures, to allow for skate boarding expeditions to take place on the stadium mall. I was having a difficult time understanding him due to the speed he was talking and the Chicago dialect.

    I heard a woman's voice from across the aisle say, "I barely have enough money to buy food but I think I have a quarter." I turned and watched this 'living on the street toughened face' woman as she rifled through her wallet. She pulled out two quarters and gave them to the young man saying "good luck with what you're trying to do." I was dumb founded and recalled the story from Mark about the 'widow's mite.'

    I couldn't keep silent because my heart was bursting with excitement of what I was seeing so I slid across the aisle and looked into her eyes saying, "that is one of the most beautiful things I have seen" and began to tell her the story from the Bible when a poor woman gave two small coins to the temple treasury and how Jesus said that she gave more than the large amount that many rich people were giving. I told her that I witnessed that story in real life through what she just did. The woman paused and then became animated while explaining that she had not heard a story from the Bible in a long time and how good it felt.

    I looked around me and there were several other people observing the conversation. I'm telling you, I was standing on holy ground, and it was in a train. Truly God was present.

    Therese Frederick 

  • March 27, 2019 10:28 PM | Deleted user

    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 

  • February 20, 2019 7:24 PM | Deleted user

    A funny thing happened on the way to this article. I started writing it in late November for the January Kindling but ran out of time to finish the writing and editing. Imagine how surprised I was to read Gordy Palzer’s article on Ultreya in place of my article in last month’s Kindling. Back to back Kindling articles about Ultreya, do we think the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us something?

    I lived my Cursillo weekend in February of 2000 and embraced the 4th-Day method of Grouping and Ultreya. I’m still Grouping, but I pretty much stopped attending Ultreya. You ask: “Why did I stop?”. That’s a good question and one I’ve started asking myself over the past couple months. The only answer I can come up with is; “I don’t have a good reason.”

    Somewhere back in 2011 I missed a few consecutive months of Jacob’s Well and I fell into the belief that my not attending didn’t negatively impact Cursillo or my faith journey. While I continued to Group and live weekends as team, I continued to ignore the call to Ultreya. As I missed more months I convinced myself that I did not need Ultreya.

    When I was regularly attending Jacob’s Well I joined 40 – 50 other 4th-Day folks and came to know them at a much deeper level. My desire to grow closer to Christ was nourished by these folks. Their energy helped me to see I needed community if I was to truly live the calling of the 4th-Day. I enjoyed those Saturday evenings, I was fed those Saturday   evenings, and maybe I even fed somebody else those Saturday evenings -- but then I decided I didn’t need Ultreya. Ultreya didn’t leave me, I left Ultreya.

    The more I think about Ultreya the more I’m starting to think – “Maybe I need to attend because Ultreya needs me to attend.” Maybe this isn’t about me having my needs met. Maybe this is about me meeting the needs of Cursillo.

    I remember the times when I was on a waiting list to serve on teams. I remember the times when we would see 50 – 70 candidates living a set of weekends. I remember holding four sets of weekends each year and not having to worry about cancelling a weekend.

    I believe active Ultreyas played a big part in making this possible. I believe the energy of the Holy Spirit received by the 4th-Day through active Ultreyas was a driver of our movement. Being part of that larger community strengthened me to continue to say yes when called to serve Christ and Cursillo.

    But then I decided I did not need Ultreya, and I’m told I’m not alone in the choice. As more of the 4th-Day has stayed away from Ultreya the energy level in the Twin Cities movement has changed. Team waiting lists are a thing of the past, candidate counts could be better, we’ve eliminated one set of weekends, and we have had to cancel weekends a couple of times.
    I know reduced attendance at Ultreya is not the only reason for the above and that other factors are impacting the movement. But I can see a direct correlation between the vibrancy of Ultreya and the energy in Twin Cities Cursillo. I cannot control the other outside factors impacting us now, but I can control whether or not I attend Ultreya. I can return to Ultreya and say – “Here I am Lord".

    My commitment is to return to attending Ultreya evenings this year and, if you have been away, I invite you to join me.

    Mark Mitchell

  • January 24, 2019 6:37 PM | Deleted user

    We all learned on our weekends that the Spanish word Ultreya means “onward,” and that it was the cry of encouragement among pilgrims hiking the arduous Santiago de Compostela route to visit the shrine of St. James the Greater. We have monthly gatherings of Cursillistas throughout the Archdiocese in a venue with the same name. We could think of this as having monthly access to a recharging and new infusion of our Cursillo charism of friendship in Christ — a monthly dose of “encouragement,” one might say.

    Over the course of our 32 years of living the Cursillo Method from St. Paul’s Highland Park, my wife Mary and I have gone from having an Ultreya within a 10-minute walk from our house or a 5-minute drive, to having to drive distances of 18 miles to Minnesota Valley Ultreya in Burnsville or 22 miles to North Ultreya in Fridley, or 18 miles to North-east Ultreya in White Bear Lake. Over the course of the ten years or so since the Highland and Midway Ultreyas disappeared, we have driven to one or another of those distant Ultreyas. We have lately discovered the new Southeast Metro Ultreya at St. Patrick’s Church in Inver Grove Heights, a “mere” 11 or so miles away, and we have embraced this shorter drive, because it is important to us to continue the practice of attending monthly Ultreya, to get our “Cursillo booster shot” — especially when the venue for meeting other Cursillistas at Closuras has dropped to four per year.

    Sadly, wherever we go, attendance is down at our monthly Ultreyas. Even those with higher numbers of attendees are down in number from just a few short years ago. How and why has this happened? What is it that dulls for us the grace of rubbing shoulders and sharing stories with long-time Cursillistas at Ultreya, of being inspired by stirring witness talks, and keeps us from “catch-up” chats with long-time friends in Christ? Is it creeping secularism or the challenges of aging or the lure of southern climes in winter and lake homes in summer? Is it spiritual complacency? Is it the disappointment of making the effort to get to an Ultreya, only to find the Cursillista friends you wanted to see not even there? Does our spirituality lose its luster and its enthusiasm, and, if so, why?

    Early on, I mistakenly thought Ultreyas would recreate the magic of a Weekend, but I soon learned it was wrong to ask that of any event in my faith walk —what could ever recreate the spiritual excitement, the mountaintop experience of our own Cursillo Weekend? But if not that, then what is an Ultreya for?

    While no expert or Cursillo guru, I think that the season of Christmas helps answer that question. Who of us does not look forward to the company Christmas party, where we can “let our hair down” and speak to our favorite co-workers free from the pressures of work? Who of us does not look forward with excitement to our family dinners and gatherings to celebrate the birth of Christ, when we get to again be with family members normally spread far and wide? Who of us does not look forward to days off work, to entertain friends and rekindle friendships in our homes?

    But isn’t that what Ultreyas do on a monthly basis, that is, bring dear friends in Christ together to be energized by the grace of such gatherings? Those friends in Christ who you do not get to see at Closuras, who are not in your parish or area of the Cities, whose joy-filled faces fill you with spiritual fellowship and sense of Christian community—they’re all there, at your local Ultreya! Why don’t you come on by and see them? And, if they’re not there when you do, call them and invite them to come to the next one! Maybe they’re not coming any more because you’re not! The call of the world to selfcenteredness and fierce personal privacy can encroach upon our spiritual energy and resolve—but your brothers and sisters in Christ at our Ultreyas are there to rekindle your energy for evangelization and sense of strength in community, and to remind you that Christ is the way and the truth and the life in today’s world! These Ultreyas are the embodiment of the cry Ultreya to Cursillistas in our modern world, the wellspring of spiritual encouragement to the world-weary in our Cursillo community.

    Why not make a New Year’s resolution to circle the dates for your Ultreya gatherings on your 2019 calendars? “Come and see,” come and re-discover the grace that is to be found at Ultreya! And, best of all: there is still no entrance fee to attend! See you there soon!


    Gordy Palzer 

  • December 20, 2018 3:33 PM | Deleted user

    Michael - A funny thing happened on the way to Adoration last August. As we pulled into the church parking lot, Jane Marie received a phone call from Justine Bojan shortly before joining me inside. And then Jane Marie gave me the news that we’d been invited to consider accepting the role of assistant lay directors for Twin Cities Cursillo. That changed my focus for the following hour and into the coming weeks. Mostly, I felt surprised and then ran through a mental list of all the candidates whom should be asked long before ourselves. Then I thought through all the excuses that came to mind, the reasons why we couldn’t say yes at this time. We prayed and talked, and talked and prayed. We met with Justine and Bill Bojan to learn more about this position. So we talked and prayed some more and went into the Adoration chapel again. Someplace in there we had to quiet down and listen without putting up excuses. One day I tried to enumerate the reasons why we should decline or at least postpone accepting this position. When I stated them out loud and pictured myself having a conversation with God and telling Him why I thought we ought to decline, well, no excuse held any water. So as much as I feel like I should be sitting at the children’s table at a Thanksgiving dinner, it just might be the time to accept this call to step up and serve our Twin Cities Cursillo community. I shared my thoughts with Jane Marie.


    Jane Marie – After I received the call inviting Michael and I to be the next Assistant Lay Directors, I was very surprised. As in other times when I have been called into service of some kind, I had been recently hearing the Holy Spirit prompting me as I spent time in my quiet prayer that there was something He was going to call me to do. The day before, I had prayed a prayer of surrender to whatever He was prompting me to. I had just recently been called into serving as the Chair of our Parish Council so I couldn’t imagine what else He wanted me to do. When Justine called, I knew that is what I needed to consider but I wondered if Michael would be up to the role. Mike is pretty quiet and prefers the background whereas I have a more outgoing personality. In our role as Ultreya Reps for Southeast Metro, we have been having Mike be the spokesperson at the meetings to help him with this. He has been doing a good job. I went into the adoration chapel that evening surrendering the decision again. I told Michael that I recognize that he may find this a challenging role and that I would support whatever decision he felt called to and step up with him. I told him that I was comfortable either way. Then honestly, I didn’t worry about it. I didn’t expect him to say yes but I was open if he did.

    When God calls, we answer. God owns 24 hours a day and He decides for the most part how we use the day. He has blessed us so abundantly. We look forward to our role of assistant lay directors in 2019 serving with and learning from Tom and Diane Repucci and all those on Secretariat. We also look forward to our role as lay directors in 2020 and 2021. We are so grateful for this opportunity to serve a community that we love. Won’t you come and serve with us? There are many leadership positions throughout Cursillo. Let’s make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ.

    Peace be with you.

    Michael & Jane Marie Rief 

  • November 29, 2018 10:00 PM | Deleted user

    He came to me today
    There was no sound
    Like He was already there

    There was no movement
    Save for the opening of my eyes
    The still, small voice
    “Sometimes when your eyes are closed,
    You hear only you.”

    Today the wind is my instrument
    Our gaze will meet in the movement of my creation

    The poem is in the trees
    The leaves touched by their
    Friend, the wind

    The song on the glittering water
    Hides the mysteries in its depths

    A leaf bounces across the tips of the grass
    Swept along
    No control of its path to an unseen destination
    The journey is a gentle taunting, imitating
    My life, sometimes
    I’ve learned to find trust at the end of sometimes

    He came today to push me out to the deeper water
    It was more like a nudge
    The deeper water I’ve learned
    Is where I learn

    I turned to look in the direction of the nudge
    On either side of Him, like sentries in each hand
    Were the oars
    “You won’t need these”, he laughed
    Just trust

    Today the drifting is peaceful
    The surface calm
    The wind but a breath across my cocoon
    But what of the days when the deep water turns
    angry?

    With the silence unpierced
    The so still, so small voice brushed my drum
    Unmistakable
    “Ask Peter”

    He came to me today
    There was no sound
    Like He was already there

    Eric Volden 

  • October 25, 2018 6:16 PM | Deleted user

    Shortly after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, I felt God asking me to share my journey with others. For what reason, I did not know at the time. As I continued on my journey, I would feel that call again and again, about sharing my story and finally, when I could not deny His will for me, I began to gather my journals and choose stories that documented not only my cancer journey, but, ultimately, my faith journey. God wanted me to share my journey with Him, with others. So, I did.

    Reading Between the Signs is my faith journey through cancer and it has been one of many blessings that I received by saying ‘yes’ to Him. Although I had published a book previous to Reading Between the Signs, (Mommy’s Hats), that experience wasn’t a typical one, so I didn’t really have much experience in publishing. I left that up to God. I prayed that He would guide me in the direction I should go, from which scripture passages I should use all the way to the publisher that He placed on my path. Since its release, I have also been open to God’s will as to how to market the book. He has led me to many opportunities for which I am very grateful.

    The events that I have spoken at and have books for sale may not always be the most profitable in book sales, but I continue to be richly blessed by the people I meet and the conversations I have with them about their journeys. Personal connections are far more important than books sales.

    I love hearing what people think about my book and I would like to share a few comments that I have heard:

    “It was like a mini-retreat!”

    “The scripture passages fit perfectly with your story.”

    “It was like I was reading my own story.”

    “I had to stop reading because I couldn’t read through my tears.”

    “I’ve walked this journey with you and yet, there were still intimate moments that I had no idea happened.”

    Each time someone tells me their thoughts of the book, they usually follow it up with a comment saying that they know someone else who would benefit from reading it. That is the best comment I could hear and I’m sure that is what makes God happy, too. He wants us to spread the word that He is with us always and that there is so much joy to experience, even through difficult times.
    I love sharing my faith with others and if you think that hearing my journey may benefit a group in your parish, I would love to visit. You can reach me at rkzweber@gmail.com

    May God bless you on your faith journey!

    Rhonda Zweber 

  • September 25, 2018 10:04 PM | Deleted user

    This article has been a few months in the making. In preparation for the July edition of the Kindling I received an article from Fr Al Backmann entitled, “The Power of One”. In it he stated, “As Christians, we must teach the next generation about our faith so that they are not in danger of losing theirs. One generation is all it takes to either lose or pass on the faith. Think about that? One generation!” That has been playing in my mind over and over ever since then.

    Within a week of receiving his article I attended a women’s retreat at the arboretum. Part of that retreat included time for us to spend in the gardens on a private prayer walk. As soon as I walked out the doors I started noticing things that were reinforcing Fr Al’s message for me. In one of the ponds built on top of a large stone, was a large metal origami crane with other smaller cranes balancing from its wings and head. One crane upon another, over five birds high, reminded me of how connected and in tune we must be with each other in passing on our faith. Each one of those cranes was reliant on another for its stability.

    (To see Picture 1, please look at the online version of the kindling)

    Then I came upon a bush with flowers in every stage of bloom. There were buds that were just forming, buds that were just about to open, flowers in full splendor and flowers that looked rather dry and spent. How like us as human beings in each stage of life. However, unlike these flowers, we can choose to continue to bud and bloom in how we live our lives and reach out and engage others, or not.

    Another powerful lesson on the prayer walk, was in the lovely shaded hosta garden. I decided to sit on a bench and rest in the cool shade. While there it struck me that this beautiful sprawling shade tree was providing a lovely shelter for the plants below. It protected from the harsh sun while allowing enough of the sun’s rays and rain in for the plants to flourish. This was a beautiful metaphor for how we can gently and positively protect and influence our children, grandchildren, other family and friends.

    (To see Picture 2, please look at the online version of the kindling)

    So, all of this was stirring in my mind prompting me to write a reflection, but I felt stuck. Then on September 3rd the missing piece was revealed to me. My bible study friends and I have been discussing a daily devotional over the summer months called, My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. That day I was stopped in my tracks when I read,

    “If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything “to the Lord,” other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.”

    Have you and I been hoarding the blessings of our faith? Then as I was preparing to sit down and finally write all of this down, I said a prayer for guidance and this is what I heard, “Where your heart is, there your treasure shall be.” Hmm, where has my heart been directed recently? Has the treasure of my time and attention been spent in the places God intended? Where is your heart? What is your treasure? Have you been hoarding the blessing of your faith? Perhaps through prayer and in the pondering of these questions, a path will be revealed to each of us.

    Justine Bojan 

  • August 30, 2018 10:15 PM | Deleted user

    The idea of a primary apostolate keeps surfacing in my mind. For Eduardo Bonin, Cursillo was his primary apostolate. Once gifted by the Holy Spirit with the foundations of Cursillo as a means to bring Christ to the world, he used his whole life toward that purpose. His dedication allowed him to witness the unfolding of just what the Holy Spirit wanted Cursillo to become.

    Not many of us can devote our entire life to Cursillo in that way, but we can give Cursillo greater focus in our life. From the Catholic Dictionary a definition of apostolate:

            The work of an apostle, the faithful who carry on the original mission entrusted by the Savior to the twelve to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). The apostolate belongs essentially to the order of grace. Its purpose is not temporal welfare, however noble, but to bring people to the knowledge and love of Christ and, through obedience to his teaching, help them attain life everlasting.

    A key part of lay apostolate is that it happens in a secular environment, not in church. Most often lay ministry activities center around the church, and are vital to the life of the parish. Our lay apostolate is the vocation bestowed upon each of us at our baptisms. Bringing Christ to our mission field is to bring Him to all the places we live, work, and play.

    Cursillo provides us with the model to bring Christ to the world. “Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ” is more than a motto. It is the road map the Holy Spirit gave to Eduardo long ago. I dearly love my groupies and their families, but they are not who should be the focus of my attention. They provide the foundation where I can go forward into the world to spread the Gospel. The ones who need the message are beyond my groupies and other Cursillistas. That is the mission of a true apostle. Grouping and Ultreya serves to keep us inspired and motivated.

    There are other places to serve the Cursillo community as well that are vital to Cursillo if it is to continue to be a model to bring Christ to others. School of Leaders, Secretariat, Ultreya rep, other leadership roles, and weekend participation keep our movement running smoothly.

    I believe involvement in Cursillo roles are part of the apostolate, not just a ministry, or another volunteer job. And just as in a family, service in any role may happen more than once, or service cycles through different roles. I have discovered that giving up some ministries for Cursillo roles has brought many blessings. If I desire to return to any ministry, it will still be available when I am ready, or maybe God will have something else in mind to further my apostolate journey.

    The work of a Cursillo apostle is to devote time to Cursillo that furthers the ability of the Movement to impart the desire in others to learn more about Christ, not only the personal gain from grouping and Ultreya. And more importantly to work in the mission field to meet new friends to introduce to Christ.

    Christ is counting on us!

    Jeanne Bendzinski 

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