Our Cursillo experience started when our friends, Jim and Mary Carr asked us to make the three day weekend. This is how it usually begins, with the three day weekend and continues with joining our friend’s weekly group and monthly  Ultreya. Cursillo is not just the weekend and it is not just the grouping, however, making a three day Cursillo weekend is a great way for people to discern if the method of grouping and Ultreya are a method which could help them to grow in their faith.

Through Cursillo, we learned that we, as Christians, are on a path of continuous progressive conversion. This means that we should always be on a path that leads us closer to Christ. If we have lived a Cursillo weekend, it doesn’t mean that “we have arrived”, rather, our eyes have been opened to how we can be better Christians. For us, it awakened our awareness to our baptismal call of bringing others to Christ. That is where the making a friend, being a friend and bringing that friend to Christ comes into our consciousness. To do so requires deliberate effort. For some, this is very natural. For others, more effort is needed to work this process. The Holy Spirit is always available to guide us in the process. All we need to do is to ask for the assistance.

Our weekly groups can help us by giving us a place to share our action plans and the action we have taken to carry out our plans. Our groups can provide ideas, encouragement and support. Consider inviting your friend to join your weekly group. It isn’t necessary for that friend to have lived a Cursillo weekend before joining your group. If they join your small group, they will have the opportunity to meet your Christian friends and experience how the small group can be beneficial to one’s Christian journey.

There is an expression, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to look like a nail.” In our spreading the word about Cursillo, we need to be aware that the people in our environments are each on their own spiritual journey. This is another reason we need to make a friend and be a friend. We need to learn more about that person and understand if Cursillo is  really the right method for them to grow where God has placed them.

Cursillo provides us with a framework for being a better Christian. It calls us to a proper balance of our piety, study and action. There are many other opportunities for growth. The Spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Life in the Spirit seminars and being involved in our parish communities are other ways in which a person’s faith life may experience new growth.

Remember to pray for your friends, even if they don’t say yes to the Cursillo.

Yours in Christ,

Tom & Diane Repucci