Being a friend is an essential element of the Cursillo method. In daily life we encounter many people: our family, co-workers, neighbors, and others. Some of these people may be acquaintances others may be buddies, people that we enjoy getting together with for a shared interest such as sporting or athletic activities, others may be people that we know only a little about them.

Then there are those people whom we consider to be friends. True friends are people who know us, know our weaknesses and love us in spite of our imperfections. A true friend is someone that we can trust. A true friend is someone, who, when we haven’t seen them for a long period of time, when we get together again, it’s easy to pick up where we left off. Friendships are formed over a period of time; there is no one fixed timetable for the development of friendships.

The Cursillo motto, “be a friend”, really means that. Not to just be an acquaintance. It requires that we spend time with the person so that we may get to know that person and so that they may get to know us. In order to become friends, we must have a genuine interest in that person: take time to get to know them, what they like and don’t like, what their interests are, etc. Really listen to them as you engage them in conversation. Be authentic. True friends want what is best for their friend. If we want what is best for our friend, we should introduce them to our friend, Jesus.

Does this mean we don’t sponsor the person we just met, or someone who has shown an interest in Cursillo? No, we just need to continue to develop the friendship with that friend before and after their Cursillo weekend. The sponsor needs to be willing to start another small group with them, if needed. Invite them to your group before they live a Cursillo weekend.

“ ….. the most important thing to understand is that our friendship with Jesus must be visible in our friendship with others. It is this kind of friendship that has the creative power necessary to transform the world as Christian men and women acting as leaven in their environments. This is without doubt possible if we make the decision to begin with ourselves.” from Friendship in the Precursillo at natl-cursillo.org.

Please join us at the 4th Day Encounter on October 26 for a Cursillo celebration of 50+ years of friendship in the Twin Cities. The Encounter will be held at The Church of St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights. We’ll begin with 8:00 AM Mass followed by a catered breakfast and then the program which concludes at 1:00 PM. Online registration and additional information can be found at https://tc-cursillo.org/

De Colores!

Tom and Diane Repucci