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Catholic Cursillo


Becoming the Good News!
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  • September 01, 2015 12:00 AM | Deleted user

    We had the great blessing to attend the National Cursillo Encounter at Villanova University in Philadelphia with over 700 Cursillo leaders, 20+ priests, 10+ deacons and Bishop Carlos Sevilla our national episcopal advisor. It was an encouraging and invigorating encounter representative of the vibrancy and very important work of our charism of evangelization within in the United States.

    The talk that really spoke to us was entitled Prayer & Discernment given by Fr. John Myers of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, PA. His message was so rich that when we read through our notes we practically highlighted everything that we wrote down! We really want to share it all with you so will organize it into topics and then bullet form. We hope it speaks to you as much as it did to us.
    Prayer:
    Prayer should be reporting for duty, not a wish list.
    A helpful prayer—Lord you know how I see things. Help me to see things the way you do. When I least feel like praying I should pray longer.
    Ask God to correct your vision—What is wrong with how I see things?—Do I see as God does?

    Discernment:
    When I hear the word of God it’s like a drop of water on a sponge. When I hear from the devil is like water on a stone.

    Discernment is recognizing what God is doing so I can actively participate.
    When I know what it is that God wants of me but I don’t like it, I need to trust in God’s love even if I don’t feel it. (Think of rowing a boat and looking back to see God rowing twice as hard.) How often do I think it’s what God wants when it’s really what I want?

    Do I assume something is not from God just because I don’t want it?
    Maybe I don’t know as much as I think I do.

    I often want to be an associate of God instead of a disciple. I need to be open to change and His will.

    Sometimes the prophets in our lives come in unexpected forms—(ie. children or those we consider different or “odd”)

    It’s hardest to discern with people we don’t get along with. We prefer those who agree with us so that’s who we surround ourselves with.

    My plans can get in the way—God works around me if I don’t cooperate.
    What do I do to avoid what God is calling me to? What distractions do I seek?
    What am I being called to that is difficult for me?
    We live in a world that wants to tell us who we are. It’s a loud voice that’s why we need each other to remind us what /who God thinks we should be.

    Desolation:
    Something is not right between God and me.
    Why do I have this infirmity or that? God can shine when I have no control.
    The things we think are in the way, are the way.
    Consider: What was my moment furthest from Christ? When I am weakest, I need the healing hand of Christ the most.

    One of the very profound things that Fr Meyers said, was that the 40 year journey of the Israelites in the desert was due to their self-centeredness and lack of God centeredness. Oh to heed God’s teachings sooner rather than later....
    May the Lord bless you. Your sister & brother in Christ, 

    Justine & Bill Bojan 


  • August 01, 2015 9:01 PM | Deleted user
    At the men’s Spanish weekend clausura a young man stood to witness and immediately broke down in tears. Without a moment’s hesitation two of the other candidates stood with him in solidarity, the congregation of the 4th day erupted in applause to show support and the musician rushed to find tissues. Compassion and the love of Christ filled the church in an instant. What a beautiful moment! PIETY

    We recently had the opportunity to go to Creighton University to learn about the Institute for Priestly Formation. What a beautiful organization that’s been in place for 20 years helping seminarians on their journey to really learn how to pray and develop a relationship with Christ to nurture the love they have for the Lord and to help them continue on that journey of love for their lifetime. They experience an encounter with Christ and also work to heal the brokenness in their lives before becoming a priest so that they can serve more completely and fully as spiritual directors and shepherds of their parish communities. This organization was founded by four individuals who felt a call right after completing a 30 day silent retreat and came together in their common discernment to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s call to make it a reality. STUDY

    A young man from our church community has recently completed a drug rehabilitation program. A cursillo group has stepped forward to mentor and be the example of what a man of Christ should look like. He has many gifts and needs the community to help nurture them and encourage him to become all that he is capable of. We see this being done every week as he groups and also comes to our office to learn and share with wonderful Christ filled people. What a beautiful example! APOSTOLIC ACTION

    It was time for the Saturday Palanca mass to begin during the July men’s weekend. At 9:30 the priest had not arrived. At 9:45 the priest had not arrived, but not to worry. Our newly ordained associate pastor, Fr Bruno was in the church and stepped in to preside. Deacon Tim Helmeke came up from the rollo room to assist. They just reached the altar and lo and behold our scheduled presider, Fr Bauer, arrived after being stuck in traffic. Now we had not one, but two priests and a deacon to bless us all at mass! Not only that, but now we have a new priest who is very interest- ed in Cursillo. PIETY

    So you see, the pattern continues if we are intentional and active in our faith lives. This is food for the journey. It’s what helps to sustain us. 

    The Good Shepherd knows each of us by name. Not one of us is an anonymous or unknown person in the crowd to Christ. What are you doing to honor Christ by serving him through your weekly and ongoing PIETY, STUDY and APOSTOLIC ACTION? Don’t live your life as an anonymous person in a great crowd. Get out that three legged stool and make sure you are actively participating in all three. And while you’re at it, be sure to share what you are doing in a cursillo group to remain accountable not only to yourself but most especially to Christ.

    And if we may be so bold, since you have had the great blessing of a Cursillo weekend encounter, consider how you can give back to the movement so that others may be blessed as you have been. It takes the commitment and work of many to make this beautiful gift possible. If the Holy Spirit is tapping you on the shoulder to serve in the work of this charism reach out and let us know. There are many ways to serve and many needs to be filled. We close with a quote by Fr Lon from this past winter retreat at King’s House in Buffalo. “We are called to serve and respond with joy and not portray our service of the Lord as a burden but as an opportunity to participate, engage and reach out in love of the Lord.”

    May the Lord bless you.
    Your sister & brother in Christ,
    Bill and Justine Bojan 

  • July 01, 2015 8:06 PM | Deleted user

    How do we overcome when we are feeling weary and heavy laden? Sometimes we work at our jobs, around the house, with our family or in our volunteer work and it feels as if it is all for naught. More and more is being asked of us as we work tirelessly for what seems like an eternity, only to lose steam, grow tired and discouraged. There can be difficulties with people and/or circumstances that just don’t let up. I think of Moses and the Israelites as they wandered in the desert for those forty years. Can you even imagine?

    One story from Exodus in particular stands out as an example of persever- ance that also involves the support and help from fellow sojourners. It’s the kind of support that we need to remember as believers walking togeth- er on our faith journey.

    The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalektes. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it Aaron and Hur held his hands up- one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Exodus 17: 8-12

    “Aaron and Hur held his hands up- one on one side, one on the other.”
    This sounds like the faith community stepping in to help for the greater good. This also sounds like the support we, as Cursillistas, get from our faith filled and loving group members. 

    Have you had the opportunity to “hold up the arms” of a member or members of your group when they have become weary? Have group members of yours stepped in to “hold up your arms” in support of you when you have been weary? We don’t have to face our discouragement and obstacles alone. God has put these people into our paths for a reason. So in addition to going to prayer and seeking the Lord as we are told in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”, make sure you seek the support from those that have been put in your path as friends in Christ. Knowing that you are not on this journey alone is very comforting and hearing their stories of hope and victory is what just might encourage you.

    Praying for your peace and perseverance,

    Justine & Bill Bojan
    Lay directors 

  • June 01, 2015 8:05 PM | Deleted user

    Can you recall a time when you have encountered someone who stood out to you as unique and set apart in their holiness? Can you recall an experience that made you aware that God was working to get your attention? We can recall many instances, but two recent experiences raised our awareness and got us to thinking about how God can and does use each of us to spread the Gospel message if we cooperate with Him.

    On April 19th we were at mass in Carlsbad, California and heard during announcements that a Carmelite sister from Alhambra would be speaking on the topic of prayer that coming Tuesday. We were familiar with the sisters and decided that we would attend the morning retreat. After mass, while we were waiting for the retreat to begin, a man named Joseph came to greet us at our table. There was something unique about Joseph. He was around fifty years old, wearing a blue grey suit and was filled with a level of joy that was uncontainable. His smile was constant and very genuine. He introduced himself with a handshake and asked our names and then proclaimed, “Rejoice! Again I say rejoice!” as he leapt into the air and spun around. He was uninhibited in proclaiming the joy of Jesus. He engaged with us reciting joyful verses and reinforcing the message of Jesus. Then he was so filled with the spirit that he leapt into the air again repeating the verse on rejoicing. He was so innocent and exuded such pure joy that we couldn’t help but feel the joy and love of the Lord with him. If only we would all be so free and natural in expressing the love and joy of Jesus.

    Then on May 3rd we had a memorable close moment. We were invited to a fundraiser for the Lyme Disease Foundation. It was held at the Plymouth Playhouse where we thoroughly enjoyed “Late Night Catechism”. During intermission there was a live auction. The actress playing the nun led the auction and was quite comfortable in the role. The second of the three items to be auctioned was a large, almost 3 by 5 foot piece of artwork, that we later learned was created by someone suffering from lyme disease. The piece is entitled “Eye Imagine (The World as One)”. It is an expressive piece of art where everything the artist wants to convey isn’t evident from first glance. The image of Jesus’ face, and particularly his eyes, are very clear, but beyond that it is rather abstract. 

    Well a volunteer for the association brought the piece forward. The value was mentioned and the bidding was started at one-third of its value. There was an awkward silence. It was really big—much bigger than would fit in most homes. I really liked it and I could tell that Bill did too. It felt like time had stopped. Then out of the blue she said, “If it’s too big for your house, you can put it in your office.” With that Bill’s hand went up to bid. There were no counter bids and the next thing we knew, it was ours. We went up to the room where they had the payment table and a lady approached us saying, “Did you buy the painting? It happened so fast. I would have bought it for my mom.” We thought, REALLY? It felt like a time warp where time stood still during the whole bidding process.

    When the volunteer carried it out to our car he shared that this same painting had been at another one of their auctions and was sold to people from California. They didn’t want to go through the trouble of shipping it, so they told the organization to keep it and sell it to someone else. We became the “someone else” who we believe were meant to have it in our office entry way. If the bidding had gone up we wouldn’t have been able to bid higher.

    We brought it straight to the office that night and were able to have it hung in time for the 7th anniversary of our company. The artwork is very striking and has already opened the door to faith discussions for people visiting our office. We believe God offered this artwork as a gift to us and in return we can honor Him. We hope it will open the door to many more faith conversations. Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful.

    Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

    Justine & Bill Bojan
    Lay directors 

  • May 01, 2015 8:03 PM | Deleted user

    Have you ever had to decide what to do when faced with a conflict between what the church teaches and what society tells us to do? How difficult this can be especially when it involves those you love. What is the right thing to do? We hear “love the sin- ner, hate the sin”. The love part is sometimes easy, but how do we share our perspec- tive and remain in relationship when confronted by someone that just won’t listen? How do you hold onto what you believe is Divine Truth when your religious liberty is not respected and you are forced to comply? Do you give up your job, do you close down your business or do you throw up your hands and just do it out of exasperation? What would Jesus do?

    This topic is so prevalent in our day and we have paused to ponder how to react. What would Jesus do? He certainly didn’t avoid the sinners. He met with them and dined with them and loved them. He didn’t compromise. He didn’t say that’s ok just keep doing what you’re doing. He patiently taught. He told parables, he preached and he showed love. Can we do the same? By the grace of God and with his undying love yes. Through all of the difficult circumstances and difficult people that we encounter we must persevere.

    In our mission as baptized Catholics and in our call to piety, study and action we must. We must continue to sow the seeds of compassion, love, patience and apostolic action. We must fuel our mission with piety and study first so that we are equipped with the full armor of God.

    “Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the ar- mor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Sprit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:10-17

    Praying for your peace and perseverance,
    Justine & Bill Bojan 

  • April 01, 2015 8:02 PM | Deleted user

    As we write this article it is the middle of Lent, a time of reflection, repentance and preparation. How have you prepared?

    Brothers and sisters: Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor 5:6b-8)

    As you receive this article we are entering into holy week which is a week that takes us through the darkest of days as we wait in the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The days of this week in particular take us through many phases of our human emotions and is representative of the many seasons we experience over our lifetimes. Perhaps for you it will be a time of deep repentance and forgiveness, or a time to offer forgiveness to someone in your life.

    Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18)

    Perhaps it will be an opportunity for renewed or restored hope for you. Or perhaps it will be a time of new life entering your family through healing or birth.

    There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

    But for others of you it may be a time of sickness or death of a loved one where our faith offers us the hope of Jesus Christ.

    Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5: 3-5)

    Whatever season life has you in right now, we pray that you remain in the hope of the Lord. For in him we rejoice and have the life, love and hope that only He can give. May God bless each of you in these holiest of days.

    Your sister & brother in Christ,
    Justine & Bill Bojan
    Lay Directors, Twin Cities Cursillo

  • March 01, 2015 8:01 PM | Deleted user

    We all know something of tears. Our human emotions are often paired with tears whether they are tears of joy, sorrow or a result of something that has touched our hearts. The concept of tears has come up three times within three weeks and by the third time the Holy Spirit got our attention and prompted this article.

    The first time tears was the topic I was in my Bible study where the author referenced Romans 8:26. "In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings."

    She likened tears to the Holy Spirit’s intercession on our behalf. She said, "Tears are liquid language set to the tune of the Holy Spirit's groanings.” I think most of us can relate to that. How many times have your tears served as your prayer when the words simply would not or could not come?

    The second time was when a dear friend was at an anointing of a dying loved one. The priest said, something to the effect of, tears are one of the earliest forms of holy water. What a beautiful image. Our tears come at our most vulnerable hours. They come in the hours where we kneel at the foot of the cross realizing our human frailty and God’s almighty and merciful power.

    The third was at the Saturday palanca mass at the men’s winter weekend in February. Fr Timothy Yanta was the presider. He had lived a weekend almost twenty years prior as a lay person and hadn’t participated in Cursillo since that time. The mass was held in Mary Mother of the Church’s chapel and was filled to capacity. The level of participation and engagement was full and authentic and the presence of the Holy Spirit was strong. During the homily Fr. Yanta shared how powerful his Cursillo experience had been for him during a time in his life when he felt a bit lost. The experience created a hunger for God that would eventually lead him to discern the priesthood. He was so moved during the mass that he was brought to tears when he was giving the homily. He paused several times trying to compose himself and then realized and said to us that they were tears of consolation from the Lord. That was a beautiful example to all of us and it was affirmation that this charism of the Catholic Church, Cursillo, is a very powerful gift that we must continue to offer to as many people as we can. It was so encouraging!

    As we write this I realize that I had my own tears of consolation too while participating in the palanca chapel Sunday afternoon. Being surrounded by other believers working to praise and profess our God affirmed that we are right where we are supposed to be. So, be encouraged by your tears. They are a gift from God.

    Your sister & brother in Christ,
    Justine & Bill Bojan
    Lay Directors 

  • February 01, 2015 8:00 PM | Deleted user

    Our 4th Day winter retreat was held the first weekend of January at Christ the King Retreat House in Buffalo, Mn. About 80 of us gathered to hear talks focusing on Pope Francis’, The Joy of the Gospel. First of all we would like to give a shout out to the fabulous retreat masters, Fr. Jim Deegan, Fr Lon, Fr Tony and Sr. Brenda Rose. If you’d like to hear these extremely well done talks you can register for one of their other retreats focused on The Joy of the Gospel through November of this year.

    Fr. Jim’s talk was entitled, A Joyful Urgency”. He said Jesus is continually sending us to get out there and be a people of mission. Once we encounter Jesus we experience a conversion and then we feel compelled to share the good news just as Peter said, “It is impossible for me not to talk about what I’ve seen and heard.” He went on to share that the Gospels are road maps to joy. “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. “(John 15:11)

    “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Mt. 28:19)
    We loved what he shared next.—“He did not say. I want a volunteer or two: we are all sent.”

    He said joy is both a gift and a decision. Don’t give up too soon. There are 3 ways to save your joy. First, give God time to work with you. Just because you’ve always done something a certain way doesn’t mean that you won’t be called to change gears. Be open to change, it may be in the change that Jesus is working on you. Second, don’t be overly sensitive. We need to overlook things sometimes—cut people some slack. After all, Jesus is always cutting us some slack. Third, don’t give in to addictions, the things that are more than what was intended for us. When we are slaves to addictions of any kind, we begin to lose our joy.

    We were reminded of the 4 roads to joy—much prayer, the Eucharist/sacraments, works of charity/justice and simple living (give what you are not using to the poor).

    We were reminded of the 3 steps to joy—be vigilant: God shows up in disguises & surprises, pay attention to the people and circumstances of our lives, be aware of good stories that lead to conversion and change, say only good things (what is true, good, kind, helpful), use the joy gauge (rejoice in the success of those you don’t like).

    Next, Fr Lon gave a talk entitled, “My Spirit Rejoices” in which he said that the New Testament gives us an 11th commandment—to LOVE. We are not called to be negative. We are called to go out of our way to see the good in others and in God’s creation. Pope Francis says in #49 in The Joy of the Gospel, “More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures, which give us a false sense of security; within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe; while at our door people are starving, and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: ‘Give them something to eat.’ (Mark 6:37) 

    People will go where ever they will find nourishment for their souls—we need to “give them something to eat”. We are not called to pass judgment, but to reach out with compassion and mercy of the Lord. He said we are called to serve and respond with joy and not portray our service of the Lord as a burden but as an opportunity to participate, engage and reach out in love of the Lord.

    Finally, Sr. Brenda Rose gave a talk entitled “Joy: Fruit of Suffering” reminding us that Jesus came to us in fragile humanity. He becomes for us Bread broken and shared. The fruit of suffering that comes with loving is dying to self and letting go for Love. How much am I willing to let go for Love? Surrender to the unfolding Mystery of His Love.

    We hope this gives you a taste for how wonderful the messages of the retreat were and whets your appetite to sign up next January!

    We look forward to seeing you at the February Cursillo weekends in Burnsville. 

    Justine & Bill Bojan

  • January 02, 2015 7:58 PM | Deleted user

    Disciples do not harvest; they just sow. God supplies seed to the sower, multiplies it, and increases the harvest. Once the grain of wheat falls to the ground the sower ceases to matter, as the seed germinates and grows out of the earth to produce much fruit.

    We had the opportunity to attend a powerful Catholic conference that gave us an important message encouraging us to sow seeds. Carolyn Woo, head of Catholic Relief Services said, “When we proclaim God—we—must—do— something. Action is required of us: As Jesus told Peter ‘Feed my sheep. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.’” It really spoke to us not only in the sense that we are called to help with the physical needs of our brothers and sisters here on Earth, but with their spiritual needs as well. Just the week before, the Gospel was from Luke 12 when Jesus told the parable of the rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, “What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?” So he decided to tear down his small barns and build larger ones to store all of his goods so he would be set for many years and would be able to rest, eat, drink and be merry! He never once thought to consult the Lord or share his good fortune with others. He hoarded all that he had acquired for himself.

    This message reinforced for us the responsibility we have been given and commitment we need to uphold as baptized Catholics and Cursillistas-- to share the good news and the joy that we have been given through the Charism of Cursillo. All of us have been sharing in God’s amazing abundance through the Cursillo movement. We have been asked to scatter the seeds to everyone in our environments. What’s being asked of us is to sow seeds through authentic friendship; sharing ourselves and our stories and building trust among those we meet.

    Most people that we encounter in our “square meter” or environments are pre-cursillo! This means that we are to show everyone we encounter the face of Christ. This includes people that can’t or don’t currently recognize it as the face of Christ. This is scattering the seed. They will recognize kindness and perhaps feel loved allowing a seed to be planted. In time God will show us who to invite to be a candidate on a Cursillo weekend. In the mean time we must continually work to be centered in our own growth in piety, study and action. We must work to have personal contact with others, an authentic witness and do authentic palanca. We must build trust in our friendships, show love and maintain friendship before, during and after inviting them to the Cursillo weekend.

    God has given me an analogy that has been developing over the last six years. We have had a print of a lovely, tranquil, tree lined path with beautiful fall colors in our home for 16 years. For the first 10 years of owning it, that’s all that I had seen—a lovely scenic picture. It hangs above the fireplace in our room. About 6 years ago I was asked to give the environments talk for a Cursillo weekend so had been thinking about the talk and praying for guidance on what to share. One evening I was lying on my bed facing the picture with my vantage point being sideways to the picture. All of a sudden I saw a face within the picture plain as day. The message I felt God was telling me to share was that He has always been there with me whether I have been able to see Him or not. He is always in our environments waiting for us to invite Him in. That was a really cool and tangible way to share that message which I did, and on I went with my life. Well lo and behold, shortly thereafter I would begin to see face after face woven into this print. Just when I started to think there can’t possibly be another new face to be found, there it was. For a couple of years now I’ve been wondering-“God what are you trying to show me? There has got to be something to this!” Now I know what it is. God is showing me, and now all of us that we are never done recognizing another sister or brother in our environment that we are to show the love of Christ to to be friend-to evangelize to- to invite to the table. He is saying, “keep your heart open. I am a God of abundance, bring all to me.”

    God bless each of you in this new year!
    Justine & Bill Bojan 

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