“Our love must not be a thing of words and fine talk. It must be a thing of action and sincerity” (1 John 3:18).”
DEFINITION: Sincerity is the quality or state of being sincere; honesty of mind or intention; freedom from simulation, hypocrisy, disguise, or false pretense.
1. To encounter God just as he is, it is necessary to come before him just as we are.
2. Our sincerity is genuine in moments of serenity.
3. Only in intimacy is complete sincerity not excessive.
4. When the past is not integrated, accepted or assimilated, the person distorts his or her vision of what is real, including his/ her own reality.
5. Sincerity is often colored by the subjectivity generated by a lack of communication.
6. Among members of the laity that stand out, we encounter some who are inhibited and some who show off; and both attitudes diminish sincerity.
7. A person needs to give the right measure of his/her self: a gift that will neither disintegrate nor diminish him/her.
8. When appearances take the place of being, the mechanism of sincerity breaks down.
9. Truth is not religion; it is the spiritual dimension of the human person.
OTHER CITATIONS:
• “A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Forcing yourself to think happy lies doesn't heal your dreams. Getting to the truth does.” Martha Beck
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
When and with whom do you find it most difficult to be sincere?
Do you believe that there can be a good “Group Reunion” when there is a lack of sincerity in one or more of its members? Why? What are the consequences? Explain your answer.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
CONVICTION
Definition: A strong persuasion or belief; the state of being convinced. (Merriam-Webster)
1. We are called to perform tasks that require conviction; and what everyone does is push – coerce – to achieve a decision.
2. Some do not believe in the Gospel and others do not believe that it is effective: who disappoints God more?
3. Actually utilized, the ability to be surprised, combined with the capacity for conviction and the ability for decision convey and reveal the measure of the person.
4. Human conviction is centered, unified and intertwined with what is most essential when (one can say): “God loves me in a personal, singular and unique way.”
5. For human beings authentic conviction is not a passing, burdensome or crushing human value.
6. Between those who believe they know and those who know how to believe, the latter are the ones that progress to the complete and thorough fullness of their personhood.
7. The human person yearns for what is fundamental, not so as to dissipate his/her efforts in nonessential behavior, but to sustain and drive daily goals, starting from a firm conviction that is rooted in what is real and what is true.
8. Conviction is the backbone of the clearly articulated knowledge possessed, which allows us to be rooted in reality and to fulfill ourselves in it as a person.
9. Ignorance is a resounding invitation to be light.
10. Truth is what makes one’s motives more profound, more coherent and more alive.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What do you personally understand it means to be “a person of conviction”?
2. What are we convinced of as Christians?
Based on the ideas listed above: How should our Christian convictions be reflected in the way we live our lives in the “Fourth Day” (Postcursillo) as well as our behavior in the other two phases of the Cursillo Movement – Precursillo and Cursillo?
1. We are called to perform tasks that require conviction; and what everyone does is push – coerce – to achieve a decision.
2. Some do not believe in the Gospel and others do not believe that it is effective: who disappoints God more?
3. Actually utilized, the ability to be surprised, combined with the capacity for conviction and the ability for decision convey and reveal the measure of the person.
4. Human conviction is centered, unified and intertwined with what is most essential when (one can say): “God loves me in a personal, singular and unique way.”
5. For human beings authentic conviction is not a passing, burdensome or crushing human value.
6. Between those who believe they know and those who know how to believe, the latter are the ones that progress to the complete and thorough fullness of their personhood.
7. The human person yearns for what is fundamental, not so as to dissipate his/her efforts in nonessential behavior, but to sustain and drive daily goals, starting from a firm conviction that is rooted in what is real and what is true.
8. Conviction is the backbone of the clearly articulated knowledge possessed, which allows us to be rooted in reality and to fulfill ourselves in it as a person.
9. Ignorance is a resounding invitation to be light.
10. Truth is what makes one’s motives more profound, more coherent and more alive.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What do you personally understand it means to be “a person of conviction”?
2. What are we convinced of as Christians?
Based on the ideas listed above: How should our Christian convictions be reflected in the way we live our lives in the “Fourth Day” (Postcursillo) as well as our behavior in the other two phases of the Cursillo Movement – Precursillo and Cursillo?
FRIENDSHIP (PART II)
The following phrase sums up Cursillo’s approach to the evangelization of the environments:
"Be a friend, Make a friend, Bring a friend to Christ"
In what way can we be a friend to another?
How do we make someone our friend?
How can we lead someone to Christ?
"Be a friend, Make a friend, Bring a friend to Christ"
In what way can we be a friend to another?
How do we make someone our friend?
How can we lead someone to Christ?
FRIENDSHIP
1. Friendship is the most intense way to live life together.
2. To be a friend is to be able to think one’s life aloud with another.
3. The relationship of friendship is the most genuinely human and genuinely gospel way of entering in communion with another. It consists in communicating with another human being as a person, not because of his concrete qualities or social standing, but because he exists – because he is somebody.
4. Friendship could be summed up in the twofold affirmation:
“I am happy that you exist.”
“The world is more beautiful because you are alive.”
5. Friendship develops by means of a process.
6. Friendship can produce a powerful energy that can move men and women to change their reality.
7. Christian is the simple and definite pleasure of being a friend to the one who is next to me.
8. If a person does not have someone to bear with him, he will not be able to bear life, and he will become unbearable.
9. In order to make friends: first see; make others see; and then get them to look.
10. Cursillo is the vehicle for an experience of identity; a song to life; and a homage to friendship.
11. The key (to friendship) is in a relationship of friendship with oneself.
12. Friendship is creative but never close ended if its natural dynamic to generate more friendship is not excluded.
Group Dynamic: Divide into groups & discuss the members’ understanding of these fundamental notions of Cursillos charism.
Discussion Question: How is (or should) this fundamental aspect of Cursillo’s Charism be reflected during the 3-day weekend, the pre-cursillo and the post-cursillo?
2. To be a friend is to be able to think one’s life aloud with another.
3. The relationship of friendship is the most genuinely human and genuinely gospel way of entering in communion with another. It consists in communicating with another human being as a person, not because of his concrete qualities or social standing, but because he exists – because he is somebody.
4. Friendship could be summed up in the twofold affirmation:
“I am happy that you exist.”
“The world is more beautiful because you are alive.”
5. Friendship develops by means of a process.
6. Friendship can produce a powerful energy that can move men and women to change their reality.
7. Christian is the simple and definite pleasure of being a friend to the one who is next to me.
8. If a person does not have someone to bear with him, he will not be able to bear life, and he will become unbearable.
9. In order to make friends: first see; make others see; and then get them to look.
10. Cursillo is the vehicle for an experience of identity; a song to life; and a homage to friendship.
11. The key (to friendship) is in a relationship of friendship with oneself.
12. Friendship is creative but never close ended if its natural dynamic to generate more friendship is not excluded.
Group Dynamic: Divide into groups & discuss the members’ understanding of these fundamental notions of Cursillos charism.
Discussion Question: How is (or should) this fundamental aspect of Cursillo’s Charism be reflected during the 3-day weekend, the pre-cursillo and the post-cursillo?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)