Cursillos in Christianity makes it possible to live what is fundamentally Christian. It does not try merely to make it possible but to make it uncomplicated, to facilitate it and make it understandable and accessible to all, but most especially – though not exclusively – to those who are away [from the Church].
Cursillos in Christianity was not intended nor does it have as its aim the greater spiritual comfort of those who think themselves “good”. Rather it seeks and sometimes even succeeds in raising their consciousness so that they resolve to become the “leaven” that they are called to be in the world. So that, as the result of a profound reflection, they can gradually discover new horizons that motivate them to leave behind the traditional and comfortable circle of ideas and circumstances – wrongly assumed to be ecclesial – in which they routinely move. And thus, awaken in them a concern for people who live away from the Church and who have not yet heard the news that God loves them.
Again, the primary though not exclusive purpose of Cursillos is to warmly draw nearer to those who are away [from the Church] in order to establish with them closeness and sincere friendship. So that, with a concrete, thought out, studied and prayed over plan (precursillo, cursillo and postcursillo); they may endeavor to put their efforts and energy to work in a way that is both appropriate and possible (group reunion and ultreya). So that these people who are away from the Church – some who are Christians and others who are not yet Christians because they have been poorly informed, or misinformed or not informed – may hear the Good News that God loves them in Christ.
When this begins to occur, we believe that it is wise to keep in mind the implicit warning contained in the parable of the “Prodigal Son” as it refers to the older brother.
The experience of some and the energy of others, in harmonious and friendly combination, undoubtedly make it possible and feasible for many people to grasp and achieve what Cursillos in Christianity seeks – what it has always sought. In order to gradually achieve that end, the following goals are identified and proposed:
· Go out to meet them in the path of their life’s journey; making an effort to make contact with them; remaining in lively anticipation of the joy of their return home, to our Father.
· So that, with a certainty derived from what has been intimately and personally experienced, they may open their minds to the Truth; and, we then may promote and provide them the means to take that Truth to their lives and the lives of others with personal conviction, decisiveness and perseverance.
· Living what is fundamentally Christian is possible when we simplify it without falsifying or sugarcoating it; when we endeavor to have the Christian message touch the hearts and minds of as many people as possible, with all the power of that which is uncomplicated. Not because in a paternalistic way we force them to see; instead, because each person gradually discovers it on their own, in that inner space of their inmost self.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What, according to Eduardo Bonnín, has always been the goal or aim of the Cursillo Movement?
2. What is the “implicit warning” contained in the parable of “The Prodigal Son” that Eduardo refers to?
3. How does Eduardo’s explanation clarify your understanding of the three phases of the Cursillo Movement: Precursillo, Cursillo and Postcursillo?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Joy
1. True joy is to selflessly do what we want to do – the happiness we feel when we go beyond what duty requires.
2. Man was imagined and created by God to live the joy that springs from the truth that sets him free.
3. The wellspring of joy is within us.
4. We find a never ending source of joy when we discover the image of God’s very being and God’s own love within us.
5. The capacity to be surprised implies the capacity to find joy.
6. The internalized conviction that God loves us can make us see everything from a perspective that is realistic yet all together optimistic, joyful, pleasing and awe-inspiring.
7. The Reign of God, which is not of this world, is the one that brings joy and fullness to the kingdoms of this world.
8. True friendship cannot serve merely to share one’s sorrows, but also to enjoy with one’s friend the pleasure of one’s joy and the cause of that joy: one’s hopes, wishes, and accomplishments.
9. (We experience joy) when we happily accept our circumstances.
10. The generosity you must show is to joyously respond to God’s Generosity. Sporadic acts of generosity tend to obscure the “joyously” part.
11. If morality is to be infectious and persuasive it must spring from a joyful and lively conviction.
Reflection Questions
1. How are joy and love interconnected?
2. What distinguishes the Christian understanding of true joy from the more worldly concept of joy?
2. Man was imagined and created by God to live the joy that springs from the truth that sets him free.
3. The wellspring of joy is within us.
4. We find a never ending source of joy when we discover the image of God’s very being and God’s own love within us.
5. The capacity to be surprised implies the capacity to find joy.
6. The internalized conviction that God loves us can make us see everything from a perspective that is realistic yet all together optimistic, joyful, pleasing and awe-inspiring.
7. The Reign of God, which is not of this world, is the one that brings joy and fullness to the kingdoms of this world.
8. True friendship cannot serve merely to share one’s sorrows, but also to enjoy with one’s friend the pleasure of one’s joy and the cause of that joy: one’s hopes, wishes, and accomplishments.
9. (We experience joy) when we happily accept our circumstances.
10. The generosity you must show is to joyously respond to God’s Generosity. Sporadic acts of generosity tend to obscure the “joyously” part.
11. If morality is to be infectious and persuasive it must spring from a joyful and lively conviction.
Reflection Questions
1. How are joy and love interconnected?
2. What distinguishes the Christian understanding of true joy from the more worldly concept of joy?
Normality
1. To confront the difficulties that one finds along the way in normal every day life and to reaffirm oneself in this ordinariness helps to verify that what really matters is the meaning that a person consciously gives to his/ her life.
2. To be able to see everyday things with new eyes.
3. What is Christian always tends to be served-up on the tray of the heroic.
4. What is “common” is to use religion as a refuge, as a parking spot or as a couch; what is normal is something else.
5. Only someone who is fully a person understands the difficult art of learning to see the wonders that are present in the ordinary, the simple, the things of everyday and always.
6. Love reveals that life is a gift that can be gradually opened and cherished at every moment of one’s life.
7. What is relative and even what is incidental unconsciously and inevitably reveal in each specific circumstance of life the degree to which the Absolute is intended.
8. The lay person has an effect in the world when exercising the qualities that distinguish one as a person in that concrete place where one finds oneself.
9. Life is no more and no less than what we do and what happens to us. What is important is to delve more deeply into the causes for everyday circumstances, for what is normal and what is ordinary.
10. When we move forward toward what we want to achieve and put into it a sincere and committed effort, we typically begin to experience peace and joy as we gradually achieve our goal in the realm of what is natural, normal and human.
Reflection Questions
Before you made your Cursillo, did you see religion and religious persons as normal? Why “yes” or why “no”?
What has allowed you to see ordinary, simple and everyday things and circumstances with “new eyes”? What effect has this had in your life and the life of others around you?
2. To be able to see everyday things with new eyes.
3. What is Christian always tends to be served-up on the tray of the heroic.
4. What is “common” is to use religion as a refuge, as a parking spot or as a couch; what is normal is something else.
5. Only someone who is fully a person understands the difficult art of learning to see the wonders that are present in the ordinary, the simple, the things of everyday and always.
6. Love reveals that life is a gift that can be gradually opened and cherished at every moment of one’s life.
7. What is relative and even what is incidental unconsciously and inevitably reveal in each specific circumstance of life the degree to which the Absolute is intended.
8. The lay person has an effect in the world when exercising the qualities that distinguish one as a person in that concrete place where one finds oneself.
9. Life is no more and no less than what we do and what happens to us. What is important is to delve more deeply into the causes for everyday circumstances, for what is normal and what is ordinary.
10. When we move forward toward what we want to achieve and put into it a sincere and committed effort, we typically begin to experience peace and joy as we gradually achieve our goal in the realm of what is natural, normal and human.
Reflection Questions
Before you made your Cursillo, did you see religion and religious persons as normal? Why “yes” or why “no”?
What has allowed you to see ordinary, simple and everyday things and circumstances with “new eyes”? What effect has this had in your life and the life of others around you?
LIFE
“I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10)
“The spirit of Cursillo consists in taking the essence of the Gospel to the daily lives of many.” Eduardo Bonnín, in Eduardo Bonnín: A Christian Apprentice.
What is fundamental to being a Christian is not, “a doctrine that must be learned but a reality that must be lived.” Ibid.
“I believe that the Lord has to be discovered in every day life and in the ordinary.” Ibid.
“My contact with people has allowed me to directly verify that whenever the message of the Gospel is welcomed with personal faith and comes into contact with the uniqueness, originality and creativity of the person, it strengthens his or her human qualities.” Ibid.
1. Christian is the convergence of what is dynamic (full of life) and what is sensible.
2. The weariness of good people is provoked by the constant repetition of impersonal acts of kindness.
3. Life is a wager not an answer.
4. Life is a constant challenge to the truth about one’s self.
5. The breath of life is taking delight in the surprises.
6. The best way to worship God is simply to be happy.
7. Everything comes crashing against a life without meaning: morality, exemplariness, religiosity… And everything is centered, connected and energized for the person whose life has meaning.
8. Only a Christ that is alive, normal and near is attractive.
9. Christ is the model that molds, the way that leads us on, the truth that frees us from our hang-ups and prejudices and the cause that continually invigorates our life.
Reflection Question
How has Cursillo enriched your life and made it more “abundant”? How can it enrich and give meaning to the life of those who have not yet had that triple encounter with self, God and the community of believers?
“The spirit of Cursillo consists in taking the essence of the Gospel to the daily lives of many.” Eduardo Bonnín, in Eduardo Bonnín: A Christian Apprentice.
What is fundamental to being a Christian is not, “a doctrine that must be learned but a reality that must be lived.” Ibid.
“I believe that the Lord has to be discovered in every day life and in the ordinary.” Ibid.
“My contact with people has allowed me to directly verify that whenever the message of the Gospel is welcomed with personal faith and comes into contact with the uniqueness, originality and creativity of the person, it strengthens his or her human qualities.” Ibid.
1. Christian is the convergence of what is dynamic (full of life) and what is sensible.
2. The weariness of good people is provoked by the constant repetition of impersonal acts of kindness.
3. Life is a wager not an answer.
4. Life is a constant challenge to the truth about one’s self.
5. The breath of life is taking delight in the surprises.
6. The best way to worship God is simply to be happy.
7. Everything comes crashing against a life without meaning: morality, exemplariness, religiosity… And everything is centered, connected and energized for the person whose life has meaning.
8. Only a Christ that is alive, normal and near is attractive.
9. Christ is the model that molds, the way that leads us on, the truth that frees us from our hang-ups and prejudices and the cause that continually invigorates our life.
Reflection Question
How has Cursillo enriched your life and made it more “abundant”? How can it enrich and give meaning to the life of those who have not yet had that triple encounter with self, God and the community of believers?
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