Cursillo Newsletter

From the Secretariat …

· Region VI Fall Encounter ... The Region VI Fall Encounter will be the weekend of Sept 29–Oct 1, 2006 in Fairmont, MN). The topic will be “School of Leaders” … plan now to be there!!

· School of Leaders (SOL) ... We will continue to deepen our understanding of the Cursillo Movement as we begin to study the new “Cursillo Manual” (which replaces the old “Three Day Manual”). ALL ARE INVITED! There is much work to do (Ultreya!!! … Onward!!) and many hands make quick work.. Being a part of SOL doesn’t obligate you to do anything you don’t want to do … it’s not about finding more people to give rollos on Weekends. It’s about continuing to form community (which we learned on the Three Day Weekend) and doing the Lord’s work using the Cursillo Method (Group Reunion and Ultreya) … it’s about people who have experienced Cursillo making a difference in their lives, and their wanting to share the gift they have been given with others. The next SOL will be Sept. 15-16, 2006, at a central location (possibly the Hastings area) … the exact location will be announced in the September-October Newsletter … however, put it on your calendar now.

The SOL is in the process of updating the Pastoral Plan for the Cursillo Movement in the Lincoln Diocese ... it’s been two years. It’s good to take a look at where we’ve been, and then to focus on where we have yet to go. The discussion during the work sessions has been edifying and those participating have gone away with a renewed desire to persevere in that to which our Lord calls them in the environments in which He put them. We ALWAYS need input … please share your ideas with the SOL … if you cannot be there in person, please pass your ideas on to any member of the Secretariat so they can become part of the discussion … Our Lord is truly counting on you!!!

· 16^th National Cursillo Encounter …This year’s National Encounter is being held at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, on July 20-23, 2006. The theme is “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.” The Encounter will begin with Eucharistic Adoration, and will address the questions, “What are we doing with the gifts God has given the Cursillo Movement, and how are we being faithful disciples with what God has given us?” The Encounter is open to ALL cursillistas, from those who only recently lived their Weekends to those who lived their Weekends decades ago. You can download a registration form from the National Cursillo Center website (www.natl-cursillo.org), or you can register on-line (same address from which you download the form).

· Precursillo ... Included in this Newsletter is an application packet to assist in helping you to invite candidates to upcoming Three Day Weekends (see dates below). Please take the time to review them yourself, so that you can better explain Cursillo to someone who needs/wants to know more. Then pass these materials on to that someone who is hungry for spiritual growth … Please, Lord, give us eyes to know who You want us to invite, and give us the courage to follow through …

• Goldenrod Sheet – Recently re-written to explain Cursillo in a simpler way (by better defining some of the Cursillo terminology). Still contains the endorsement of Bishop Bruskewitz and Popes John Paul II and Paul VI.

• White Sheet – Application form … this is what the candidate should complete and give to you (the sponsor).

• Blue Sheet – And speaking of sponsors … PLEASE read both sides of this sheet … it will help you better understand the responsibilities of being a sponsor.

· Three Day Weekends ...

You have been given a gift … Cursillo … Share that gift with others … Invite someone to live a Cursillo Weekend …

U Men’s – July 27 - 30, 2006 (All Saints’ School, Holdrege, NE)

U Women’s – August 3 - 6, 2006 (All Saints’ School, Holdrege, NE)

U Men’s – January 11 - 14, 2007 (St. Mary School, David City, NE)

U Women’s – January 18-21, 2007 (St. Mary School, David City, NE)

The teams for the Summer Weekends are:

U Men’s: Jon Junkin, Coordinator; Chuck Micek; Mark Pribyl; and John Springer.

Fr. Matt Vandewalle, Spiritual Director; Fr. Leo Seiker, Assistant; Fr. Mark

Seiker, Palanca Spiritual Director

U Women’s: Kathy Springer, Coordinator; Carolyn Holmes, Roddy Spangler, and

Annette Wemhoff. Fr. Paul York, Spiritual Director; Fr. Harlan

Waskowiak, Assistant; Fr. Bill Holoubek, Palanca Spiritual Director

Postcursillo ...

† Has it been awhile since you have been part of a Group Reunion or been part of an Ultreya? Do you miss the community spirit and spiritual growth that you once had? Or if you’ve never lived the Cursillo plan of perseverance … Group Reunion and Ultreya … would you like to give it a try? Contact any cursillista or member of the Secretariat to help you find a Group or see the cover of the Newsletter to find the Ultreya nearest to you … Ask and you shall receive … seek and you shall find … knock and the door will be opened to you …

† Cursillo Mattress Covers … Arrangements have been made to proceed with the recovering of the foam mats and mattresses used for Cursillo activities (early July) … both for health reasons and to prolong their usefulness. As mentioned before, this is a very costly endeavor (approximately $2500), so we continue to welcome donations from those who are financially able to help with this special project. Donations may be sent to: Mark Pribyl (Three Day Chair), P.O. Box 305, Dorchester, NE 68343-0305 (phone 402-641-7199). Checks may be made out to Cursillo of Lincoln.

Make a friend …

BE a friend …

Bring your friend to Christ!!

From the Lay Director ...

These thoughts have kind of been gnawing at me for the past couple of months. There have been lots of challenges in terms of arranging the Summer Cursillo Weekends, in addition to the other gifts of uncertainty that God has given recently … lots of them ... But I am reminded by Sr. Josefa Menendez (in my book group, we’re studying Sr. Josefa’s writings in “The Way of Divine Love”) that our Lord is comforted more by our acceptance of uncertainty than by our ‘wearing His Crown of Thorns’: “Yes, it was I who entrusted you with that precious treasure [this is our Lord speaking … He is referring His Crown of Thorns that He had asked Sr. Josefa to wear]. But it was too much consolation for you, and you comforted Me more by accepting the uncertainty than by wearing My Crown on your head.” Ah … accepting uncertainty … easier said than done … However much I would like to sit back and say, “I don’t know what You want, Lord” (and reading between the lines, ‘I’m not sure I like the way You’re leading’), I cannot become paralyzed and just do nothing … I have to trust that He will lead as I step out in faith …

So, where has He been leading of late? It has to do with living the Cursillo method, especially as it relates to my living out the Fourth Day (i.e., the Postcursillo) … I can best relate His leading by piecing together snippets of what has come of late in prayer and reading (holiness and formation) … First, in June 8^th’s Magnificat, the meditation (“Messiah, Lord, Son” by St. Ephrem the Syrian) ends with: “For it is written that there were many who believed in our Lord, but out of fear their voices dishonored faith; although their hearts confessed, yet He considered those who kept the silence along with those who denied.” Ouch!! He’s moving us beyond the first two legs of the tripod (piety and study … holiness and formation) to the third leg of the tripod, action (evangelization) … He’s saying that if we don’t get past the first two, we’re falling short.

In my small group at the Grand Ultreya, I was sharing about my sadness that too many are satisfied with personal growth in holiness and formation, but that we just don’t feel the least compunction to step out to evangelize … a sadness in not understanding that Cursillo is not about us personally, but rather, it’s about bringing OTHERS to Christ in the process of working on ourselves … One of the other members of my group commented that he was thinking recently about standing before our Lord at his particular judgment, and having our Lord ask him what he had done during his time on earth. This friend responded, “Well, I loved You, Lord!” … and our Lord responded, “And? …” We have to have an answer for that ‘And?’ We have to do something (evangelize) with what we are given in prayer and study … So, the message is that I need to (notice that it is a responsibility, not a suggestion) share the Gospel message in an active way … In a rollo given on one of the Women’s Weekends, a cursillista once made the comment that it’s called the ‘Good News’ … not a ‘good secret’ … touché!!

Further, at the June School of Leaders, one of the speakers (in her technique talk) referred to the May 18^th Magnificat meditation (entitled “The Responsibility of the Commandments” by Elisabeth Leseur): “Every life is a serious matter and ought not to be led carelessly. Whether we consider it to be the prelude or a rough outline of the fuller, better life that we cannot enjoy here below, or whether we look at it as a fruit (a very bitter fruit sometimes) and not as a seed, nevertheless, we arrive at this conclusion that every life involves responsibility, and we are accountable not only for the evil that we do, but also for the good that we do not do [whoa!!]. We are convinced also that our smallest actions [here we are again … the third leg of the tripod … action … evangelization …] and our most unnoticed sacrifices have a lasting effect in time and space, and that we continue forever the good or evil that we have once begun. As a result, nothing is indifferent in our moral life; the neglect of the smallest duty has consequences we never suspect. This is why we must live in such a way that no obligation, great or small, may be left undone …” So, here again, our Lord (through Elisabeth) is telling us that we have an obligation to act … Just as St. Francis of Assisi was told (by more than one person) that his gifts were not given to him for him alone … we are ALL called to share that which we have been given … the gifts are not given for us alone …

And His formation (leading) continues … At our May Ultreya (it was moved to June 2^nd because of the Memorial Day weekend), the person giving the witness made a very beautiful, very simple observation … She shared that a woman who had a keen desire to grow in holiness (and become a saint) was lamenting to her spiritual director about how she couldn’t possibly do what it would take to become a saint. She began to enumerate the difficulties experienced by St. Catherine of Siena in her path to sainthood, and her spiritual director stopped her … He told her that the Church already has a St. Catherine of Siena … that she wasn’t being called to follow that same path or to be St. Catherine of Siena … He told her that hers was to follow that path to sanctity that our Lord had marked out specifically for her from the beginning of time, not the path St. Catherine followed … Again, touché!! We are called to live out our Fourth Day helping our Lord to build the Kingdom right where He put us … with whom He puts us … At the Grand Ultreya, one of the witnesses talked about the peace she has found since Cursillo in accepting our Lord’s leading … She shared that she has simply focused on doing “His will … in His way … and in His time …” Sage advice for anyone on the pilgrimage into the Fifth Day!!

And then, there’s a quote from Pope John Paul II’s homily for the beatification of Mother Teresa of Calcutta taken from a book co-written by Bishop Robert J. Baker and Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel entitled, “When Did We See You, Lord?” (hmmm … are you seeing a common theme here?): “… with the witness of her life, Mother Teresa reminds everyone that the evangelizing mission of the Church passes through charity, nourished by prayer and listening to God’s word [there’s the tripod again … holiness (piety) … formation (study) … and evangelization (action)]. Emblematic of this missionary style is the image that shows the new Blessed clasping a child’s hand in one hand while moving her Rosary beads with the other. Contemplation and action, evangelization and human promotion: Mother Teresa proclaimed the Gospel living her life as a total gift to the poor but, at the same time, steeped in prayer.” How very beautiful … and we’re called to do likewise …

And I’d like to conclude with one of the hardest parts of my recent formation (study) … what has come in prayer … Again quoting from “When Did We See You, Lord?”, there is a prayer by St. Basil the Great:

“The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry;

The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked;

The shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot;

The money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor;

The acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.”

Again, ouch!!! All kinds of plans come to mind when I pray this prayer … now I just need to carry them out … and it begins with the first step … Yes, there is uncertainty, but He asks that I embrace it … His will … in His way … in His time … Come with me, Lord, as we go about the business of building Your Kingdom … one step at a time … help me to take that first step … then continue … Thank You for the friends that You give me to accompany me on my earthly pilgrimage … Help me to be a friend as I attempt to make a friend, be a friend, and then bring that friend to You … I’m counting on You, Lord!!

De Colores!! Kathy Springer

From the Spiritual Advisor ...

Recently, I was watching a couple of videotapes on Stewardship, and Fr. John Lanzrath (a priest from the Wichita diocese) made reference to “Stewardship – A Disciple’s Response” (The U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Stewardship). The Pastoral Letter lists Four Pillars of Stewardship: Hospitality, Prayer, Formation, and Service. As I listened to Fr. Lanzrath describe and explain these four pillars, it occurred to me that they were really speaking about Cursillo:

§ Hospitality … “Make a friend, be friend, and bring that friend to Christ”

§ Prayer … Piety / Holiness

§ Formation … Study / Formation

§ Service … Action / Evangelization

Fr. Lanzrath told a story about his experience at O’Hare airport. Victor, the shuttle bus driver, greeted him and all of the other passengers with: “Good morning, young man”, or “Good morning, young woman”, no matter what the age of the person. He said it with a smile, and helped each person with his/her luggage. Then as Victor drove the passengers on the 6 minute trip to the parking lot, he said to them: “I know that Chicago is not your final destination, but as a citizen of Chicago, I welcome you to Chicago this day. I want you to thank God for the gift of this day.” He said it with a smile, and then he said: “Please pass on a smile to each person that you meet this day.” Fr. Lanzrath noticed that everyone on the shuttle bus was smiling, and he realized that Victor saw the beauty of each person and treated him/her as such … he realized that stewardship is an attitude of life, a way of life.

As I reflected on the story, I realized that it was a great example of hospitality, and it was also about “making a friend, being a friend, and bringing that friend to Christ.” Fr. Lanzrath commented that he thought that Victor was preaching to them on the shuttle bus … but he was doing it with his actions as much as with his words. Fr. Lanzrath observed that many times each day, Victor drove this 6 minute trip back and forth from the airport terminal to the parking lot, and he treated each person on each trip, of each day, as Christ.”

We would do well to try and imitate Victor (as he imitated Christ) in our daily lives. We should strive each day to make a friend, and then to be a friend, and then to bring that friend to Christ. To help us do that, we strive to live out the three legs of the tripod: Piety, Study, and Action.

Fr. Lanzrath said that Jesus taught us to pray … to say “Thy will be done.” He reminded us of “our need to thank God”, and that the Preface of Eucharistic Prayer IV says: “You have no need of our praise, yet our desire to thank You is itself Your gift. Our prayer of thanksgiving adds nothing to Your greatness, but makes us grow in Your grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Fr. Lanzrath said that “God has given us all that we have … all that is good. God is the Author and Origin of all that is good. When we realize that, it begins to change the focus of all that we do in life. Victor’s attitude was a love of life.”

As I listened, I thought about Piety. How do I pray? … How do we pray? How do we enter into conversation with God … into friendship with God? Do we recognize that all that we have received comes from God, and do we recognize the many close moments in our daily life? Victor did … with each person that he met. He talked about His close moments. He radiated the light of Christ.

When Fr. Lanzrath talked about Formation, he observed that it was more than educating the mind. It was also forming the heart. That is very important. Sometimes we limit formation to what we read. There are many good books, but we are to read only the best. In addition to the “best books”, there are other ways that we are formed… by encounters with Christ in prayer … by encounters with others (with shuttle bus drivers, like Victor). Christ wants to form our hearts and to change our mentality (as well as our hearts), to be more like His. Fr. Lanzrath said that Cardinal Newman spoke about “heart speaking to heart” … the Heart of Christ speaking to our heart … that is formation.

In speaking of Service, Fr. Lanzrath reminded us that Jesus said: “I came not to be served, but to serve.” Jesus showed us by His actions … by His life … that He meant what He said … He put His love into action. We are to do the same thing. We are to “bring about a change in ourselves, others, and the world for the better.” But our action is not just to do something. Rather, it is action that flows from a way of life.

The speakers on these Stewardship videos talked about the Stewardship way of life. In Cursillo, we speak about the Cursillo way of life. Really, it is Christ’s way of life. It is making a friend, being a friend, and bringing that friend to Christ. It is Piety, Study, and Action. Those three are very interconnected, and are all necessary. Listening to these tapes prompted me to reflect more on the depth of the Cursillo Movement and on my need to continue to live a life of Piety, Study and Action … to strive to spend time with Jesus, to encounter Him in a deeper way … to study Him, and to let Him form me more in His image and likeness … and to put into action my piety and my study, to live the way of life that Christ has formed in me.

As I listen to speakers and read books, over and over, I realize the many different ways that people speak about the Cursillo Movement … about the Tripod of Piety, Study, and Action. May each of us live the Cursillo Way of Life .. the Fourth Day.

De Colores!! Fr. Mark Seiker

(Insert #1)

NOTE: The following is the text (printed in grayscale rather than in color) of the general Palanca letter prepared by the Lincoln Diocese School of Leaders and approved by the Secretariat for mailing (emailing) to dioceses throughout the world with Three Day Weekends scheduled. The Lincoln Diocese has been the recipient of Palanca offered by cursillistas throughout the world when we have had Three Day Weekends in our Diocese, and we invite you to join together with Lincoln Diocese cursillistas in offering Palanca for Three Day Weekends going on in other dioceses throughout the world. You will note that some offer their Friday Mass intention, while others pray at least one decade of the Rosary each Sunday … you are encouraged to offer whatever Palanca is sacrificial on your part … Please pray for the work of Cursillo … in our Diocese and throughout the world.

De Colores!!!! ………………………………………… The Secretariat

The Lincoln, Nebraska, Diocesan Cursillo Community rejoices that you answered Christ’s call to come closer to Him this Weekend. Our Diocesan Cursillo Secretariat has as its Mass intention each Friday all of the Three Day Cursillo Weekends going on around the world … each member of our Secretariat offers his/her Holy Communion for you … In addition, our Diocesan School of Leaders community prays at least one decade of the Rosary each Sunday, and individual cursillistas throughout the Diocese are offering Masses, Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, Rosaries, Chaplets of Divine Mercy, fasting, and daily prayers that you might come to know our Lord as Friend.

We pray that your Weekend encounter with Christ will lead you to a deeper relationship with Him. Come to know Him yourself ... then introduce Him to others … Since Cursillo is a method of transporting your love for Christ to others, live your life well … you might be the only Gospel someone else will ever experience.

We offer this prayer by John Henry Cardinal Newman:

PRAYER/ADORATION HOURS for Holdrege Weekends (listed by Ultreya Centers)

Thursday.......... 7:00pm - Midnight .................... Beatrice/Crete/Hebron

Friday.............. Midnight - 5:00am .................... David City/Shelby

Friday.............. 5:00am - 10:00am ..................... Lincoln

Friday.............. 10:00am - 3:00pm .................... McCook

Friday.............. 3:00pm - 8:00pm ...................... Plattsmouth/Offutt

Friday.............. 8:00pm - Sat., 1:00am ............... Wahoo

Saturday........... 1:00am - 6:00am ...................... Beatrice/Crete/Hebron

Saturday .......... 6:00am - 11:00am ..................... McCook

Saturday .......... 11:00am - 4:00pm .................... Lincoln

Saturday .......... 4:00pm - 9:00pm ...................... David City/Shelby

Saturday........... 9:00pm - Sun, 2:00am ............... Plattsmouth/Offutt

Sunday............. 2:00am - 7:00am ...................... Wahoo

Sunday ............ 7:00am - 5:00pm ...................... Hastings/Minden/Holdrege

De Colores!! Kathy Springer