Calendar
Men's Weekend
Date & Location TBA
Women's Weekend
Date & Location TBA
First Friday 7:00 pm
hosted by St. Mary's
Third Friday 7:00 pm
hosted by St. Benedict's
Fourth Sunday 3:00 pm
Bilingual, hosted by
Sts. Peter and Paul (Tulsa)
Third Sunday 4:00 pm
on odd numbered
months hosted by
Sts Peter & Paul (Cushing)
Second
Thursday
7:00 pm
St. Benedict's
First Friday
All Night Adoration
Sts. Peter and Paul (Tulsa)
from 10:00 PM Friday
until
8:30 AM Mass Saturday
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Cursillo Newsletter Tulsa Diocese Roman Catholic Cursillo Vol No. 1 Issue No. 3 Winter 2004
ContentsInsights from the 2003 National Encounter
The spiritual direction of an immortal soul is an awesome responsibility, and responsible directors of souls do not grow on trees. St. Teresa of Avila said that a good spiritual director was 1 in 1,000. St. Francis de Sales must have thought she was being optimistic. He thought a good spiritual director was 1 in 10,000! What does this mean in the context of the small group reunion and the kind of advice and encouragement we give each other in that "community" setting? First, it means we must be humble. Second, it means we must be careful. And, third, it means we must be faithful. Humble. "Be not wise in your own estimation," says the Bible (Proverbs 3:7). "Every worthwhile gift, every genuine benefit comes from above, descending from the Father of the heavenly luminaries" (James 1:17). "If any of you is without wisdom, let him ask it from God who gives generously and ungrudgingly to all" (James 1:5). "Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak" (James 1:19). Careful. If we care about each other and care about the truth, we will be careful of the souls we influence and careful of the truth we attempt to share. Such carefulness takes time. Only when we have taken the time to know the others (their strengths, their weaknesses, their successes, their failures, their hopes, their dreams, the circumstances of their lives), can we most effectively lead them to Christ. In other words: Make a friend; take the time to be a friend; then, bring a friend to Christ. We also must be careful of the truth we attempt to share. That means we must take the time necessary to know the truth. To know the truth we must study the truth. We must become students of the Bible, the teachings of the Catholic Church, the lives and writings of the Saints. Faithful. It isn't enough to know the truth through study. We must also know the truth through obedience. We must be formed in the truth -- faithful to the truth. We should be so formed by the truth that we think and feel with the Church. Only when we identify wholly (in both mind and heart) with that larger community which is the Church, can we be so bold as to offer -- in all humility, and after much thought and prayer -- community spiritual direction to others. Father Patrick Gaalaas
Cursillistas of Cursillo weekends #33, Sept. and Nov. 2003 welcomed to the
movement!
Eddie Claxton
Insights from the 2003 National Encounter I would like to share with you a recap of the talks from the National Encounter this year that give us insight into the Foundational Charisms of the Cursillo Movement. This information helps us understand the purpose and methods of Cursillo. Being Christian How is it possible for us to come to the realization that God loves us? How can we help our brothers and sisters to come to this marvelous realization – that God loves all of us? First, each one of us must allow oneself to be open to a relationship with oneself. This openness with oneself leads to a healing and personal relationship with God, His son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Through this relationship with oneself, we begin the process of being free from the many conditions that the world has put on us; that we have put on ourselves, that we have put on each other, in order to be loved. Only in Freedom does man reflect his qualities of Person. Freedom of these conditions allows us entrance into the personal relationship of friendship with oneself and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We begin the journey of comprehending that God loves us as His creation; tall, short, thick, thin, dark skin, light skin, richer, poorer, etc. The simple, yet overwhelming awareness and acknowledgement of God’s lover for us, will free us. We were created with Freedom – Freedom to be sincere and accept ourselves as the person that we really are, and free to accept the person that our brothers and sisters are. The acceptance of oneself fosters a true permanent friendship that will enable us to help each other get from where we are, to where we ought to be, which is a continual discovery of; “who am I? Who is God? And who is my brother and sister? Or better yet, to help our brother and sister discover their true self. The truth is the Absolute; the Creator of heaven and earth; God, already loves us. All we are doing is reacting to this great love that God has and continues to provide us in every moment of our life. “Being Christian’ is to accept the reality that God loves us and to allow His love to transform us in order for us to actualize Christ. It is to allow Christ to incarnate Himself in us … to be transparent in our daily living of our lives. Everything we say and do reflects the love of God in us and the love of God for others. It is through a sincere disposition of our relationship with oneself, God, and others that we are capable of loving every person that God has placed before us, beginning with oneself. To discover God as He is, it is necessary to present ourselves to Him as we are. It is not about where we want to place ourselves, but where God has placed us, in our home, work, and recreational environments. We actualize Christ in each moment, in our existence. We ferment the environment with the Good News that God loves us. The likeness of God will emerge in our brothers and sisters when they are aware of God’s love for them, and with that knowledge and experience they will discover that they themselves can begin to actualize Christ in their true self. This relationship with oneself will enable us to have a continual encounter and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which is living out our Baptism of Priest, Prophet and King. This personal relationship with Christ will make us more conscious and ever growing in Grace. The life of Grace enables us to discover and be aware of the vocation, talents, and potential that God has gifted us, responding in accordance with our capabilities and possibilities, in the triumphant building of the Kingdom of God. We must faithfully and continually persevere in this progressive conversion so as to deepen the experience of our discovery of oneself, God, and others. The Cursillo Movement has provided us with a method that we have come to know as the tripod to continue this progressive conversion. However, we must live it. Our piety is nothing more than our true intimate friendship with Christ in order to continue our journey toward Holiness. Our study must be a true change of our mentality in order to continue to know who we are, who God is, and who are our brothers and sisters. This way we may continually form our mind in order to put on the mind of Christ; the mind of the Catholic Church. (Formation) Our action must be a true change of our aptitude and attitude. An aptitude and attitude that must always be in line with the divine will of God, which is to live Christ’s two greatest commandments – to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Evangelization) Jesus Christ, in promoting and sustaining his belief in these two commandments, showed us His loyalty to his convictions by going to the cross. Living our tripod in all the normal situations and circumstances of our normal daily life with all its inputs, outputs, and feedbacks will enhance our criterion so as to always make better decisions on how to live and grow more effectively, and affectively, in the three friendships; with oneself, with Christ, and with our brothers and sisters. The enhancement of our criterion is the results of our Christian life shared in our permanent friendship group reunion. A Christian life that is not shared will not be lived. And if it is not lived it is not shared. The most profound form of sharing is Friendship. Sometimes we get caught up in doing Christian things without being Christian. This will always ‘de-center” us from being Christian. Being Christian is Life; Life is the constant challenge to the truth of oneself. We must constantly remind ourselves that the only thing that should concern us is: “What does Christ want me to be, and what does Christ want me to do?” This is living the Foundational Charisms of the Cursillo Movement – living our baptism to the fullness in order to discover our vocation and to have the conviction to carry out the vocation that God has given each and every one of us 24/7. When we discover the exclusive image of oneself and the irreplaceable love of God within oneself, we find an unending fountain of Joy. This is the true joy of knowing and living God’s love through us, with us, and in us. This is how we consciously fulfill the words of the Lord, King and Redeemer Jesus Christ: “They will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another.” Wherever we are, the world will be able to see us and say: “Look, how those Christians love each other. Look how those Catholics love each other. Look how those Cursillistas love each other.’ DeColores! Steve Krause, Lay Director "Friendship
Group Reunions provide for the good of the individual, the Ultreya provides
for the good of the community. Both are essential in terms of the method." After much discussion, discernment, prayer and consideration the recommended contribution for attending a Cursillo weekend (whether as a team member or as a candidate) has been changed from $50 to $75. The recommended amount has not changed for as long as anyone can remember, so it had been at the old amount for a long time. Some who had made their Cusillos in other dioceses had paid more that our old suggested figure. Our costs have increased, especially when the weekend is not held at St. John’s in McAlester. It has been our custom (and it will continue to be our custom) to not require any given amount but instead to leave it up to each individual to discern what to donate (and whenever necessary to completely waive any donation at all). There has never been any policing or monitoring of what each person has contributed nor will there be any such monitoring in the future. Even so, simple math of dividing the total amount donated for a weekend by the number of persons attending has regularly shown that not everyone has made the full recommended contribution. And that is just fine. It continues to be our movement’s view that financial means shall not be an obstacle to anyone making a weekend (whether as candidate or as a team member). By adjusting the recommended contribution to $75, this practice can continue because those who are able to contribute the full $75 or more will do so and it will make up for those who cannot. We will also encourage team members to lessen the hit to their wallet by spreading out their donation by making some of it at each team meeting where possible. In a similar vein Cursillistas are asked to consider and discern whether their personal financial situation might allow them to offer a sort of “financial palanca” towards the needs of the movement by making periodic or one-time gifts to Cursillo. If you are moved in this manner please mail your financial palanca to: Monica Haggard [address] who is the financial steward of the Cursillo movement in our Diocese
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