Transcript Study - Birmingham Cursillo

Grouping
Diocese Of Birmingham Alabama
School of Leaders
July 2014
“A Cursillo Leader, therefore is a dedicated apostle; a person
who puts all of his abilities in the service of Christ.”
1
Agenda
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
Leader’s Prayer
Leader’s Group Reunion
Doctrinal Talk
Technique Talk: Ornaments
Work of the Sections
Announcements
Discussion Items
Closing Prayer-Chapel visit
2
Leader’s Prayer
† Lord grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our
Movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that
colorful programs do not constitute success.
† My God, give us a spirit of self sacrifice so that we may offer
everything for Your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and
even our lives if necessary. Instill in us courage in our initiatives,
good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that
determination, which in spite of failures, assures victory.
† Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies,
pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which
divides or discourages.
3
Leader’s Prayer con’t
† Help us to maintain at a high level, a meaningful supernatural and
mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by
preference, the most humble task and will rejoice at the good
performed by others, so that all our spirits, united in a common
purpose, will have one single spirit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit
may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces,
Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something
superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living
Presence among us. Amen
† Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patron of the Americas, Pray for Us.
† St Paul, Patron of the Cursillo, Pray for Us.
4
5
6
The Tree of Cursillo
If we compare the Cursillo Movement to a tree, we
are happy to see that it has grown, because an
evangelical seed sown in many hearts and cultivated
with prayer has given its fruit; but it also hurts to see
that in some places, no doubt with the best of
intentions, they have taken the tree of the Cursillos
for a Christmas tree and have been hanging lights
and decorations…their favorite brilliant ideas-and
have gradually been spoiling its clear and simple
profile.”
Eduardo Bonin, My Spiritual Testament,
Chapter 6
7
The Tree of Cursillo
National Cursillo Center Mailing Oct 10
† As Cursillo Leaders today…we continue to study the
Foundational Charism of Cursillos of Christianity…[we] must
ensure the movement does not deviate from its Divine
Purpose.
† …if we allow deviations on our watch, the danger is that in the
years to come the Movement will look just like the
screwdriver that no longer serves its intended purpose and
future generations, our replacements, won’t know or be able
to carry out the intended purpose of the Cursillo.
8
Father Frank Salmani
Whom Shall I send, Discerning the Will of God
† Eduardo was led by the Holy Spirit & Cursillo is God’s gift to
us-a Charism
† “To tamper with its essence is to interfere with the work of
the Spirit”.
† Cursillistas try to reengineer the tree:
– With good intentions
– By those who are misinformed and do not understand the Charism
† “It seems that the temptation…is to make the movement into
our image and likeness
† So we add ornaments to the tree, potentially preventing the
tree from being seen
9
Essential and Non-Essentials
† Essentials (fundamentals) are things that define the very
nature of the thing. It is permanent and changeless within it.
† Non-essentials (ornaments) are things that can be taken away
and do not impact the very nature of the thing it is being
taken away from.
† “Unity in essentials, diversity in non-essentials, charity in all.”
--Eduardo Bonin
10
What is essential to Cursillo
†
†
†
†
†
†
Informed, intimate relationship with the Person of Christ
The Three Encounters—God, Self and Others
Friendship (Personal Contact)
Authentic witness of life (Action)
Real Palanca (Piety)
Freedom of the person--no one should be forced to do what
they do not want to do—this includes participation in the
non-essentials (Ornaments)
† A spirit of poverty and simplicity
† The living conviction that the love of God, love of neighbor
and the love of the world is indeed possible to us precisely
because God loves us.
11
Non-Essentials (Ornaments)
in the Birmingham Movement
Deviaton
Withhold nothing about the weekend from the candidates
Palanca is prayer; Palanca bags are gifts and create an emotional
high that is premature
o Palanca team not a requirement; isn’t the world offering Palanca
enough?
Eliminate anything that distracts from the candidate getting closer
to Christ; keep weekend simple and focused
No banners or "Scripture theme"
Coats and ties for speakers takes rollistas out of the rollo room
which is highly undesirable
Raising speakers up through song is unnecessary; introductions
should be held to a minimum
Core team and those in rollo room come from SoL; okay for set up
& Palanca not to be from SoL
Team recommendation: Rector, Priest, 1 table leader per 5
candidates; assistant table leader only if new team member on first
weekend; support personnel. Number of team members should be
kept to a minimum necessary.
Confirmed youth are encouraged to attend Cursillos, not as a
separate group but as part of the regular weekend as soon as they
are “mature enough to understand the message”
There is no need for the spiritual advisor to review the service
sheets
Status
In progress
131
131
Complete
Teams are reducing over time
In progress
Minor issue
12
Non-Essentials (Ornaments)
in the Birmingham Movement
Deviaton
Status
Italian Night Dinner and Skit
Sunday Morning Wake-Up
Additional "decoration" or "props"--flowers, centerpieces,
tablecloths, pictures, Bed signs, palanca bag signs, Pilgrim Guide
covers
Taking away the freedom of participants--collecting watches,
phones, must stay in a particular area during breaks, etc.
Not having members of same parish room together or be part of
same table family
Placemats/Team Members serving meals
Praying up/Praying down in Palanca chapel for Rollistas
Need for Rollistas to have assigned Set Up "assistants"
One Table leader per table; exception being the training of a new
Table Leader
130 had one table with 1 table
leader; 131 had 2 tables with 1
table leader
13
Process for addressing Non-Essentials
Currently…
† The Secretariat has allowed a rector who is willing to choose
whether to eliminate some non-essentials (ornaments)
† After a weekend, the results of eliminating the ornament have
been presented to the Secretariat and shared with the SOL
After the CdC…
† Identification and listing of Non-Essentials to be done by SOL
† Prioritization of the Non-Essentials to be addressed developed
and recommended by SOL to the Secretariat
† Procedures for eliminating Non-essentials (i.e. by SOL
recommendation and Secretariat vote; Rector choice; other
means) developed and implemented by SOL and Secretariat
14
Recommendations
National Cursillo Center Mailing Oct 10
† Cursillistas must understand and embrace the authentic
identity and charism of the Movement
† We must remove the non-essentials (ornaments) from our
Movement
† We must study the Movement to improve its effectiveness in
our Diocese
† We must put more emphasis on the encounter with the
person and the message of the weekend rather than the
technique and style with which the weekend is conducted and
presented
15
16
Work of the Sections
† Work of the Sections is designed to be the opportunity for the
members of the School of Leaders to identify, design, and
help implement solutions to any issues within the three
sections--PreCursillo, Cursillo and PostCursillo
† Work of the Sections is directed and conducted under the
leadership and guidance of the current Secretariat member
responsible for that section
† SOL members count off and distribute evenly between the 3
sections—unless they are actively serving on a particular
committee within a particular section (i.e. Palanca committee
members work with the Precursillo section, Communications
committee members work with PostCursillo, etc…)
17
18
SoL 2014 Schedule
Month
(2014)
SoL Meeting Location
Jan
Combined-Cullman-Sacred Heart
Feb/Mar
Satellite – Hsv and B’Ham
Apr
Combined-Cullman-Sacred Heart
May/Jun
Satellite – Hsv and B’Ham
Jul
Combined-Cullman-Sacred Heart
Aug/Sep
Satellite – Hsv and B’Ham
Oct
Combined-Cullman-Sacred Heart
Nov
Day of Reflection (B’Ham)
Remote SoL 1st Thursday each Month; 1900
Go to www.BhmCursillo.org for details
Comment
Quarter 1
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
19
Announcements
†
The Cursillo de Cursillos (CdC) will be held Sept 25-28, 2014 at St Bernard’s Retreat
Center in Cullman. Cost is $225 per person. There are still a few slots, so contact
Christina Semmens, 256-603-0225, [email protected] as soon as possible if interested.
†
Next SOL meeting will be COMBINED and held in Cullman on October 11, 2014 at
9:30am. Nominations for the Secretariat positions of SOL Chair, Cursillo Chair and
Secretary will be a part of the SOL. If interested, see the website for Secretariat position
qualifications and descriptions as well as Nomination Procedures.
†
Next Cursillo Region VII Encounter, October 17-18, in Savannah, GA. Link to Registration
form and other info is on Region VII website, www.cursillo.org/region7
†
Cursillo Day of Reflection, Sat., Nov 9th, 9am-4pm, Casa Maria Retreat House, Bham.
Topic is “Prayer as the Foundation for Evangelization.”
20
21
Discussion Items
† Is it time for a second satellite SoL to be established in
Tuscaloosa
† Is it time to eliminate the Remote (dial in) School of Leaders?
22
Closing Prayer
† Dear Lord, we must have fraternal charity, or we can accomplish
nothing for you.
† In loving you, help us to have a genuine concern for one another, a
generosity in sharing one another’s burdens, a gallantry in defending
the reputation of our group, a sincere sympathy in sharing one
another’s suffering and sorrows, and a joy in sharing their spiritual
growth.
† By this shall all men know that we are your Apostles. Amen.
23
24