The Essence and Purpose of the

PART I

ESSENCE: The nature of something or its fundamental character.

PURPOSE: The end or object to be attained. Things are explained and understood better when one articulates their purpose.

The essence of Cursillos is that which is essential to being a Christian, that is:

The HEART
the CENTER
the CORE
the MOST BASIC aspect of what we call

FUNDAMENTALLY CHRISTIAN

What is “Fundamental to being a Christian”?

It is not a doctrine or a set of principles or beliefs one must learn; it is a reality that must be lived in vital connection to life itself – life as it truly is – trying to internalize the realities that aim for the summit of what is Christian, in order to embody them in our daily lives. Trying to understand and assimilate the fact that to live the Gospel is not merely to choose virtue; rather, it is an honest effort to opt always for Christ and for man.

God loves us in Christ. God loves me.

Above all else, to be a Christian is to feel one is loved by God, and to live in constant amazement at this fact. For, what is most genuinely Christian is to let oneself be loved by God.

When one actually believes and fully lives the reality of God’s love, it creates an internal attitude that spreads and becomes contagious. But, in order to grasp and experience the truth of God’s love and continue encountering Him – who is love – as He truly is, we must make an effort to stand before Him exactly as we are.

God loves each of us. God loves me! This is the most authentic truth and the greatest good of all. It is the only value that cherishes all things and never loses its value, because it considers the worth of what is beyond price – of what is truly precious; of the transformation that does not change.

God’s love is the most vital, genuine and dynamic reality. It is the motive, direction and tempo of the most effective, fullest and most humanizing self-realization.

When the reality of God’s love is grasped, understood, embodied, lived in common and shared by a person, that truth becomes categorical, clear and transparent and has the power to provoke a dynamic process that leads all things to their full potential. It propels people, events and things towards their most radical originality, towards their most boundless fullness and most dynamic creativity.

God’s love allows us to see everything through God’s eyes and, consequently, in a more optimistic, joyful and positive way. It is a new way of seeing the same everyday things. Cursillos approaches Christian life from this perspective.

That part of the solution that each person might provide must come from within, from his or her inner self, starting right now.

Those who have ears to hear are asked adopt an attitude that is coherent, practical, immediate and concrete. In other words, I must be able to attain it, starting now, this very moment. Above all else, what is sought is to adopt a positive attitude in life.


1. Please share the insights that you have personally gained with regard to what Eduardo Bonnín describes as “what is fundamental to being a Christian”?



2. In view of the discussion that took place in class: If love and forgiveness are the most Christ-like qualities – indeed the summit of what is genuinely Christian, How can I embody them in my daily life?