From the moment Cursillos were born, it was foreseen that its growth and development would require some organization that would safeguard its essence: the secretariats.
It is interesting to note that in our first publications we were already saying that these bodies should not become “command towers”. Today we would add that they should not become “democratic parliaments” either, where what is of the essence in Cursillos would be left up to the chance result of a few votes.
It is sad to see that quite often, in practice – either because they do not know their own purpose or because of a desire for preeminence – Secretariats instead of fulfilling their mission have frequently become the source of confusing burdens.
Rarely have they been the way that leads to communion, coordination or service. Because, depending on their individual circumstances, they seem to have been more concerned with their own notion of what the Cursillo Movement should be; rather than with devoting themselves to studying more deeply what Cursillos in Christianity truly are and what they can become when one respects what someone has rightly called its foundational charism.
The foundational charism does not change; rather it evolves from Cursillo’s own identity, not from its additions. This development occurs when one properly applies (in each concrete individual or collective circumstance) the desire to live God’s Grace as a reality that is shared in friendship (Group Reunion); and when one tries to make it possible for the best in each one of us to reach the greatest number of people (Ultreya).
The life of each individual Christian and his or her personal conversion is in a continual, dynamic process as he or she grows in awareness of the fact that each person, each event and each thing is the bearer of a new and unique possibility of living the Gospel.
Today we would say that Cursillos in Christianity are:
The BEST NEWS: that God loves us in Christ
Communicated by the BEST MEANS: which is FRIENDSHIP
Directed to THE BEST IN EACH ONE: which is
His/her being as a person, and
His/her capacity for CONVICTION, DECISION and PERSEVERANCE.
And, in order to be on the cutting edge of what is being debated today, what we need to emphasize right now and from this very moment on is the goal of making it possible and easy for people to:
HAVE AN ENCOUNTER WITH SELF, which is always absolutely essential before one can have an encounter with GOD and with one’s BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
One must identify as a goal – though not an exclusive one – the need to reach out to those who are away (from Christ and His Church) because they are either not informed or are misinformed.
The Secretariats, be it the O.M.C.C. or the National or Diocesan secretariats have as their aim to:
SIMPLIFY For people to
FACILITATE, & live what is
MAKE IT POSSIBLE FUNDAMENTALLY CHRISTIAN
And TO BE:
· Guardians of the purity of the Method (Bishop Hervás)
· In charge of suitably making known to the hierarchy and the People of God, the Essence, Mentality, Purpose and development of Cursillos.
· In service of its practical effectiveness, to publish:
o A list of the National and Diocesan Secretariats with their addresses, telephone and fax numbers as well as their office hours.
o A list of the places, days and hours when Ultreyas are celebrated.
· In the various publications, to delve deeply into the roots of the Movement and to render and account of its fruits.
Unity is discovered in the effectiveness of the “what”.
Diversity produces a multiplication of the “how’s”.
To sharpen and fine tune the most practical means of arriving at the “what” of Cursillos is “what” we seek.
There should be unity of message, not because someone imposes it, but because we are all seeking the same thing. This is possible if we dispense from those pilgrim innovations that have obscured the foundational charism.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
THE DEFINITION OF THE CURSILLOS IN CHRISTIANITY MOVEMENT By Eduardo Bonnin; Translated by Fr. Modesto L. Perez
The definition of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement flows from life and those things which men and women value and seek today. Yet, the [official] definition has an imperial echo of an outdated Christianity that in this day and age can be accepted only by submissive and timid, so called, “Men of the Church”. That understanding of the Cursillo Movement is useless to those who – convinced and energized by a Cursillo weekend – wish to give witness to a Church that is alive and that dwells among men. A Church that will help develop people’s qualities so they can live their lives more fully, exhibiting a lifestyle that is natural and human, and, therefore, attractive and contagious; and in this way, leaven with the Gospel those environments where Christ is not known or is not known well.
Today’s reality requires a different course from the one marked out by the [official] definition:
One must have as a starting point the real world, not some lofty theological abstractions which, though very true, are within reach of ordinary persons only when they are truly alive in the lives of those who live them.
The preferred, though not exclusive, objective must be those who are away from the Church.
One must make sure that the message reaches every one; but no one may, in any way, meddle with the individual response that the message generates in each person.
We cannot overwhelm the Cursillista with apostolic “proposals” that seek to unilaterally and clerically mortgage their generosity. It is never good for “good people” to try to steer the Cursillista’s generosity toward the cultivation of a preferred intra-ecclesial garden. This will only inhibit their choices and spontaneity as they seek to discover their place in the world.
We must take care that the “heroic” Christ does not displace the “domestic” Christ: the ordinary Christ; the everyday Christ; the Christ that enters and gets involved in people’s lives, giving meaning to all our actions and a new radiance to the marvelous reality of our conscious and grateful existence.
Everything during the Cursillo weekend and after it must have as its source a personal encounter with oneself, which makes it possible for each one to grow in knowledge of one’s qualities and one’s limitations. This in itself also favors the nurturing of that inner space where each person’s intentions reside and take shape, which is what gives a dimension of value to one’s actions.
These are some of the most important principles of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement, which continue to be observed and promoted by those who seek to understand them and make them a reality in their daily lives, in keeping with the respect and fidelity that is due to the foundational charism.
Wherever this has not been observed, Secretariats have lost focus of the purpose of the Cursillo Movement. They have done so perhaps believing in good faith – since it has been done repeatedly – that their mission was to devote themselves to manipulating, deactivating, or distorting the coherent and interconnected principles that make up the structure of Cursillos. As a result, the unity of the message has been lost and with it many other things that have made the message difficult to understand or have outright hindered it; so that, many people still do not even know that God loves them in Christ.
DEFINITION CONTAINED IN FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS: Describing the essential elements of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement:
"A movement of the Church which, with its own method, makes it possible to live what is fundamental for being a Christian, in order to create nuclei of Christians who engage in leavening their environments with the Gospel, helping them to discover and achieve their personal vocations, with respect to structuring Christianity."
EDUARDO BONNIN'S DEFINITION OF THE ESSENCE OF CURSILLOS IN CHRISTIANITY:
"We know that the Cursillos in Christianity Movement is the best news - that God loves us in Christ. This great news is communicated by the best means possible - friendship. It is directed to the best in each man or woman, that is, to his or her very being as a person - with a capacity to be convinced, to make decisions and to persevere. This is so that the great news of God's love might be communicated to as many persons as possible; so genuine friendship might be truer in each one; so that each day there are more persons who are convinced, committed and steadfast in the Way of Christ."
EDUARDO BONNÍN – SOME OTHER QUOTATIONS:
“The spirit of Cursillo consists in bringing the essence of the Gospel to the daily lives of many.” Eduardo Bonnín, in “Eduardo Bonnín: A Christian Apprentice”
“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
“What we wanted at the beginning and what we want still is for human freedom to encounter God’s Spirit.” Ibid
1. Reading the brief article by Eduardo Bonnín, what do you think it is that he objects to in the definition contained in “Fundamental Ideas”?
2. What is it that he feels is violated when specific apostolates are proposed to the Cursillista?
Today’s reality requires a different course from the one marked out by the [official] definition:
One must have as a starting point the real world, not some lofty theological abstractions which, though very true, are within reach of ordinary persons only when they are truly alive in the lives of those who live them.
The preferred, though not exclusive, objective must be those who are away from the Church.
One must make sure that the message reaches every one; but no one may, in any way, meddle with the individual response that the message generates in each person.
We cannot overwhelm the Cursillista with apostolic “proposals” that seek to unilaterally and clerically mortgage their generosity. It is never good for “good people” to try to steer the Cursillista’s generosity toward the cultivation of a preferred intra-ecclesial garden. This will only inhibit their choices and spontaneity as they seek to discover their place in the world.
We must take care that the “heroic” Christ does not displace the “domestic” Christ: the ordinary Christ; the everyday Christ; the Christ that enters and gets involved in people’s lives, giving meaning to all our actions and a new radiance to the marvelous reality of our conscious and grateful existence.
Everything during the Cursillo weekend and after it must have as its source a personal encounter with oneself, which makes it possible for each one to grow in knowledge of one’s qualities and one’s limitations. This in itself also favors the nurturing of that inner space where each person’s intentions reside and take shape, which is what gives a dimension of value to one’s actions.
These are some of the most important principles of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement, which continue to be observed and promoted by those who seek to understand them and make them a reality in their daily lives, in keeping with the respect and fidelity that is due to the foundational charism.
Wherever this has not been observed, Secretariats have lost focus of the purpose of the Cursillo Movement. They have done so perhaps believing in good faith – since it has been done repeatedly – that their mission was to devote themselves to manipulating, deactivating, or distorting the coherent and interconnected principles that make up the structure of Cursillos. As a result, the unity of the message has been lost and with it many other things that have made the message difficult to understand or have outright hindered it; so that, many people still do not even know that God loves them in Christ.
DEFINITION CONTAINED IN FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS: Describing the essential elements of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement:
"A movement of the Church which, with its own method, makes it possible to live what is fundamental for being a Christian, in order to create nuclei of Christians who engage in leavening their environments with the Gospel, helping them to discover and achieve their personal vocations, with respect to structuring Christianity."
EDUARDO BONNIN'S DEFINITION OF THE ESSENCE OF CURSILLOS IN CHRISTIANITY:
"We know that the Cursillos in Christianity Movement is the best news - that God loves us in Christ. This great news is communicated by the best means possible - friendship. It is directed to the best in each man or woman, that is, to his or her very being as a person - with a capacity to be convinced, to make decisions and to persevere. This is so that the great news of God's love might be communicated to as many persons as possible; so genuine friendship might be truer in each one; so that each day there are more persons who are convinced, committed and steadfast in the Way of Christ."
EDUARDO BONNÍN – SOME OTHER QUOTATIONS:
“The spirit of Cursillo consists in bringing the essence of the Gospel to the daily lives of many.” Eduardo Bonnín, in “Eduardo Bonnín: A Christian Apprentice”
“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
“What we wanted at the beginning and what we want still is for human freedom to encounter God’s Spirit.” Ibid
1. Reading the brief article by Eduardo Bonnín, what do you think it is that he objects to in the definition contained in “Fundamental Ideas”?
2. What is it that he feels is violated when specific apostolates are proposed to the Cursillista?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)