Calendar of Events
February 25-26, 2005    School of Leaders (quarterly reunion) - 7:30pm Fri-4pm Sat, St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
March 12, 2005             Secretariat Meeting - 9:30am, Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center
April 2, 2005                  Secretariat Meeting - 9:30am, Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center
April 8-10, 2005            Spring Regional Encounter, Omaha, Cathedral Center
April 22-23, 2005          School of Leaders (quarterly reunion) - 8:15pm Fri-4pm Sat, St.  Joseph, Beatrice
June 11, 2005                Secretariat Meeting - Time and Location TBA
July 15-16, 2005            School of Leaders (quarterly reunion) - 7:30pm Fri-4pm Sat, Location TBA
July 28 - 31, 2005          Cursillo National Encounter, Benedictine College, Atchison, KS
August 6, 2005               Secretariat Meeting - Time and Location TBA
October 6-9, 2005         Men’s Weekend, Location TBA
October 20-23, 2005     Women’s Weekend, Location TBA
 

News From Secretariat ...
 

News From Secretariat (continued) ...

Welcome New Fourth Dayers
    St. Joseph, York, January 16, 2005: Patrick Carroll, Fr. Harlan Waskowiak.
    St. Joseph, York, January 23, 2005: Susan Biskup, Alice Galaway, Mary Springer, Dorothea Warburton, Raye Wilmes.
    Welcome to the 4th Day!  As you return to your environments (which were just as you left them), do you recognize people who could benefit from living a Cursillo Weekend?  Make a friend, be a friend, bring your friend to Christ ... that may not necessarily mean bringing your friend to a Cursillo Weekend, but it might ...  Remember that Christ is counting on you, and you must count on Him!

• Spring Regional Encounter ...

    Mark your calendars now ... the Spring Region VI Encounter is scheduled for April 8-10, 2005, at the Omaha, Cathedral Center.  There won’t be many Regional Meetings this close to our Diocese!  See enclosed insert and Registration Form (white).

    The next quarterly SOL will be held at St.  Joseph School in Beatrice, on April 22-23, 2005.  Note the later start time (8:15pm rather than the usual 7:30pm)!
    The Doctrinal Talk will be taken from Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici: (On The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World; Dec. 30, 1988).  The document may be downloaded at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/ apost_exhortations/index.htm
    The Technique Talks will be taken from the book Structure of Ideas, which presents the main ideas of the Cursillo in the notes of Eduardo Bonnin, Bernardo Vadell, and Francisco Forteza.
    In addition to formation (the topics mentioned above) and holiness (Mass, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, visit to the Blessed Sacrament),  we do the work of Cursillo in the Diocese ... we evangelize the Cursillo Movement.  Even if you have never come before, please prayerfully consider coming in April ... there is no beginning and there is no end ... it is your gift to the Lord when you arrange your schedule to be there.

    The teams and candidates from the Men's and Women's January Three Day Weekends have just finished living their Cursillo at Saint Joseph Church in York, NE.  Welcome, new cursillistas, to the Cursillo community!
    Lent is nearly upon us.  In preparing for Ash Wednesday and Lent, it is good to be mindful of our many blessings and how our lives have changed since we lived our Weekend.  I would like to encourage all cursillistas to make a special Palanca offering during Lent, daily or at least once a week, of saying a prayer to God about a friend who might possibly consider saying "yes" to living a Cursillo Weekend.
    At our January Ultreya at Sacred Heart in Shelby, we discussed the purpose of the Cursillo Movement.  We work not only to save souls, but also to build up the Church and Christianize the world.  The first without the second is to retard efficiency and to dwarf the aspirations of God for all men.  The second is impossible without the first.  That's what we are about … saving souls and building Christian community!
    Wow, what a mission!  Many times we think about the big picture and think, "Well, I'll start preparing and inviting candidates next week," or "There is plenty of time to invite before the next Weekend."  Now is the time!  God wants all persons to receive the Good News!  Remember at your Closing, you were reminded that Christ is counting on you.  And you responded that you are counting on Him.  We need to count on Him then, and go forward and carry out our mission of saving souls and Christianizing the world.  Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Christ!

• Three Day Weekend:

• Fall Cursillo Weekends ...
   • Men’s - October 6-9, 2005 (new date ... moved one week ahead ... formerly Oct. 13-16)
   • Women’s - October 20-23, 2005
  Location of the Fall Weekends has not yet been decided ...we are leaning toward a western location.

• 40th Anniversary Celebration ...
    In 2005, the Cursillo Movement in the Lincoln Diocese will be celebrating its 40th anniversary, with over 1,000 persons having lived a Cursillo Weekend.  Plans are being made for a Diocesan-wide celebration during Summer 2005 to mark the anniversary.  See details on prior page ... more info to come as the details become known ...

From the Lay Director ...
    Lent is a time of reflection … a time to re-focus … then having re-focused, a time to re-direct that which is out of focus … a time of cleansing/purging … then a time of building up … all in all, a time of great blessing …  Having just completed the January 2005 Three Day Weekends, and in preparing to do the work of Cursillo in the Postcursillo (living the Fourth Day using the method of Group Reunion and Ultreya) and the Precursillo (preparing candidates for upcoming Three Day Weekends), I have spent time this Lent reflecting on the work of evangelization that God calls us to … ALL of us … and since God has called me to the work of Cursillo, my reflection has centered on the work of evangelization done through the Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of Lincoln.
    One of the more difficult things in life is to let go of things, especially those things with which we are comfortable and familiar.  But real growth generally comes when God calls us into that unfamiliar, uncomfortable place of challenge …  He asks us to leave all (just as he did the apostles when He sent them out), and to rely on Him … His direction … His guidance …  I think we have to be very careful about staying in our comfort zone … if we don't move outside it, from whence will the growth come?  As cursillistas, is God calling us to help with some particular work in our parish for which our talents are well-suited?  Is He calling us to challenge someone who is on the way to a closer relationship with Him to live a Cursillo Weekend?  Is He calling us to a silent retreat at Waverly to listen for His quiet still voice as we spend time with Him … away from the hustle and bustle of the world (by the way, page 42 of the Leaders' Manual says that "besides the regular weekly reunion of their group and the [weekly] Ultreya, the leaders should encourage all cursillistas to consider the following:  (1) regular spiritual direction, (2) an annual retreat, (3) Closings of Cursillos, (4) attendance at Diocesan or interDiocesan Ultreyas, (5) ongoing spiritual exercises (an example might be the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises), and (6) a regular Palanca program of prayer and sacrifice offered for others").  These are great suggestions … a silent retreat at Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly would be a great way to spend "an annual retreat" … or "a regular Palanca program of prayer and sacrifice offered for others" would be a great Lenten resolution that one might consider making a regular part of life …  We should encourage one another to grow in our faith journey, not to stay where we are …
    Back to reflecting …  Recent Three Day Weekends in the Diocese have had somewhat fewer candidates than in prior years … but the candidates have been very good and very strong leaders.  They may not have come to the Weekend believing that they are leaders, and they may not have left the Weekend believing it either, but God has a way of moving us outside our comfort zone and challenging us to be better Christians and to challenge others to do likewise.  Following the Women's Weekend, Raye and Mary, two of the candidates on the Women's Weekend, returned to their environment of Doane College … the environment in which God currently has them … that place where they're planted … that place where they're called to bloom … and bloom they have!!  From conversations that began during the Three Days and continued once they returned to Doane, these two young women decided to form a book group to study God's Call to Women (edited by Christine Anne Mugridge) … they WANT TO know what it is that God is calling them to … and in their journey, they're bringing other young women from Doane College along with them … they're evangelizing … they're leaders in their environment and they have identified others in that environment who are hungry to know our Lord better … and they have invited those who are hungry along on the journey …
    We, too, should be studying our environments for those who are hungry … as we work on our own holiness (piety), formation (study), and evangelization (action), we should invite others along with us on our journey …  That invitation … even if it is only to one … is evangelization.  The other day I was reflecting on God's great love for each of us … each of us uniquely and individually … and I thought about the journey of the woman who picks up the trash from my office at Doane … she is a fallen away Catholic who tells me that she has a deep faith … she prays the Rosary … has a great love for our Lady and her Beloved Son … but she doesn't see a need for the sacraments …  But she, too, is hungry … or she wouldn't spend time talking to me about our Lord and His Mother …  As she was collecting trash this particular morning, I was working with a Doane student who is preparing to be confirmed this Easter during the Easter vigil … we were reading together … aloud … from the book, Life in Christ …  As the maintenance woman came around to collect the trash, I greeted her with a smile and "good morning", and wondered what she was thinking as the student and I read the chapters on the Eucharist and Holy Communion aloud …  the thought occurred to me that it was God inviting her in a very gentle, non-threatening way to return to Him … in the Eucharist …
    More importantly, when I was questioned later that same day about how Cursillo evangelizes, this incident came to mind … not only the evangelization of the student preparing for Confirmation, but also the evangelization of this maintenance woman.  And the thought further occurred to me that our God is such a very extravagant God in the ways that He pursues us … the ways that He loves us …  I know full well that my sole purpose in life may be to help this woman return to the sacraments (and I'm greatly honored with whatever way … however big or small … God chooses to allow me to work with Him in winning a soul) … return to our Lord … and if I live my life in such a way and take advantage of the opportunities that God gives me along the way to help this woman experience a metanoia … a change … then my life was well-lived …  and I would have fulfilled God's plan of evangelization for my life … by helping that ONE soul …  No act of evangelization is too small or unimportant …  It is simply a matter of doing that which God asks us … when He asks us … in the way that He asks us …  And THAT is evangelization …
    And it is exactly that type of evangelization that Cursillo calls us to live in the Fourth Day by being faithful to the Cursillo method of Group Reunion and Ultreya in helping us to focus on growth in our personal holiness, formation, and evangelization.  Mother Teresa understood this concept well … she constantly exhorted others to work with that person who is right next to them … we don't have to search out persons to evangelize … they're right in front of our noses … if we only have eyes to see them and ears to hear their pleas …  It's not about numbers and drawing attention to ourselves … it's about being faithful and always pointing others to our Lord … as Mary did … as Andrew did (in bringing Peter to our Lord) … as the woman at the well did when she "left her water jar and went into town and said to the people, 'Come see a man who told me everything I have done.  Could he possibly be the Christ?'" (John 4:28-29).  Are we pointing others to Christ in the things that we say and do … in the way that we live our lives?  Are our eyes open to those who are hungry around us?  How might we help them to encounter Christ?  Maybe God is calling them to a Cursillo Weekend … or maybe He is calling them to a different encounter with Him … but if I don't witness to that person about the importance of Christ in my life, as the woman at the well did, then I am not living my Fourth Day very well … and I want to … please God … I WANT to … may it be so ...
    Just more food for thought as I continue my Lenten journey …

De Colores!!      Kathy Springer
 

From the Spiritual Advisor ...

    In the daily meditation for Monday, February 21, in The Word Among Us, the author offers the following reflection on Luke 6:36-38:
    “Stop judging.  Stop condemning.  Forgive.  Why is it so difficult for us to do this?  We hear often enough what we must do: We must stop judging so that we may not be judged (Matthew 7:1-2).  We are told that  by our words we will be judged (12:37).  We are also told that if we want to be reconciled with God, we need to examine why our acts of self-righteousness and disobedience set us on the wrong course.  In other words, our examination of conscience needs to be an opportunity to cleanse our hearts as well as to atone for our actions.
    “‘O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee.’  Thus begins our traditional Act of Contrition.  It can be very easy to recite this prayer hastily, yet there are times when we need to focus our attention on the word ‘heartily.’  God wants to know where our hearts are.  He wants to search our inner lives so that we can see the hidden thoughts, attitudes, fears, and desires that lie behind the things we do.  In the long run, God is far more interested in our inner lives than in the actions that arise from them.  For He knows that if He can change us on the inside, He will have caused a dramatic change in the things we say and do.
    “For example, Jesus promises special blessing for the merciful (Matthew 5:7).  He tells us that the degree to which we have forgiveness in our hearts is the degree to which we will experience His overflowing mercy (Luke 6:38).  Isn’t that a great deal?  We won’t just be pardoned for individual sins.  We will be changed and lifted up.  We will find a new intimacy with Jesus and a new power to live as He lived.  We’ll become a new creation, both on the inside and on the outside.
    “There is a hymn that chants, ‘Change my heart, O God.  May I be like you.’  Let’s make this soulful plea our own as we let God shine His gentle, probing light into the dark places within us.
    “‘Holy Spirit, help me to show mercy to all those who have wounded me.  Pour out Your grace upon me and teach me to love as You love: with mercy and compassion.’”
    As I reflect on the Gospel and on these words, and apply them to my life, I am reminded of the words of Psalm 51:12 “A clean heart create for me, O God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.”  God is more interested in our hearts than in our actions or our words.  So, as we seek to open ourselves to the grace of God during this Lenten season, we try to ‘open our hearts’ to God and to His grace ... His grace will cleanse us ... cleanse our hearts ... and then His grace working in our lives will be made known through our words and our actions.
    It is important that we take time to reflect on God’s Word, and then to reflect not just on our words and actions, but especially on our hearts as it is affected by His Word ... we need to know the disposition of our hearts ... Are our hearts clean? ... Are our hearts pure? ... Do we have forgiveness in our hearts for those who have hurt us? ... Can we let the things of the past go, or do we continue to dwell on the past? ... Are our hearts focused on the things of this world ... on the externals?  Or ... are our hearts set on spiritual things and on the Kingdom of God?
    Questions like these are really prompted by God, Who wants us to grow ... He wants us to let go of ourselves and the things that we are holding on to ... to forgive ourselves and to forgive others ... to experience His mercy and to be merciful to others ... only when we let go of those things that we are holding on to, is God able to give more of His gifts to us ... in good measure ... His measure ... gifts packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into our laps ...
    He fills us with His grace so that we can be His instruments ... His witnesses ... in the world.  He wants us to be evangelized ourselves ... to let Him cleanse our hearts ... and then to evangelize others.  So, who we are ... that would be in our hearts ... will witness to our love of God as much or more than our words and actions will.
    In the words of Pope Paul VI ... “Take a Christian or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with efforts of all for whatever is noble and good.  Let us suppose that, in addition, they radiate in an altogether simple and unaffected way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to imagine.  Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live:  Why are they like this?  Why do they live in this way?  What or who is it that inspires them?  Why are they in our midst?  Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one.”
    May our witness as cursillistas in the Fourth Day be from our hearts ... our hearts touched by the Lord, as we experience His mercy and His love ... and as we are willing to show His mercy to others and as we are willing to let Him use us to evangelize the world.

De Colores        Father Mark Seiker
 

From the Feb. 2005 National Newsletter (available on the National Cursillo Web page) ...

Perseverance in the Postcursillo
    As cursillistas we walk with Christ, the true Light transparent through each one of us.  In our journey, the Cursillo Movement continues to bring about the Good News - that God loves us.  The reality that God loves us, gives us life, heals, and liberates.  When we live what is fundamental for being a Christian, our Baptism, through the means of the Cursillo method of piety, study, and action, Christ incarnates Himself in us.  Our life in Christ enables us to liberate and heal others by our authentic witness of friendship to all persons.  We exemplify our conviction to our Lord by helping our brothers and sisters in their journey toward a conviction which brings about the decision to move from where they are, to where they ought to be in their relationship with self, God and others.  Jesus Christ befriended His disciples and every person He encountered in His daily life.  It is through friendship that Jesus fosters the discovery of the true image of self, which in reality is the image of God that further enhances our discovery of a true relationship with self, God, and others.
    Postcursillo provides all cursillistas the means to persevere in their progressive conversion, in the state of consciously ever-growing in grace.  This progressive conversion is best lived out and shared in a Group Reunion.  Group Reunion, a gathering of friends willing to share their Life in Christ and their relationship with self, God, and others, leavening the natural reunion to the supernatural.  True friendship transcends the Group Reunion into the Communion of Saints.
    As members of the Body of Christ, we must surrender our will to God Who transforms us through Jesus Christ - body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist.  This transformation makes God's love "transparent" through personal contact in our environments where we are called to bear much fruit.  "My Father has been glorified in your bearing much fruit and becoming My disciples" (St. John 15:8).  To bear fruit is to bring life to the person God has placed in our life.
 
 

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Name:

Address:

City/State/Zip:

Phone:                                         Email:

Where and when did you make your Cursillo?

Are you able to receive the Sacraments of Confession & Holy Communion?    Yes     No

To which Organizations do you commit your time?
 

Are you living the follow-up program of Group Reunion?    Yes     No

Are you living the follow-up program of Ultreya?    Yes     No

Do you have any physical/medical/dietary conditions to be considered?
 
 

Please Return this Form WITH PAYMENT To:
John Springer, 1410 E 15th St, Crete, NE 68333 NO LATER THAN APRIL 20, 2005.
 

You are invited to the Quarterly Reunion of the School of Leaders.  Come participate in the work of Cursillo ... build
community with other cursillistas ... spend time in prayer and meditation with the Blessed Sacrament.  The School is for all
cursillistas ... men and women, couples, singles, priests and religious.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22nd (Retreat Phase)
        8:15pm ---      Registration (NO Meal Friday evening)
        8:30pm ---      Mass
        9:15pm ---      Meditation, confessions, quiet time

SATURDAY, APRIL 23rd (School of Leaders Agenda)
        7:00am ---      Morning prayer and Mass, followed by breakfast
        8:30am - 4pm Group Reunion, Intro, 3 Sessions and Lunch
        4:00pm ---     Clean up and Depart (Supper not provided)

Please bring the following with you to the weekend:

• Pilgrim’s Guide
• If you have the following:
• Leader’s Manual (please begin praying the Leader’s Prayer on page 57)
• Lincoln Diocese Pastoral Plan for Cursillo (click here for link to Pastoral Plan)
• Structure of Ideas (will be available for $7.00 at SOL)
• Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici: (On The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World; Dec. 30, 1988).  The document may be downloaded at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/ apost_exhortations/index.htm

• "Classic” Cursillo accommodations will be available
• Advance registrations are requested; it is fine to attend Saturday only or Friday only
• Suggested donation (if you are able) for the weekend is $15.00 per person.  Please make check payable to “Cursillo of Lincoln” and mail with the Registration Form.
• Please keep this half of the flyer for future reference.
• Please bring a snack to share, if you like.

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IT MAY NEVER BE CLOSER to the Diocese of Lincoln than it is THIS YEAR!!

Want to experience Cursillo with over 600 other cursillistas … from many language groups (English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Portuguese) … all praising and living as one?  Come to this year’s 15th NATIONAL CURSILLO ENCOUNTER at the Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, July 28 – July 31, 2005.

It’s an awesome experience … one you won’t soon forget … meeting and sharing and grouping with others who have lived a Cursillo Weekend … listening to talks and attending workshops … and most importantly, spending time with (experiencing) our Lord in the Sacraments and in one another!!

The theme for this year’s National Encounter is, “Be Messengers of Joy" … it will include Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Rite of Benediction, and presentations on the “Year of the Eucharist” … on“friendship” and its relationship to Precursillo, Cursillo and Postcursillo … on the meaning of the phrase, “Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ”  … on how friendship is the key to Group Reunion, Ultreya and School of Leaders …

Make plans NOW to attend the 15th National Encounter!! Several dormitories are available for our use; however, keep in mind that the maximum lodging capacity is 650 … a Registration Form is included with this Newsletter.
 

AND THIS TIME, IT’S IN OMAHA … NEBRASKA!!

A Regional Encounter (held twice a year … one in the Spring and one in the Fall) is a wonderful opportunity to meet and share with cursillistas from our 8-state region.  Spanish and English language groups are represented … but the two experience the Encounter as one.  Experience the depth and breadth of Cursillo.

Come and see … make plans now to participate in this wonderful opportunity to share community  … Christ is counting on YOU …

What an opportunity!!   April 8-10, 2005, at the Cathedral Center in Omaha, NE.  A Registration Form for the Spring Regional Encounter is included with this Newsletter ...  Here I am, Lord … I come to do YOUR will …

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Regional Encounter Registration Form

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15th National Encounter Registration Form