Calendar of Events
July 10, 2005                  40th Anniversary Celebration - 4:00pm Mass, Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center;
                                       Banquet following in Dawson Hall (registration required by July 1).
July 15-16, 2005             School of Leaders (quarterly reunion) - 7:30pm Fri-4pm Sat, Church of Holy Spirit, Plattsmouth
July 28 - 31, 2005           Cursillo National Encounter, Benedictine College, Atchison, KS
August 6, 2005  Changed to August 13, 2005  Secretariat Meeting - 9:30am, Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center
September 10, 2005        Secretariat Meeting - 9:30am, Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center
September 23-25, 2005   Region VI Fall Encounter, Sacred Heart Parish, Hebron, NE
Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2005      Practice Weekend, St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
October 1, 2005              Secretariat Meeting - Approx. 12:30pm, St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
October 6-9, 2005          Men’s Weekend, St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
October 9, 2005             Men’s Closing, 5:00pm (4:00pm Mass) St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
October 20-23, 2005     Women’s Weekend, St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
October 23, 2005           Women’s Closing, 5:00pm (4:00pm Mass) St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
November 4-5, 2005       School of Leaders (quarterly reunion) - 7:30pm Fri-4pm Sat, Location TBA
November 19, 2005        Secretariat Meeting - 10:00am, St. John the Baptist, Minden, NE
 
 

Reminder ...
    Banquet Registration forms MUST BE received by NO LATER THAN July 1, 2005.
    We need a registration form before we can include you in the meal count ...

News From Secretariat ...

• Lincoln Diocese to Host Fall Region VI Encounter ... The Fall Region VI Encounter is Sept. 23-25, 2005, at Sacred Heart Parish, Hebron, NE.  We encourage you to participate in the Regional Encounter ... it will deepen your knowledge of the Cursillo Movement and allow you to experience the larger Cursillo Community.  At the Spring 2005 Encounter (Omaha, NE), there were three language groups represented (English, Spanish, and Vietnamese).  It doesn’t get any closer than this!  Mark your calendars now ... more details will be in the September Newsletter.

   We need volunteers to help with set up, meal preparation and serving, and clean up.  Please contact any Secretariat member to volunteer or ask questions ... the sooner the better ...

+ Precursillo ...

+ [Article submitted 6/4/05, by Chuck Micek, Precursillo Chair, entitled “Precursillo”]:
    “In order to carry out an effective and well-oriented Precursillo, it is important to know exactly the purpose of the Cursillo Movement. Only in the light of such knowledge can we expect to have a Precursillo directed towards the purpose of the Movement.” (Leaders’ Manual, p. 76)
    According to the Leaders’ Manual, the purpose of the Cursillo Movement is the leavening of environments with the Gospel.  The Leaders’ Manual continues: “During the Precursillo, individuals are prepared for the Three Day Cursillo and Postcursillo. They should come from an existing or potential community and should be capable of becoming its vertebrae [emphasis added].  They should be prepared in such a way that they will be ready to understand, live and accept the message of the Three Days.”
    Let’s talk about the word “vertebrae” and how it is understood in the context of Cursillo.  The Leaders’ Manual (p. 23-24) explains it in the following way: “A human body depends upon the skeleton for its shape.  The skeleton gives it a certain form and strength.  Without a skeleton, a human body would be formless flesh, incapable of acting.  Moreover, what holds a skeleton together is the backbone.  Only when there are vertebrae linked together to form a backbone can a human body stand and move and be effective.  When the Cursillo founders thought about building the Body of Christ in each environment, they saw the Cursillo as a means of ‘building a backbone’ for Christian Life within those environments  … They envisioned that Christian leaders must be like the vertebrae of a backbone to provide the strength and form for Christian Life that give it the ability to act …”
    In reflecting on those who are active in Group Reunion and Ultreya these past couple of months (and participation seems to be very low), I cannot help but wonder what is happening to our vertebrae …  Where are all of God’s people … His vertebrae?  Are we too busy to leaven our environments with the Gospel of our Lord?  I admit that I am fairly new to Cursillo, having lived my Three Day Weekend in September 2002 … but I certainly heard our Lord’s invitation loud and clear and have tried to respond in the environments in which He placed me.  I don’t remember hearing during the Three Days that there was a graduation … a time when we move on …  We NEVER move beyond taking the Gospel to those with whom we come into contact … unless we decide that we no longer want to accept our Lord’s invitation …  Maybe we’ve just lost focus of where God wants us to be … maybe it’s time to re-commit …
    The bottom line is God does not expect us to go to extraordinary measures to live the Gospel … He doesn’t necessarily expect that we give away all we have and live a life of poverty.  But He does want us to live as a community of loving and sharing Catholic Christians.  Thus, we should not try to “go it alone” … we need Christ and each other.  We first have to work on our individual growth in holiness, formation, and evangelization … and we do that as we care and share is our weekly Group Reunions.  This keeps us accountable to commitments we made on our Service Sheets.  Our Group Reunions, then, come together for Ultreya … to further encourage one another … especially those we do not see on a regular basis … ONWARD!!  It might be difficult to come to a Group Reunion and/or Ultreya after you have not come for awhile ... but just like if we’ve been away from Mass for awhile … does that mean the absence should continue?  You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the renewed joy it brings … He is counting on you!
    God has great things in store for the faithful followers of Jesus Christ … we just need to keep our objectives focused.  God does rely on us to carry the Good News to every one of our Christian brothers and sisters … He wants us to leaven our environments with His Gospel.  And Jesus did not send His disciples out alone … nor should we go out alone. We need to share our faith and love of Christ with each other and learn to enjoy the many graces and blessings that God has given us in Group Reunion and Ultreya.  And we need to share the gift which we have been given … we need to carry His message to others who would be good candidates for a Cursillo Weekend … we are His hands and feet and voice … just as He invites us, He wants us to invite others …
    In concluding, after visiting with my spiritual director, I am reminded that I need to pray for the people that are not attending the Group Reunions and Ultreya.  In addition, I need to do as our Beloved Pope John Paul II did almost daily … I need to keep on inviting.  Pope John Paul II constantly invited people … to attend Mass … to participate in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist … to visit the Blessed Sacrament often …  And in inviting others to Cursillo, I am extending that same invitation … and for that, I will pray …

De Colores . . . . . . . . . . Chuck Micek

+   Please pray for the teams being formed for the October 2005 Weekends, and for the candidates that God is calling you to prepare and invite to these Weekends.  A current application form (last revised 9/18/04) is included in this Newsletter ... please use the current application form for new candidates.
    As the October Cursillo Weekends approach (Oct. 6-9 for the Men, and Oct 20–23 for the Women), please be talking to potential candidates about Cursillo and inviting them to give our Lord Three Days … that He might change their lives.  Please be talking to cursillistas in your Ultreya Centers and encourage them to get the applications turned in as soon as possible rather than waiting until just before the Weekends … it helps the Coordinators to properly welcome the candidates with a “welcome letter” rather than rushing the candidates to the Weekend.  The earlier candidates are prepared and invited, the earlier the applications can be completed, and the easier it is to keep the 4th Day community informed about the candidates for the Three Day Weekends (for offering Palanca and writing letters).

+ Fall 2005 Cursillo Weekends ...
+ Men’s - October 6-9, 2005
+ Women’s - October 20-23, 2005
The Fall Weekends will be at St. John the Baptist Parish, Minden, NE.
+ February 2006 Cursillo Weekends ...
The Winter 2006 Weekends are now set:
+ Men’s - February 9-12, 2006
+ Women’s - February 23-26, 2006
    The location has not yet been determined ... however, we wanted you to be aware of the dates in case interested candidates cannot attend the October Weekends.

+ Why Cursillo?
(Submitted 6/12/05, by Mark Pribyl, Three Day Chair)
    Fr. Paul York said in his homily this morning that we need each other. Why? … because there is strength in numbers.  The Body of Christ is built up by individuals working together as one to reach the ultimate goal … each getting to heaven.  How great it is for one to help another to get there!!
    How do I do that?  Make a friend, be a friend, and then bring that friend to Christ.  CURSILLO supplies us with all the tools to fulfill our Confirmation Mission … to go out and tell everyone what you know to be true … Jesus is Lord … He suffered and died for you because He loves you that much … and He wants you to be with Him for all eternity … thank You, Jesus!
    This sharing about Jesus, of course, gives us a chance to exercise the virtues of patience, courage, faith, and love … just to mention a few.  No problem to exercise virtues, right?  WRONG!!!  For those of us who want so fervently to spread the Gospel message, we sometimes get ahead of ourselves … and forget to do what is vital for success ... we forget the tripod … Did I pray about it first (Holiness)?  If I am not confident enough in what I know about certain aspects of my faith, have I sought out the answers through study (Formation)?  And then, with the help of my weekly Group Reunion (friendship group), was I encouraged to take action … and did I (Evangelization)?
    I guess what I am trying to say is that Cursillo offered me the total package … the whole enchilada, so to speak.  Cursillo is the way for me, as a Catholic Christian, to first better myself, and then to serve our Lord … to the fullest.
    So I ask you, “Is Cursillo the Church’s best kept secret?” … That’s what Jeff Cavins says …  “Is this something I should keep to myself?”
    Satan has a plan, and it seems to be working … he says to himself, "If I can convince man that his plate is already full enough, and that someone else is much more qualified than he is anyway, and that someone else can do a better job of bringing Christ to others then he can, then he won’t do anything."
    God’s response is, "Satan, you big dummy!  A Shepherd knows His sheep and the sheep know their Shepherd!  Because Love endures all things, I will not let you have My children!  I will fix you, Satan, by whispering ‘Ultreya’ (Onward!) in their ear each and every day."
    And my response: "I love God … I love His Church … I love Cursillo, and I love all of you!  Go out and tell someone about Cursillo.  I don't know a single Fourth Dayer who wasn't touched in some way from his / her Weekend.  Please don't keep it to yourself!
De Colores, one and all!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Pribyl

+ 40th Anniversary Celebration ...
   A little about the Celebration and history of Cursillo in our Diocese (excerpts from the Southern Nebraska Register, June 3, 2005):
   “A celebration is planned for July 10 at the Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center in Lincoln. It will begin with a 4 p.m. Mass in the chapel with Bishop Bruskewitz as the main celebrant, followed by a catered meal in Dawson Hall. ...
    Cursillo came to the Lincoln Diocese 40 years ago this July (July 22-25, 1965). ... The first Cursillo in the United States took place in May 1957, when Spanish Air Cadets in the United States for training held a Weekend in Waco, Texas, for a group of Spanish-speaking men. The Movement spread rapidly throughout the United States, and has led to substantially greater involvement of laypersons in the Church’s diocesan organizations and parish renewal. ...
    Cursillo formally came to the Lincoln Diocese in July 1965, when the first men’s Three Day Cursillo Weekend was held at Pius X High School in Lincoln.  A team from the Omaha Archdiocese led this first Cursillo.  Prior to this Weekend, a number of priests and laypersons from the Lincoln Diocese had lived Cursillos in other dioceses (or areas of the world), and they assisted the Omaha team in putting on the first Cursillo in the Lincoln Diocese.
    Following the July 1965 Weekend, the priest who brought Cursillo into the Lincoln Diocese was assigned to further his education at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.  In spite of his absence, Cursillo continued to grow in that a number of priests, sisters, and laypersons went outside the Lincoln Diocese to live Cursillo Weekends.  In addition, some cursillistas from the Lincoln Diocese became part of the teams putting on Weekends in neighboring dioceses.
    Following an April 1968 meeting between Bishop Glennon Flavin, who was installed as Bishop in August 1967, and cursillistas in the Lincoln Diocese, the Bishop appointed a diocesan spiritual advisor for the Cursillo Movement.  Those cursillistas who had lived their Weekend in the Lincoln Diocese in 1965 and those who had gone elsewhere during the three-year hiatus, then met and formed a “Secretariat,” a group of Cursillo leaders who implement the Movement according to norms and guidelines established by the National Secretariat.
    In early September 1968, a meeting of all interested cursillistas was held to announce a School of Leaders (as it is known today).  The School of Leaders began formally meeting for a series of workshops every Monday evening, with regular attendance of 35 to 40.  Once formation had begun through School of Leaders, Men’s Cursillo No. 2 was held in May 1969 and the first women’s Cursillo was held in October 1969, with both still being directed by teams from outside the Lincoln Diocese (Council Bluffs).  The Lincoln Diocese is deeply indebted to Cursillo leaders in the surrounding dioceses for the formation and Christian community they helped bring into the Lincoln Diocese.  The Lincoln Diocese first formed its own teams for Men’s Cursillo No. 3 in December 1969 and Women’s Cursillo No. 2 in April 1970, and has been going strong in the Lincoln Diocese ever since.”

+ Directory Update
    We are in the process of updating the Cursillo Directory.  If the information included in the current directory (2002) is not correct, or if you would like to add information (e.g. an email address, etc), please contact your Ultreya Center Representative or a Secretariat member (the names and phone numbers are listed on the cover of the Newsletter).  We are trying to contact everyone who did not turn in the surveys mailed last summer, but if we missed calling you, please call us.

+ Secretariat Visits to Ultreya Centers ...
    The Secretariat is continuing its visits to each Ultreya Center to encourage cursillistas throughout the Diocese to live the Fourth Day.  The visits have been good and it is nice to renew old friendships and make new ones.  Take time to participate in these special Ultreyas when they come to your area!  Upcoming visits:

+ Wahoo – Sunday, June 26th, basement of St. Wenceslaus Church (Wahoo), 7:00pm.
+ David City/Shelby – Thurs., June 30th, St. Mary School (David City), 7:00pm.  This is a regularly scheduled Ultreya ... Msgr. Herbek is giving the witness!

+ Planning Ahead -- A Year at a Glance
    The Secretariat is releasing the  tentative/proposed schedule of Cursillo activities for 2005-2006 in the Lincoln Diocese.  The schedule includes activities from the present through August 2006, and includes upcoming Secretariat meetings, quarterly SOLs, Three Day Cursillo Weekends, and Regional and National Encounters, etc.  The tentative/proposed schedule is intended to provide you with as much advance notice as possible to allow you to adjust your schedules to participate in Cursillo to the fullest extent possible.

Secretariat Meetings
2005
     Aug 6    Changed to: Aug 13
     Sep 10
     Oct 1          (meeting following Practice Weekend)
     Nov 19       (Postcursillo Reunion follows Meeting)
     Dec 10
2006
     Jan 7
     Mar 18       (Postcursillo Reunion follows Meeting)
     Apr 22
     Jun 3 or 10
     Jul 8

SOL
2005
     Jul 15-16 at Plattsmouth
     Nov 4-5 at Western location?
2006
     Jan 13-14
     Apr 28-29
     Jul 14-15

Three Day Weekend Activities
2005
     Sep 30-Oct 1     Practice
     Oct 6-9              Men’s
     Oct 20-23          Women’s
     Nov 19               Postcursillo Reunion
2006
     Feb 3-4              Practice
     Feb 9-12            Men’s
     Feb 23-26          Women’s
     Mar 18               Postcursillo Reunion

Regional/National Encounters
2005
     Jul 28-31          National Encounter(Atchison, KS)
     Sep 23-25        Fall Regional Encounter (Hebron, NE)
2006
     Apr 7-9            Spring Regional Encounter
     Jul 27-30          National Encounter(Location TBA)

Other
     Jul 10, 2005     40th Anniversary Celebration at Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center
     Jun 25, 2006    Grand Ultreya

+ School of Leaders (SOL) ...

    The next quarterly SOL (see Registration Form insert) will be July 15-16, 2005, at St. John the Baptist School (Church of the Holy Spirit) in Plattsmouth, NE.  We are trying to vary the location of SOL to provide ALL cursillistas throughout the Diocese an opportunity to participate ... we would love to have more participation ... we welcome new participants!

    The Technique Talks will be taken from topics found in the book Structure of Ideas, which presents the main ideas of the Cursillo.  The Doctrinal Talks 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

    Please consider coming in July ... there is no beginning and there is no end ...

From the Lay Director ...

    As I was driving to Beatrice to finish working on the Newsletter, I was praying/thinking about what I would write here (this is always the last thing done).  Usually, I spend any time in the car in silence … praying/thinking … but today, I was tired, so I opted to listen to a portion of a set of tapes by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, entitled The Journey Within: Teresa’s Interior Castle.  A fair portion of the teachings of Cursillo are based on Carmelite spirituality … the writings of St. Teresa of Jesus (also known as St. Teresa of Avila), St. John of the Cross, and St. Therese of the Child Jesus and Holy Face … so it seemed appropriate preparation for the work of Cursillo ahead of me.

    One of the things that Fr. Apostoli talks about is the importance of studying the lives of the saints … they should be our heroes … we should try to pattern our love for the Lord (and our lives, to the extent that we can) after theirs.  St. Teresa of Jesus had a special devotion to St. Joseph … she always believed that his intercession saved her from an early life-threatening illness … in fact, she was believed to have died.  My mother also had a great devotion to St. Joseph … when she was in the 4th grade, she had spinal meningitis and wasn’t expected to live … she lost her hearing for six months and needed to repeat the fourth grade … but she pulled through … and she always told me that it was because of St. Joseph’s intercession.  From the time I was in the 1st grade (I used to sit with my older brother and sister as they learned to read, so I learned to read at an early age), I loved to read about the lives of the saints … and St. Bernadette was my very first “friend” …  But back to St. Teresa  …

    St. Teresa believed that there was not a single time when she asked for St. Joseph’s intercession that he did not assist her.  In The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila (Chapter 6), St. Teresa says: “I do not remember even now that I have ever asked anything of him [St. Joseph] which he has failed to grant … To other saints the Lord seems to have given grace to succor us in some of our necessities, but of this glorious saint my experience is that he succors us in them all …”

    Fr. Apostoli told an interesting and humorous story regarding St. Teresa’s (and the Carmelites’) great reliance on St. Joseph.  Many Carmelite convents have an “altar of St. Joseph” or a “table of St. Joseph” on which they place prayer requests.  Fr. Apostoli told the story of a Carmelite convent in Queens (New York) where the sisters took care of elderly residents in a nursing home.  The residents asked the sisters if they might have a little beer in the evenings so that it might help them to relax/sleep … not for purposes of getting drunk … just for enjoyment.  The sisters told the residents that their meager budget didn’t allow for them to purchase beer, but that they would go to St. Joseph.  So they placed an empty beer container on the altar of St. Joseph and piously prayed for beer!!

    During this time, a priest came to the convent to hear the confessions of the sisters, and when he had finished, he prayed/gave thanks at the altar of St. Joseph … and he noticed the empty beer container.  He attributed it to a drunken man/transient who must have stopped through, so when he finished praying, he pointed it out to the Mother Superior.  She assured him that she was the one who had put the empty container there and she explained the reason for having done so.  The priest not pleased and thought the action to be irreverent and semi-nuts.

    A few days later, the priest was riding on the subway, and at one stop, a very nicely dressed gentleman in a three-piece business suit boarded the subway together with another man wearing a cap and appearing to be a chauffeur; the two sat next to the priest.  As the three rode along, the priest recalled the empty beer container and the sisters praying for beer, and he began to chuckle.  The gentleman in the business suit asked the priest if he was laughing at him, and the priest responded by relating the story of the sisters praying for beer.  The gentleman said that he never rode the subway, but that day, his limousine had broken down, and he was required to take the subway to reach his destination in time.  He explained that his last name was Schaefer … and that he was the owner of Schaefer Brewery in Brooklyn (New York).  He said that he would be happy to supply the sisters with the beer they needed!!  Fr. Apostoli further commented that at one retreat at which he told this story, a woman came up to him afterwards and told him that her father used to deliver beer for Schaefer Brewery, and that one of his stops was indeed a convent!!  God’s Providence … St. Joseph’s intercession … the beauty in that the residents were not afraid to ask … the faith of the sisters in passing along their request to St. Joseph … and trusting …

    I liked the story for a number of reasons.  First of all, I am a firm believer in the value of learning as much as I can about the lives of the holy men and women that Holy Mother Church holds out to us as models for our own lives … that I might better pattern my life after theirs … that they might become my “friends” … that they might intercede for me.   Why should I re-invent the wheel in trying to figure out what will bring me closer to our Lord?  Why not let these holy “friends” help guide me to sanctity by imitating the many and varied ways in which they showed their love for our Lord?
 Second, I want to have the faith of a child … I want to believe as the sisters did that there is no prayer that God believes to be ridiculous, in spite of what others may think.  That which is prayed for in love (and our Lord loves the elderly in a very special way) will not fall on deaf ears …  How beautiful that the residents of the nursing home felt they could ask the sisters for the beer … and how beautiful the simple faith of the sisters to take their request to St. Joseph!  I want that courage and that faith for my own.

    And lastly, I liked the story because St. Joseph is one of my mother’s favorites (and he’s one of my “friends” too) … he interceded to save my mother’s life …  And he is such a wonderful example of humility and obedience and patience and hard work and simplicity … all of the virtues that Mark Pribyl refers to in his article “Why Cursillo?” (under the Three Day Weekend portion of the Notes from the Secretariat).  St. Joseph didn’t ask for explanations when he was asked to do something that he didn’t understand (e.g., taking Mary into his house when she was with child … not his, or fleeing into Egypt to protect Jesus) …  He just went about doing that which he was asked to do (and that which needed doing … without being asked!) … and he did it out of love ...

    I join St. Teresa in her reliance on the power of St. Joseph’s intercession …  And fully trusting in his intercession, I ask both St. Joseph and St. Teresa to ask our Lord to bless the Cursillo Movement in our Diocese … to bless all cursillistas … to make us strong vertebrae!  I ask them  to give us unfailing persistence (such as theirs) in carrying through that which our Lord gives US to do … unfailing persistence to faithfully live the Fourth Day … to be part of a Group Reunion and take part in Ultreya … to help us be strong Catholic vertebrae in the fabric of an un-Christian society ... and in the Cursillo Movement ... to help us, out of love, to continue to urge one another Onward!!  … Ultreya!!  … knowing that most of the time it’s not about us … it’s about loving God by loving others …  May St. Joseph and St. Teresa help us to faithfully live what we learned on the Three Day Weekend … may they help us to grow in piety, study, and action … may they be with us during each Fourth Day … and may they be with us especially on our last Fourth Day, that we might have a happy death … and live the Fifth Day in heaven!!

De Colores!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Springer
 

From the Spiritual Advisor ...

    Recently, I read in the Magnificat devotional a meditation written by St. Thomas More entitled “Fruitful Cooperation”.  I especially liked one of the little examples that  St. Thomas More used: “If a man lowers a rope into a well and pulls someone out who would not escape by himself, wouldn’t it be true that the man in the well did not climb out by his own power?  And yet he still contributed something of his own to the process by hanging on to the rope and not letting it get away.  The freedom of the will is like that: It can do nothing without grace.  But when the divine goodness grants grace generously, the free will of a good man holds fast to it and cooperates with it properly.  But the free will of an evil man does not accept grace; it wears itself out in malice ...”

    The Gospel passage for the day was from Matthew 7:15-20 about bearing good fruit. I was reminded of an important phrase from Cursillo: “Bloom where you are planted.”  A flower blooming where it is planted is bearing good fruit.  A man or woman, responding to God’s grace and doing the good that he or she is called to do, is bearing good fruit.  The goodness of the flower does not come from itself, but from the Lord Who made it, and Who gave the flower the soil, the rains, and the sunshine.  The goodness of the human person does not come from oneself, but from the Lord Who made us, and Who gave us our life, our health, our talents, and an inclination to do something good.

    When we accept God’s grace, respond to it, and cooperate with it, then much good will happen.  Similarly, when we do not accept God’s grace, and do not open ourselves to His Will and cooperate with it, then much evil and sin will happen.  God has something in mind for each of us to do ... and we are to take time each day of our life to rest with God and reflect on Him ... on His love for us, and His Will for us.  Taking time with the Lord and asking Him what He wants us to do, and being sensitive to and alert to His presence in our daily life (that would be the close moments we speak of ...), is one of the best ways to be aware of how we are called to bloom where we are planted.  We will better recognize God’s grace and be better prepared to respond to it.

    Sometimes, God’s Will and His grace seem to lead us, or plant us, where we don’t really want to be.  Yet, being planted in the worst place (by our standards) but being open to His grace is far better that being planted in the best place (by our standards) and having to do everything ourselves because we are closed to His grace and intent on doing our own will.  Sometimes we think or say: “This is the way I (we) have always done this.  I like it this way.”  Sometimes that means that we project that God likes it that way too.  Maybe He has a different plan ... a different place or way for us to bloom.  Maybe that way involves suffering, or the cross, or those things that we don’t like ... but with His grace, all things are possible.  Remember, “Christ and I are an overwhelming majority.”

    Perhaps, the example of St. Thomas More gives a whole new understanding to the old phrase: “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on!”  If the rope (His grace) is lowered down to us by God in the place where He planted us, where He wants us to grow, where He wants us to bloom ... then all we need to do is make an act of the will to hang on and to do His Will, not our own, and cooperate with His grace and His Will.

De Colores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Father Mark Seiker
 
 

(Insert #1)

(Insert #2)

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                             BY JULY 13, 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, JULY 15th (Retreat Phase ... preparation for Saturday's SOL)
        7:30pm ---      Registration (NO Meal Friday evening)
        7:45pm ---      Mass
        8:30pm ---      Meditation, confessions, quiet time

SATURDAY, JULY 16th (School of Leaders Agenda)
        7:00am ---      Morning prayer and Mass, followed by breakfast
        8:30am - 4pm Group Reunion, Intro, 2-3 Sessions and Lunch
        4:00pm ---     Clean up and Depart (Supper not provided)

Please bring the following with you to the SOL:

• Pilgrim’s Guide
• If you have the following:
• Leader’s Manual (please begin praying the Leader’s Prayer on page 57)
• 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 ... no showers
• Advance registrations are requested; it is fine to attend Saturday only (SOL) or Friday only (Retreat Phase)
• 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.