THE CURSILLO MOVEMENT: WHERE IS IT GOING: PART ONE




During the summer of 1999 at the National Conference, Tom Sarg and Lou Rubbio of National presented or at least answered questions concerning the new 3 Day Manual. I don’t know if anyone has seen such a manual. I know I have not.




Tom Sarg also presented a talk on his Vision of the Movement at the 1999 National Encounter conference. The talk is presented in two parts in the ULTREYA Magazine. The first part is presented in the October/November 1999 issue and the second part in the December/January 2000 issue. It is my goal to provide some informative excerpts form the document. Hopefully I will not slant the intent or full message of the message too far in any one direction. As you will be able to see, Mr. Sarg has some good things to say.




In the first part, printed in the October/November issue of Ultreya, Mr. Sarg goes to a founder of the Cursillo Movement, Eduardo Bonnin, saying that Mr. Bonnin had said he would not rest until we have Cursillos on the moon.




Sarg: Let’s take a closer look at these two lofty ideals. What Eduardo is actually saying is that he is looking forward to the purpose, strategy and the method of the Cursillo Movement being used in all walks of life. It is his vision to see all of mankind involved with small group sharing and having a closer relationship with Christ.” Mr. Sarg basically agrees stating that the meaning of such a statement is that “everyone will be living what is fundamental to being Christian” and that “there will be no need to conduct 3-Day Weekends.”




[Comment: I have to admit, based on what is going on in the world now, this vision is one I can only hope happens quickly].




Sarg: “It has often been said that Christ should have failed in His attempt to bring all people back to God. When we look at the group of men that He selected we have to wonder just what He was thinking about? Here was a bunch of misfits who represented various walks of life, yet not one of them was one we would consider a dynamic individual.” “Christ only spend three years with this motley crew and yet those three years, His death, resurrection and gift of the Holy Spirit was enough to transform this group of individuals into the largest religious denomination in the world.”




[Comment: If the people Jesus chose were “misfits who represented various walks of life” and none of them “dynamic individuals”, then why is it that we have been told over the years that we need to be more selective in our selection of candidates. I am not talking about people with mental or physical problems such as alcohol or drugs (I agree with this idea), but I have been told the intent is to get “leaders” of the community. My question is, who is the best “leader” for a given community? Maybe it is someone who is from that community, who can relate to the people and their lives!. I do not think I could be as affective evangelizing (bringing people to know and have a relationship with Christ) is a slum area as in the parish of middle class people which is all I have known. However, once they come to know and accept Christ, then I may have a better chance to be of service.]




Sarg: “In November, 1994, I had the opportunity to be present for one of the National of Catholic Bishops Meetings. During the three days that I attended that meeting, I was amazed at the number of bishops who did not know the Cursillo Movement was still in existence.”




“In February, 1993, the National Episcopal Cursillo Movement leaders and myself were invited to attend a meeting with leaders of other groups that are striving to reach the same goal as the Cursillo Movement – helping others to understand and live what is fundamental for being a Christian. We have the continued to meet each year in an effort to understand the various gifts that each of us have to offer and to assist one another whenever possible. Because of the gaps that exist, because of our differences, we continue to meet and dialogue in an effort to close the gaps and differences.”




[Comment: I have not problem with discussing some issues and getting ideas from anyone, however, we should always remember the Cursillo Movement is a Catholic movement based on Catholic Doctrine. We can never move from this idea. We can never water down doctrine or run from today’s issues in an effort to be ecumenical or in union with others. In the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter of November 10, 1994, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, our leader speaks of the need for and his desire for unity of the Christian world and of all men. He stated, however, in article 34 and important message: “We are all however aware that the attainment of this goal (unity) cannot be the fruit of human efforts alone, vital though they are. Unity, after all, is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We are asked to respond to this gift responsibly, without compromise in our witness to the truth (emphasis added), generously implementing the guidelines laid down by the Council and in subsequent documents of the Holy See, which are also highly regarded by many Christians not in full communion with the Catholic Church.”]




Sarg: “For some reason, cursillistas have this though that whenever someone from National comes to visit, we are coming to check up on them. Well, if checking up on them means to gain insight on how the make our Cursillo Movement more effective, then I guess we are guilty as charged.”


[Comment: I think we owe the people at National our upmost cooperation and that we should share freely how successful our Cursillo movement is here and offer any assistance to them or any other local or diocesan Cursillo.]




“Sure, when we come to visit, we come to share some of our ideas, our vision and some of our experience, but where did those ideas, that vision and those experiences come from?


They came from those diocesan visits.


They came from continually studying our Cursillo literature. [Comment: What is source of this literature? Our founding fathers?]


They came from attending meetings with other leaders of the Cursillo Movement throughout the world.


They came from attending meetings with leaders of other ecclesiastical movements.


They came from meetings with our national bishops.


They came from meetings with leaders of other denominational groups who are striving to achieve the same goal.” (See my comments on maintaining truth in our teaching above.)


“They came from studying various encyclicals and other Church doctrine.


And most importantly, they came from studying the Bible and trying to keep Christ’s goal as our goal.”




Sarg: “As we set our sights onto the third millennium, we have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in our world. As Catholics, we represent over one fourth of our nations population. When you consider the number of Christians of other denominations, who also desire to improve the level of life in this country, then we easily represent well over ½ of our nations populous. The only thing that we lacking is a concerted effort amongst all of us. It is that concerted effort that I wish to address as my vision for the Cursillo Movement and more importantly for the world in which we live.




My vision for the future of the Cursillo Movement is to find that key component that will help everyone develop the ability to fulfill their commitments. Of course, our greatest commitment is to study and evangelize our everyday environments.”




“As I have visited with many of our cursillistas and Cursillo leaders, one common factor seems to be very prevalent. Most of the diocesan Cursillo Movements attempt to gear the Cursillo Movement so that it fits the indviduals. Part of that comes from Eduardo Bonnin’s statement that the most important element in the Cursillo Movement is the person. I agree 100% with this statement, however, to effectively rely on this statement it is necessary to understand what this statement really means. We all know that the Cursillo Movement takes each individual and through the 3-Day course in Christianity attempts to bring about a conversion, a metanioa, among each of the candidates. In other words we attempt to have each individual develop a deeper relationship with the one Christ. Now the individuals have oneness, a oneness in Christ. If our Cursillo Movement is ever going to reach its full potential then we must cease focusing our attention on the individuality of the person and begin focusing our attention on the oneness of each person with Christ. [Comment: Good point! Sounds like moving to the 4th day. However, we can never forget the individual and his/her individual problems if we truly recognize them as part of the same body of Christ for we are to be able to weep with them by sharing in their suffering as well as celebrate their joy with them.]