The Responsibilities of the Secretariat Members and School of Leaders

 

The Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo Movement strongly affirm that “The Secretariat will be in a position

to set up a Cursillo Weekend only when there is a sufficient number of persons – preferably, groups of persons

who, possessing the qualities outlined above, offer a well-founded hope that by working with other people

of good will, they will be able to Christianize their environments” (FI # 229).  With the above advice, some diocesan Cursillo leaders have started to realize the necessity of finding time to evaluate the progress of their service to the Movement, namely the Cursillistas in their evangelizing mission in their ‘Fourth Day’ or Post-Cursillo. These leaders are commended for their brave efforts to modify, adjust, or change their direction in the best interests of their local Cursillo Movement. There is always room for improvement in order to effectively serve the Cursillistas who strive to live what is fundamental for being Christian in their environments. This commendable practice, by analogy, is like that of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were ‘mending their nets’ on the shore to be ready for the next catch when they were called by Jesus to follow Him (Mc. 1:19).

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The leaders may help their Cursillo Community revive and deepen its knowledge of the purpose, mentality,

essence, and Foundational Charism of our Cursillo Movement through various workshops administered either

by national, regional service teams or by its own diocesan Secretariat members and School of Leaders. There

should be a requirement also for the sponsors to attend a Sponsoring Workshop given by the Diocesan

Secretariat and School of Leaders in addition to their being Cursillistas in good standing, i.e. actively

participating in a Friendship Group and frequently attending Ultreyas.  Some people, unfortunately, still

consider the Cursillo Weekend as the most important activity in our Movement and, therefore, the

Weekend becomes indispensable. Others even believe the Cursillo Movement will be “dead” in a diocese if

there are no Three-Day Cursillo Weekends put on every year. Certainly, it is very difficult for anyone to talk

about the Pre-Cursillo stage of our Movement to the majority of Cursillistas who still have the Three-Day

Cursillo mentality.

 

This situation reminds us of a passage in the Gospel in which St. Mark related to us: “Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him” (Mk 3:9-10).

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Likewise, our Three-Day Cursillo Weekend has been so much overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and passion

of both the Cursillo leaders as team members and the candidates that the Weekend casts a foggy shadow

over the Pre-Cursillo and Post-Cursillo stages in our Cursillo Movement! If the Cursillo leaders gave excessive

attention, time, energy and enthusiasm to the Three-Day Cursillo Weekend, the whole Movement would

probably be crushed very soon. This incident befittingly cautions the diocesan Cursillo leadership against

misusing the Cursillo Weekend by following the crowd to lead our Movement in the wrong direction.  In

conclusion, Jesus’ command “Go and make disciples of all nations” must be thenatural outcome of our

Cursillo Weekend if it is administered properly and effectively by a team knowledgeable of the essence,

the mentality, the purpose and the methods of Cursillos de Christiandad. Dostoevski saysthat the worst

enemies of a movement are those who become its promoters without understanding its mentality.

Ultreya!