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THE BLETHER BLOG

 

The Cursillo Movement   

RC Diocese of Aberdeen

SCOTLAND 

 

 

An Overview

 

Cursillo, a Spanish word meaning “a short course”, is the name given to a Catholic Movement that originated in Spain and quickly spread around the world after the Second Vatican  Council in the 1960s. Our Diocesan Cursillo began in 1998and to date there have been eleven residential “Wee Courses” (Scots for Cursillos!) prepared and presented by laity and clergy at Pluscarden Abbey, near Elgin in Moray, pictured below.

  

 

 

Cursillo offers a method tohelp Christians respond positively to their Baptismal responsibilities. The introductory  three day course – usually a weekend (see below) – remindsparticipants of the great challenge and invitation of our Faith to share the good news of Christ’s love with others. The aim is to help ordinary people make a real difference in the world in which they live,bringing Christ and the Gospel to every area of society. We know that sometimes it is not easy to talk to others about Christ - it takes courage and often we need help. The Cursillo method offers a proven formula and a support network of friends who meet regularly, encouraging one another and praying together.  This means that, rather than feeling alone and isolated in their efforts, they benefit from a real sense of community and are enabled to persevere as Christians aware of their role in answering Christ’s call to “launch out into the deep”.

 

 

At the beginning of his pontificate Pope Benedict XVI said, “I greet you, members of the lay faithful, immersed in the task of building up the Kingdom of God which spreads throughout the world in every area of life.” The Second Vatican Council and a number of Post-Conciliar Documents, notably Christifidelis Laici and Novo Millennio Inuente, reiterate the unique role and responsibility of the laity. As Pope John Paul II says in Christifidelis Laici, “A great venture, both challenging and wonderful, is entrusted to the Church – that of a re-evangelisation, which is so much needed by the present world. The lay faithful ought to regard themselves as an active and responsible part of this venture, called as they are to proclaim and to live the Gospel in service to the person and to society …”  

 

 

 

Faced with this challenge, the reality often is that “an isolated Christian is a paralysed Christian”.   Christ’s strategy while on earth was to build communities.  Recognising this, Cursillo provides opportunities throughout our Diocese for people to meet together locally on a regular basis (weekly or fortnightly), share hopes and concerns, pray, help and learn from each other. This informal meeting of friends, in "Cursillo-speak"is termed ‘Group Reunion’ and happens at a mutually convenient time and place; at home, in a café, church, or wherever our wit and wisdom leads us to gather in His name. In addition, there is a larger get-together of people from throughout the Diocese, termed an “Ultreya!” (the Spanish slang word meaning ‘Onward!’.  This takes place on a monthly basis and as well as echoing the Group Reunion format, there is an opportunity to learn from someone’s experience of journeying with Christ, and to receive Spiritual Direction provided by Fr Keith Herrera and Deacon John Woodside.

 

Cursillo is not an organisation that you join, it is a world-wide movement within the Catholic Church (and some other Christian denominations have adopted and adapted it to meet their needs).  Having completed the 3-day Wee Course, those who have attended  are encouraged to use the Cursillo ‘method’ to help them persevere as they return to their own places in the world and continue their lives as Christians, faithful to their Baptismal promises. The Cursillo Community, serving Christ and the Church, under the patronage of St Paul, aims to effect real and meaningful change to society by “making friends, being friends and (because it is God’s will) bringing friends to Christ”.

 

 

Another ‘Wee Course’ at Pluscarden Abbey is scheduled in the nnot too distant future. More information will be available in the coming months.

 

For further information about Cursillo in the RC Diocese of Aberdeen, contact our Cursillo Lay Director, Mr Brian Osborne:

Email:  cursillo.aberdeen@hotmail.co.uk

 

 

 

 

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