Welcome to the second 2009 edition of the Communique for the Hamilton, Ontario Diocese Cursillo community. For more information about the Hamilton Diocese Cursillo Movement visit www.4thday.ca.
In this issue:
The 2009 weekends will be held in Deemerton. The Women's weekend will be October 1st - 4th and the Men's will be October 22nd - 25th.
It's not too early to start praying about and approaching possible candidates.
The next School of leaders meeting will be on May 23rd at St. Joseph's in Guelph.
Dear Cursillistas,
I pray that your Lent is going well for you and that you and your families have a blessed and joyful Easter.
It is my pleasure to introduce to you some new members on our Secretariat.
First of all, Kim Jones from Guelph has joined us as the Secretary. Kim has been involved in Cursillo for many years and has been active on teams and at her Ultreya.
Secondly, Sharon Penlington from Kitchener has agreed to take Marg Weber’s place as the director of the School of Leaders. Sharon has been in Cursillo for a few years and has been very involved with weekends, her Ultreya and the School of Leaders. She will job shadow with Marg until the end of June.
Thirdly, Joe Trocki from Burlington will take the position of Treasurer from Dianne Rovers. Joe has also been involved with Cursillo, team member and his Ultreya at St. Paul’s.
I am also very pleased to announce that David Milne, our communications coordinator on the Secretariat, will take care of weekends in place of Joyce Hause. David will also job shadow with Joyce until the end of June.
We, the Secretariat, thank God for these Cursillistas saying “Yes” to our Lord. We know they all have our best interests at heart. Please keep them in your prayers.
De Colores,
Sandi Farwell
Lay Director
The Eucharist is The Resurrection
From Holy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday morning we witness one of the greatest dramatic events of all history. Jesus effectively concluded His celebration of the first Eucharist with the command: “Do this in memory of me.”
One may legitimately ask: “Was this His Last Will and Testament?” “Was this His request, as many persons do at last moments of life, a pleading merely to be remembered?” Or “Was it something more than that?”
After all, He did preface His request with the injunction “This is the covenant [testament] of my blood; the new and everlasting covenant.” In these words He heralded a very clear connection between His action at the table on Holy Thursday evening and the first hour of Easter Sunday morning. The Lord’s supper, then, is much more than a last will and testament memorial. “Do this in remembrance of me” puts the emphasis on Do This.
In the power of poetic symbolism “Do This” says “I am the resurrection and the Life.” Symbolism, properly understood, is a very important part of our Scripture, our Theology, and our Liturgy. There is an old Hasidic saying: “If you hold the palm of your hand before your eyes you cannot possibly see the splendour of the tallest mountain. Similarly, if you only look with your ordinary sense of vision you will never see the magnificence of God’s mighty creation.” It is with our symbolic insight {“in my mind’s eye” Hamlet said to Horatio} that we can see and appreciate the mighty works of the Lord. Our Liturgy of Word and Eucharist dramatically captures for us, symbolically, the Resurrection.
To borrow a phrase from Professor De Zan: “The Eucharist is the presentation of the Risen Lord Jesus in liturgical time; and the Resurrection is The Pre-presentation of the Eucharist in Real time.” Therefore, we can conclude that the Risen Lord Jesus is present “today, yesterday and forever.”
Some have argued on this basis, however, that the structure of the new Lectionary and Missal for our Liturgy is well done; but it fails to hold out any assurance of HOPE. Quite the contrary is the truth. For if we are willing to see the Eucharist as the sure sign [symbol] of the Resurrection, then we realize that all the prophecies and hopes of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testatment = The New and Eternal Covenant. “Take and eat. Take and drink. This is the new covenant of my blood.”
The Eucharist Symbolically re-enacts or re – presents the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus, The Lamb of God. The “fractio”, the breaking, the separation of the body and the blood, symbolically makes present to us the DEATH of Jesus in our time. Then the placing of a small portion of the Host into the precious blood in the chalice symbolically makes present the uniting of body and blood. At that moment symbolically Christ is Risen. Alleluja.
Registration for the July 2-5 Cursillo of Cursillos at Wilfrid Laurier University is open to all Cursillistas. You may have heard that anyone who went to the Cursillo of Cursillos in Mallorca, Spain last year was not allowed to register for this year's Cursillo of Cursillos in Waterloo. This restriction no longer applies.
Register prior to April 30th for a discount.
Cursillo of Cursillos Information
Cursillo of Cursillos Registration
My name is Malcolm Marchant, I am 58 years old. I participated in the 71st Men’s Cursillo of the Hamilton Diocese October 11-14, 2007. I sat at the St. Luke’s table.
The theme for the weekend was ‘Lift Up Your Hearts to the Lord’.
This was my next step in my journey that started with an e-mail from my wife at the time telling me our marriage was over and not to come home any more. That weekend I attended Mass for the first time in twenty years and Jesus was there to hold me show me a new path and provide me with constant help and guidance along the way.
Over the next few years I attended church regularly, attending faith based courses and Retreats which helped me recover from the Separation and Divorce and build a life of my own which included my faith. But apparently this was not enough and if you will let me indulge for a second I’ll tell you a little story about the next step:
A few years ago I was standing on an observation platform almost at the top of a mountain in West Virginia I had just walked up. I stood there in awe surveying the panoramic view that lay before me. My meditation was broken by the man standing beside me who said “and my father tells me there are some people who do not believe there is a GOD”. I mumbled something in agreement with him and went and sat on a bench pulling out a book I was reading. As I was reading the man and his wife finished enjoying the scene and were leaving – the man stopped and said to me “what are you reading? I wish I had brought a book here to read it is a perfect place” I told him the title (Margaret Silf – Close to the Heart) and he asked what it is about and I feeling a little irritation replied – It is about Prayer and praying to this he replied – “Ah, that is the perfect book for this place”.
A stranger, a few words and an incident that remained with me forever.
This stranger had forced me to admit my faith out loud to the world and on a mountain top too..
My life has been full of these messengers from GOD, people who tell me something important and whose words seem to physically hit me, grabbing my full attention. The message will play in my head over and over until I get the meaning. And if you know me I am a slow learner sometimes and this process could take weeks or months.
In January 2005, Alexis Tremeer told me of the Cursillo movement and how she felt that the members of the Chatham Ultreya were a close family to her. I was interested in knowing more and Alexis got me a contact who could give me more information. Needless to say I did not contact the person and it took me till September 2007 to answer the invitation.
Remember I said I was slow.
As I said at the beginning, I attended the weekend in October 2007 and since that weekend I too have felt like I have been blessed with an extended family which has gotten me through some very trying times.
At the end of the Cursillo Weekend in my first Witness talk I said that I had changed and knew that I would continue to change although I did not know what I would become. Now I am out of “Babe-Chick Hood” I can say that a big part of my journey is learning how to open my heart accepting the love and guidance friends want to give me.
Christmas this year was a perfect example, Christmas Day I spent with my ‘faith’ friend Mary Kay and her family. This included babies, teenagers, son and daughters and Grand Parents. I had the best time ever. Christmas at our house was a tense affair wondering when my father would explode and at who (usually me) but Christmas at MK’s was full of love, joy, laughter and conversation. And I joined in with gusto. The high point of the night was when MK’s son said “We will see you next year?”.
New Year was full of the same. I spent the weekend with my oldest friends (35 years) in Peterborough and had a wonderful time. And when leaving Lynn said to me “This I now an annual affair so we will see you next year”.
Taking risk, opening my heart, and joining in: that’s what Crusillo has taught me.
It has also meant allowing some-one to guide me….
At one of the first London Ultreya’s I attended, the facilitator Michelle handed out that little sheet containing the three words: Piety, Study and Action. She asked us to form small groups and discuss amongst our selves what we had accomplished this week on the subjects. My reaction was ‘oh crap’ – I had not studied, I could not tell you when I felt close to God, I was in trouble.
I had been sent another messenger and she had a crow bar.
Well since then I start my morning off by not only reading the morning papers on-line but I also Read the daily Mass Readings and the meditations/reflections upon them. I also recite the Rosary on the way to work, listen to talks, read books and watch movies on the Bible / the study of Christ and Christianity. I have gained a thirst for knowledge.
Another example of being given a message was when attending the KW/Guelph School Of Leaders in December, I made the statement that I liked the Cursillo Movement because of it’s emphasis of being a good Christian instead of being a good Catholic. Father Frank who sat next to me took the opportunity to recommend a book he was reading which of course was about Rediscovering Catholicism. Father Frank did not disagree with me but quietly showed the me and the group the other side of the coin.
In attending the Ultreyas and School of Leaders I took a huge risk presenting myself to bunches of strangers who’s expectation of me was very different to my life at that time. Because of various hurts, bad experiences and life itself I had closed myself up. I could get away with this in my daily life but not in a roomful of Cursillistas. It is so very hard to be closed when someone comes up to you with their arms open wide and a smile on their face. This has carried over into my work life where I no longer sit alone in my cubical but join in with the activity around me. Even people who I seldom spoke to are now having conversations with me.
I used to wonder at what I felt from people who are now my Faith Friends. I used to feel so suspect and even jealous of the happiness and joy that came from them but I know I am beginning to radiate that same ‘joy’ as I have come home to myself basking in the love of my friends and more importantly the love of god.
My heart is opening and I pray each day that it opens just a little more.
Staying a moment with the “Joy” I am developing, I find myself talking about Christianity, Jesus and my beliefs with all kinds of people, workmates, strangers and even exchanging ideas with people of other religions such as Buddhism and finding commonalities. I now delight in these discussions and am not afraid to be branded as ‘one of them’.
When I heard the word “Evangelize” in one of the weekend’s rollos I tuned out because I knew it all and at the same time I was afraid to become “one of them” (you know, those Saturday morning door knockers). It was not until I heard Michelle Lazure’s Rollo on Christianity In Action that I did listen. This was the first School Of Leaders in London I had attended and was a great introduction. I agreed with what Michelle had said and it helped me to accept the word Evangelize and comparing my own weekend notes to Michelles talk I see that many of the points are exactly the same.
Mmmmmm I feel as though I have just been hit over the head again with that same crowbar.
One of the lectures I have listened to recently by Father Bernie Hayes brought home what the Cursillo movment has shown to me: Jesus said to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Here, Father Bernie pointed out that you must first learn to love yourself.
Through the examples of my Cursillo friendsI am learning to love myself and place value in my friends. I would like to say that my heart is more open, I am excited and I cannot wait to see what happen next in this journey.
For our small table discussion I would suggest that we discuss ways that we open our hearts each day to ourselves, friends and even the people we meet on the street each day.
Please send me (drmilne@sympatico.ca) any talks you think should be published so we can publish a witness talk every month. Please realize that I will have to use my judgment on whether or not a talk is published so it's possible that not every talk will get published.
The 5th Day Cursillo Prayer service is available to be held at the funeral home prior to the funeral and at the discretion of the family following the passing of their loved one. A Cursillo member will lead the service. If anyone knows of the passing of a Cursillista in our Diocese please contact myself or any member of the secretariat marg.weber@sympatico.ca
It is Sunday, March 29th as I write these closing words. We have just finished celebrating the Fifth Sunday of Lent. That means that Passion (or Palm) Sunday is one week away followed by Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. The first four weeks of Lent have been good for me but now is not the time to let up. I am thankful that we are having a Parish Mission starting on Monday March 30th and that I am willing and able to attend the mission. I hope and pray that your Lent has been good for you and that you will find some way to keep doing Lent for the next two weeks.
De Colores,
David