Of The Savannah Diocese

Savannah, Georgia

PRECURSILLO - SESSION # 4 The Invitation to Live the Three Days

In review, Pre-Cursillo consists of four primary functions:

The invitation to "live the 3-days" is actually a part of the 2nd and 3rd sessions (The selection of Key Persons & the preparation of Candidates). We present it here because, "The invitation" itself requires more explanation.

In reading Cursillo literature it becomes clear that the Founders lived in a Catholic country (Spain) and were not burdened by laws that separated Church & State, such as that which we are in. This in turn has facilitated the development of an American mind set that religion must be kept out of the workplace. Nor were they burdened by EEO laws which in turn facilitated the American view that everyone should have an equal opportunity to attend a weekend. While these burdens exist for us, our National Leaders have made strategic changes in how we accomplish our evangelistic work which appear in the Leaders manual.

In Spain, the goal was to change whole environments at a time by either appealing to the company management to allow Cursillo in to establish groups in that environment, or to find a "friend" in an environment that will serve as an entry to that environment so they could get their "big guns" in and establish environmental groups that will appeal to the employees. In Spain, there was a large reservoir Catholic population in each environment in which to select candidates for a Cursillo weekend and reinsert them, as a group, back into that environment to evangelize it. Here in Georgia we have no such reservoir. We have to start differently! The key words we employ in Cursillo are "patience" & "persistence." So remember the phrases from your Cursillo weekend "bloom where you are planted" & "all in God's time".

Our strategy then is to identify a "key person" in your environment, make him/her your friend, and keep working at that friendship until the time is right to bring him to a closer union with God. If he/she is a Catholic then that may mean an invitation to make a Cursillo weekend for training. If he/she is not a catholic, then connect that friend with another denominational movement such as Tres Dias, Walk to Emmaus, Via De Christo or The Three Days. After the Cursillo weekend, that friend is reinserted back into the environment to plan and work toward the evangelization of that community/ environment.

The work of the Cursillo leader with regard to potential candidates isn't limited to handing out fliers or making announcements after mass for all those interested in making a Cursillo weekend. These methods may be of some limited value in keeping parishioners aware of the existence of the movement and for "filling vacancies" on a weekend. They have little to do with "personal contact", the real work of Cursillo. It is through personal contact on a regular basis that Cursillo leaders are discovering persons that offer the best hope for changing environments that are in need of change. This process takes time. The goal is to awaken in a potential candidate the desire for conversion, and show them that there are greater possibilities for their life and their happiness. All this personal contact preparation should leave them anxious and eager to make a Cursillo since they can see the results in a genuine you.

Pope Paul VI in his encyclical "On Evangelization In The Modern World", said "For this reason, side by side with the collective proclamation of the Gospel, the other form of transmission, the person-to-person one, remains valid and important." The Lord often used it (for example, with Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman, and Simon the Pharisee), and so did the Apostles. In the long run, is there any other way of handing on the Gospel than by transmitting to another person one's personal experience of faith?" Christ is counting on you!!

Personal contact has two (2) elements that need to be discussed, "sounding them" and "moving them". Before a person is invited to a Cursillo, you must get to know the person (sounding) and evaluate them. To sound (discern) is to inquire with caution to determine:

Sounding should be done prudently, with caution, respecting and loving the other person. If a candidate feels like they are being questioned (grilled) instead of just conversing in friendship they will shut themselves down. Caution in this case demands from us the realization that we are taking care of God's interests. It should be done tactfully and without insistence. Through normal conversation steered in the right direction it is possible to get the idea of the person.

The technique of "moving them" (enlightening) or prodding used to be called "stabbing" or using the sword point of truth to hurl truth so sharply that it sticks and convicts the person so convincingly that they are compelled to move. To "stab" effectively one must aim high to implant truths bearing in mind that it is more effective to point out potential than to demand responsibility. This is delicate work and only those experienced should do it. At the very least consult an experienced Cursillista of the School of Leaders (SOL) for advice. Always Talk to God about your friend before you talk to your friend about God. Sounding is the easiest technique to use and may be all you need to get to know your potential candidate.

May God be with you. DeColores