The Leaders School of The Cursillo Movement
Of The
Savannah Diocese
Savannah, Georgia
a. Fundamental
Ideas of The Cursillo Movement, 1992,
sections 180, 232, 237, 291, 326, 333, 334
b. Leaders Manual, 1998, Chapter 12 - Palanca
c. 3-Day Manual, 1999 Chapter 1 – Prayer
d. Our Fourth Day, 1985
Good morning. Let us pray;
Lord, grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success.
My God, give us a spirit of self sacrifice so that we may offer everything for Your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary. Instill in us courage in our initiatives, good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that determination which in spite of failures assures victory.
Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which divides or discourages.
Help us to maintain at a high level a meaningful, supernatural, and mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by preference the most humble tasks and will rejoice at the good performed by others, so that all our spirits united in a common purpose will have one single spirit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces, Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living Presence among us. Amen.
Our Lady of Guadeloupe, Patron of the Americas, Pray for us.
St. Paul, Patron of Cursillo, Pray for us.
A “lever” allows a person to move something beyond their capabilities. In the Cursillo sense, it is the prayer and sacrifice we call Palanca which is offered to God in petition for the grace, so that as apostles we may accomplish more than we would be capable otherwise.
The purpose of this presentation is to give you a perspective of what Palanca is intended to be.
When anyone takes up the work of the conversion and Christian renewal of persons and the evangelization of human groups, it is absolutely indispensable that the entire work be built upon the grace of God. This grace can be obtained only through the powerful means of trusting constant and humble prayer.
Today, more than ever, we must remind ourselves that without God we are nothing, of no value, and incapable of doing anything. The prayers, sacrifices and works of mercy we offer as Palanca must be genuine and offered by communities and individuals living in union with Christ and each other if the effectiveness of our efforts in the Movement is to be assured. This requires us to take seriously the promise of Christ: 'Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7 NAB).
Everything in the Cursillo is the work of God's grace. As individuals, we must therefore, pray and sacrifice ourselves for the spiritual and apostolic success of the Cursillo. The miracles of God's grace are granted to confident prayer, accompanied by sacrifice, not to knowledge or experience,"
Cursillo literature tells us a good yardstick of a local Movement is its attitude toward Palanca, its overall focus on it, and how the spirit of it is incorporated in the lives of the Spiritual Advisors and lay leaders. In this regard, a concern for developing a spirit of prayer and self-denial should be the overriding factor.
Within the Movement, we must be vigilant that the term Palanca not be misunderstood and abused so that incidental trimmings overshadow its interior call and meaning. Colorful posters and banners are not Palanca; neither are flowers, edibles, friendship letters or good wishes. This is false Palanca under the guise of "nice things."
Letters are not Palanca either. They are merely a vehicle in which we convey the actual Palanca being done. Keeping this in mind, we must realize that Palanca can be done for a particular purpose without having to write a letter about it.
Self‑denial is part and parcel of the Christian life. Any de-emphasis of it in the Movement would indicate a shift away from Christ as our center. In the life of the Church, we are offered seasons such as Lent and Advent to bring us back to the proper spirit. A better way would be to live in a spirit of Palanca each day.
Palanca offerings should not be limited to the three days. The selection of candidates, the study of environments, the growth of Group Reunions, Ultreyas and especially the work of Secretariats and the School of Leaders depend mostly on authentic and generous Palanca offered by all, particularly the leaders. Each one should offer something, each one should offer themselves. St. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:1, "Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him." This is the true worship we should each offer.
In the 'Obstacles to Grace" talk, we are reminded that the means of mortification are varied. To obey the Gospel; to fulfill the duties of one's state in life; to accept adversities as though coming from the hand of God; to develop self‑control: these are some of the means of self‑sacrifice. To love where there is no love returned; to be patient where there is impatience and misunderstanding; to go through the order of reunion faithfully even when there is no group: these are "little ways" of Palanca.
PRECURSILLO
How many of you have heard the phrase “Talk to God about your friend before you talk to your friend about God.”?
Prayer has always been the strength of the Cursillo. Since grace is an absolute necessity in the re‑Christianization of the world, no Cursillo should be prepared or carried out without an appropriate spiritual task force (Palanca), both individual and collective.
Palanca should be an active part of the Pre-cursillo. It is important that the prayers and sacrifices, for the work being done to select and penetrate possible environments, is continual. This Palanca should also be offered for those cursillistas who are in the process of evangelizing possible candidates. Furthermore, Palanca should be offered for the potential candidates to help ensure that nothing interferes with their plans to attend the Cursillo Weekend.
THE 3‑DAY CURSILLO
Tthe original writings of the Movement state, the love of God of all Christians is witnessed during the Weekend through the Palanca performed by cursillistas. The Palanca should be presented without treating it as something like a "trump card," without dramatization. It should be made clear that it is normal for a person to make sacrifices for others, even if they do not know them personally
The role of the outside community is passive and isolated in terms of the Weekend, except for its Palanca. On the Weekend, Palanca letters containing promises of prayer and sacrifice, are to be given for the participants (team and candidates).
Historically, Palanca for the three days has always been seen as intense prayer and self‑sacrifice by the outside leaders and communities, for the community being formed on the Weekend. "Prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the Cursillo, which in Cursillo terminology is "Palanca" are crucial to its spiritual success." 47
"The three days are supernaturally backed by persons and communities who pray and make sacrifices for their brothers and sisters, that these might be open to truth and grace. The spiritual presence of these praying communities should be communicated to the cursillistas, but without over dramatization. On the contrary, it should be made apparent that it is normal for Christians to pray and sacrifice for others. Though not knowing them personally, these Christians know from experience the effect of their attitude on the conversion process. Such communities are a witness to the possibility and transcendence of being Christian in any part of the world, and to the fact that God continues making himself present in the world through groups of persons who live the Gospel and give themselves for the Christianization of the world. Palanca shows the ecclesial community as a community conscious of the salvation of the group making the Weekend, a community that feels committed to this group. They are a reflection of Christ, the Savior in the community” 48
The emphasis should be on general Palanca with the outside community offering prayer and sacrifice for the community that is being formed on the three days. Personal Palanca letters should be limited to a relative or sponsor.
Palanca is made in a sacrificial manner for those who are to be converted or better converted to Christ and His Church. On the three days only the spiritual offerings of the Cursillo community ought to be considered as proper Palanca. Any practices which do not fit this description should be excluded.
POSTCURSILLO
In the past, once the Cursillo Weekends came to a closure, the Palanca came to a closure as well. Palanca is needed even more during the Post-cursillo. The newly converted cursillistas are going to be leaving this cloistered atmosphere of a community centered on Christ. They will be returning to the unconverted environments that they left on Thursday. They will be returning to the daily pressures and concerns that they did not have to contend with during the Weekend. In other words, they need our prayers, sacrifices, love and support more now than they ever did during the Weekend.
Furthermore, these new cursillistas will become integrated within the various local Cursillo environments of Group Reunions, Ultreyas, and possibly the School of Leaders. The Cursillo leaders of these Cursillo environments need to understand the needs of these new cursillistas. The leaders need to be able to satisfy those needs. This will entail additional efforts by these leaders. All is done for the purpose of building up God's Kingdom here on Earth. The leaders need the, ongoing prayers, sacrifices, love and support of the Cursillo community. In other words, they need Palanca for the efforts they are making on behalf of Christ for the Cursillo Movement.
Palanca should not be limited to cursillistas and Cursillo leaders of a specific area. Palanca should be seen as a universal tool for the Cursillo Movement of the universal Church that we are all a part of.
3-Day Manual -- CH,
I ‑INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES
PRAYER
What would
the Church be without prayer? What would Christianity become if it did not
teach humankind how they can and should enter in union with God?
Prayer is
the principal supernatural means of success during the Weekend. The Christian
community, or part of it, prays earnestly before and during the Weekend. In the
same way, the Team Coordinator, the leaders and the Spiritual Director pray,
relying on prayer at every moment to resolve the problems and difficulties of
the Weekend.
The team
teaches the candidates how to pray by praying and, therefore, must be a praying
community from the outset. The group atmosphere removes any individualism from
prayer and endows it with a sense of community.
Little by
little, as the Weekend progresses, it becomes a praying community. During the
Weekend we learn to pray. During the
Weekend we stress, even insist on, praying from the heart. Individual, interior
prayer will prevent rituals in our collective prayer. The value of strictly communal prayer can
never substitute itself for the value of personal prayer proceeding from a pure
and humble heart.
Cursillistas
draw their inspiration to pray from Christ Himself. He prayed, and taught us how to pray by praying; He insisted on the need for it; and promised
that our prayer would be heard. In contrast with the secular humanistic way of
thinking, the Cursillo believes in prayer, in its power, and knows that,
"The Heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him"
(Luke 11:13).
47 The Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo, Movement.
48 Bishop Juan Hervas‑1968.