The
Of The
FI Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo
Movement
LM Leaders Manual
3-Day 3-Day Manual -- pages 1-9
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 Guadelupe, Patron of the
St. Paul, Patron of
Cursillo, Pray for us.
This presentation is intended to help understand the role of
a Table Auxiliary. In actuality, most of
this presentation is going to be about the entire team. The Table Auxiliary is responsible – like the
rest of the team, for being the living witness of Christ to the candidates.
You see, for purposes of the 3-Day Cursillo, the entire team
really has the same purpose.
Frequently, each Cursillo table family has one or two Table
Auxiliaries assigned to share the experience of the talk room activities with
the candidates.
I want to begin this presentation by defining the role of a
leader. All who attend a Cursillo
Weekend become cursillistas. All who
become cursillistas should strive to be Christian leaders within their
environments (home, work, social, political, etc); however, not all
cursillistas will choose, or are called, to become Cursillo Leaders. The worst enemies of a movement are those who
become its promoters without understanding it.
Leaders are total leaders.
Leadership entails more than just being on teams for weekends. Leaders are those who are involved in the
whole work of the Movement ‑ the Precursillo, the 3‑Day Cursillo,
as well as the Postcursillo. Involved
means making things happen. This is done
primarily through personal contact with:
1. persons
in the Precursillo
2. participants
on the Weekend
3. cursillistas
in their Fourth Day.
Personal contact is more than having a chat. It involves listening to determine where others are, and providing them a truth. This truth is reinforced by the sharing of
the leader's own experience to make the truth concrete.
The leaders' role is to give a witness that is exemplary in
terms of living in grace and using the Cursillo method.
It is only logical that the Leaders should be present on a
Weekend made by a number of candidates they have prepared. In this way, the same leaders who have
selected and prepared the candidates continue the conversion process. The presentations, which are given on the
Weekend, should reflect the type of progressive conversion and environmental
evangelization to which the participants can relate and which they can imitate. Again, the leaders' role is primarily one of
personal contact with their group of participants on the Weekend with the plan
of continuing the process afterward in the Postcursillo.
One of the primary functions of the leaders in the
Postcursillo is personal contact with the cursillistas in the Ultreya and
especially maintaining contact with those who are not regular participants.
The leaders should help new cursillistas to find friends
with whom they can become a permanent group.
Leaders create an atmosphere whose sole purpose is to foster the sharing
of Christian life with others.
The person‑to ‑person proclamation of the
Gospel, is 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 better way of handing on the Gospel than by
transmitting to another person your personal experience of faith?
If religious experience is personal, we all need individual
help: thus one of the main functions common to the whole Cursillo Weekend team
is their openness to personal dialogue and sharing with the cursillistas.
In such dialogues, we are trying to construct, build up, and
communicate the effective and valid criteria for a Christian structuring of the
person's whole life. This work will
extend far beyond the three days of the Cursillo Weekend.
This personal dialogue and sharing of the leaders with the
cursillistas must be done on the basis of friendship and sincerity through
personal contact. Leaders must be
willing to open themselves up as a friend without trying, diplomatically or
craftily, to probe the spiritual condition of the cursillista.
Only sincere friendship will offer ways for effective openness
and dialogue. The technique uses
opportunity, gentleness and tact, and is carried out in an apostolic spirit,
The leaders make friends with all, so that each one will become a friend of the
Lord. It is a well‑known fact that
who says something, and how it is said is more important than what is being
said.
The Cursillo Weekend team members – and especially the Table
Auxiliaries, should spend all of their free time in personal contact. Weekend schedules allow sufficient time for
this process. There are three stages, or
moments, of effective apostolic personal contact:
1.
to know
2.
to evaluate
3.
to direct
The technique of personal contact follows the normal
development of a Cursillo. This is true
for the group as a whole as well as for the individuals in the group.
While leaders in their personal contact may discover moral
or other problems, this is not their purpose, and a Spiritual Director should
best deal with these issues. The purpose
of personal contact is to help deepen the personal understanding and commitment
to "Christian criteria." These basic principles, which if well
understood and grasped, can direct and orient a person's whole life and serve
as the foundation for the solution of all present or future difficulties.
The first two elements of the personal contact technique‑to
know and to evaluate‑are commonly referred to in the Spanish Cursillo
literature as 'sounding" (as in 'to sound out a person's opinion about
something" or 'to take some soundings to determine the lay of the
land"). Sounding may take time, but
eventually the leader will learn what is important for each candidate and be
able to form an opinion. It is a
technique that should be used, not only on the Cursillo Weekend, but also in
the Precursillo and Postcursillo.
The process of personal contact is taught during the 3‑day
Cursillo through the experience of the one who receives. In this way the candidates are able to use
the process in their environments afterwards.
To make a friend, be a friend and introduce your friend to Christ is the
basis of the personal contact work done by the individual team members on the
Weekend. Later on, that personal contact
is carried on and intensified in the Ultreyas.
Because personal contact is so much a part of the Weekend
technique, much time needs to be allotted to it in the schedule under the
designation "free time." It is not the objective of the Movement to
fill the weekend with activities. The
objective is to provide as much quiet time and free time as possible. It is within these times and meal times that
the personal contact process takes place.
"To sound is to inquire with caution, sounding the
personality and circumstances to ascertain:
·
Whether a person's soul is aching.
·
That person's present attitude,
·
The circumstance in which that person's life
goes on.
·
To get to know the cursillista.
·
To understand the cursillista.
·
The ability to convey the truth to the
cursillista effectively.
This "sounding" should be done prudently, with
caution, respecting and loving the other person. If candidates feel themselves being the victims of questioning and not
sharers in friendship, they will shut themselves off. Let me repeat that: If candidates feel themselves being the
victims of questioning and not sharers in friendship, they will shut themselves
off. They will let us see only
what they want us to know. Caution
demands from us the realization that we are taking care of Gods interests. It should also be done tactfully, without too
much insistence, being careful to control the temptation of simple curiosity. From available information and from
"normal idea of conversation it is possible to have an exact enough a
person. This 'sounding" must take
place at appropriate times, making use of normal occasions of conversation and
never at times that may annoy the person.
The second part of personal contact technique is originally
known in the literature as "stabbing." Today, we prefer to use the
term 'prodding.' This may be expressed better as seeking to direct, to
enlighten, to convict, or to move.
"To stab is to strike with a sword point, but for us it
is hurling the Truth (or truths) sharply so that it sticks... It will be our mission to take the
individuals from where they are to where they ought to be. The stabbing should be specific, sharp enough
to stick. It must be the decisive arrow
at the heart of the problem. On stabbing
one must aim high, implant truths in their aspirations, in their
potentialities, always bearing in mind that it is more effective to point out
potentials than to demand responsibilities.
The stabbing must penetrate them, stir up their passivity, pick at their
conscience.”
Because this is obviously a delicate work in which real
damage can be done, the founders are concerned that individuals do not
undertake this kind of personal contact unless they are mature Christians who
are being led by God and have a sense of the sacredness of the contact. Obviously no one should engage in this work
without studying it in the
In a way, personal contact technique is simply glorified
common sense. It makes explicit, in an
ordered way, what goes on in successful and effective apostolic personal
contact. There are people to whom
successful apostolic contact comes "naturally." Even so, there is 'no
one (even one who is "naturally effective") who does not have some
area of blindness or weakness. Everyone
can improve in some way, by engaging in dialogue with other experienced
apostles who are articulating the experiences of the founders of the Movement. Everyone can benefit by studying and
reflecting on the wisdom contained in this technique.
Everyone should strive to improve the effectiveness of their
contact with others by studying prayerfully in community (
The development of the 3‑day Cursillo, like the rest
of the Movement, didn't happen by chance.
Over a period of years, learning through a process of trial and error,
the group of young men in
The Cursillo Weekend is a method to make possible the true
living out of a Christian's baptismal commitment. It offers a way to facilitate an encounter
with the fundamentals of Christian living."' When the Cursillo Weekend was
first developed, neither all the formulas nor an exact expression of its
purpose were set down, but its content, structure and technique already
supported that purpose.
Making a Weekend is a marvelous grace, which takes
individuals as they are, with all their problems, and enables them to cooperate
with God. It helps move them to
conversion, enabling them to join their lives more fully to God and to
constantly move toward holiness in communion with their brothers and sisters.
It can be said that a Cursillo Weekend is "the
realistically joyful communication of being Christian." Such joyful
communication entails proclamation of a doctrine, participation in Christian
community living and the human element or situations in which these take place. Here, then, are the general principles, which
must be kept in mind regarding the 3‑Day Weekend.
"Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to
all creation" (Mk. 16:15). This is the Lord's commandment. We are not attempting to demonstrate the
power of the Word here, or to stress the need for proclaiming it. But it should be delivered in such a way as
to elicit a personal response. The
Cursillo tries to illuminate all of life with the light of the whole Gospel.
To be effective, the Gospel should be proclaimed in the
style that Christ exemplified. The Word
has to be a living experience since Christ is the Word made flesh. The Weekends follow this style, basing the
search for conversion on living experience as well as personal and community
witness of living what is being proclaimed.
The task has to be entrusted to persons who are not just technicians,
but who have truly responded to the call of the Lord Jesus: persons who are
real proof of what they proclaim.
This is, and always has been, fundamental. "My message and my preaching had none of
the persuasive force of 'wise' argumentation, but the convincing power of the
Spirit. As a consequence, your faith
rests not on the wisdom of men but on the power of God" (1 Cor.2: 4‑5).
The Weekend could well be compared to a new birth, a rebirth
in Christ. It is also a living
communication with a community of faith, which is made present through the
communal witness of the leaders.
The teaching techniques of the Weekend are to help create a
climate which will facilitate an encounter with the Lord. These techniques help to remove barriers and
obstacles that would prevent the message from reaching the candidate's, mind and heart.
They try to break the bonds which enslave and prevent people from making
free and conscious decisions.
Technique during the
Weekend is simply preparing the way of the Lord. The order in which doctrines are presented is
considered the main aspect of our teaching method. Technique is the systematic arrangement of
certain truths to achieve a specific purpose.
Among the basic
elements of the Weekend technique, we should emphasize the leader's personal
contact with the candidates. Only when
we know the persons can we know what to say and how to say it.
Sincerity, realism and
courage are necessary in implementing the Weekend technique. The team must be flexible enough to adjust
quickly at each moment of the Weekend. Technique
must be used rationally; each Weekend is different. This requires controlling technique to avoid
being controlled by it.
As a general
principle, we might say that technique boils down to knowledge and awareness of
what should be done on the Weekend and of what ordinarily happens when we
responsibly take care of the details within our control. This great care is taken so that the
candidates may experience a joyous encounter with Christ, presupposing the
action of grace and the individual's free will.
It is important to remember that although methodology and technique are
essential during the Weekend, we must avoid becoming mere
"technicians" and making the technical means into ends themselves.
PERSONAL FREEDOM LM
93
Respect for individual
liberty has always been one of the concerns during the Weekend. At the same time, respect for the candidates'
freedom should not prevent us from presenting them with a clear vision of what
the Christian life can and should be. In
other words, for one to choose not to be Christian, he or she must also be able
to choose to be Christian.
During the Weekend, we should avoid and protect against any
form of manipulation. Even the most
insignificant details should reflect the normal respect we show others in our
daily lives. We must not invent tricks
in order to coerce. "Man must not
become the object of coercion on the part of private persons or on the part of
social groups or any human Power; therefore, in religious matters, nobody must
be forced to act against his own conscience." "The religious experience in its
essence, in its deep and firm reality, is always a personal event. And, as such, it is free and belongs to
whomever is experiencing it.'
Proclamation of the Gospel, together with the living
experience which personifies it, is sufficient to bring about change in
candidates without resorting to artificial means or psychological pressure. Acceptance of this fact is a testimony of
belief in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel, Grace, and the living
experiences of those who have been given the responsibility to teach.
The effectiveness of the Weekend is dependent more on its
content than on its method, on the Christianity being preached, lived and
joyfully communicated. We respect the
freedom of the candidate by not resorting to artificial means or psychological
pressure. Likewise, we cannot deny the
same freedom to those acting as leaders during a Weekend. No one should mistake the enthusiastic
proclamation of the Christian message to be psychological pressure or denial of
liberty.
The sharing of what is fundamental for being a Christian is
supported in common Eucharistic living. That
is why the Eucharistic community is fostered as a central theme of the Weekend.
The people of God are led and invisibly supported by the
Spirit of Christ, but they should also form a true, visible family. It has
to bring to life what was experienced in the early Christian community when all
were one in mind and heart. Within the
Catholic community, small communities gather around the Eucharistic table to
experience unity and communicate this unity of love.
Visits to the Blessed
Sacrament, within the framework of the Weekend, are of great spiritual and
teaching value. Being spontaneous and
shared, they promote the common unity of all the participants. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament bring hearts
closer together, and encourage true friendship.
With these visits, praying, sharing and taking as its own one another's
problems solidify the community. Therefore. in these visits we become aware not only of
our closeness to Christ, but also of the community spirit blossoming in the
three days. The leaders in such groups
leads most effectively by example.
We could apply to the Weekend the words of Pope Paul VI:
'The Church is a society of prayer. This
deeply religious characteristic of the Church is essential and providential. 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? It would be a philanthropic Christianity or a purely
temporal society"
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 Advisor 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, and we pray. Perhaps at the beginning, the small prayer
community is made up only of the team. The
witness of the team and the proclamation of the truth will expand that
community until it includes all the participants.
During the Weekend we stress, even insist on, praying from
the heart. Individual, interior prayer
will prevent rituals in our collective prayer.
Though we seek to acquaint cursillistas with the inexhaustible wealth of
communal and liturgical prayer available to the Church, we understand that 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, He taught us how to
pray by praying; He insisted on the need for it; and He promised that our
prayer(s) would be heard. In contrast
with the secular humanistic way of thinking, the leaders of the Weekend believe
in prayer, in its power, and know that, "The Heavenly Father gives the
Holy Spirit to those who ask Him" (Luke 1 1:13).
In order to facilitate a spirit of sharing, promote an
attitude of community and open the doors of friendship, the candidates are
divided into small groups for which team members are responsible.
In these groups, the candidates dialogue (reunion) on the
message proclaimed in each talk and then summarize each talk. This method provides in‑depth sharing
of the Christian experience, so that the Weekend may help bring about a
progressively mature conversion.
The groups help create an atmosphere in which the candidates
can speak with openness. They verbalize
their concerns and exchange and share experiences with each other.
Normally on the first day the group is simply a working
team; almost certainly by the end of the Weekend it will be a community of
faith and love.
Group
A good Table Auxiliary (leader) raises questions, keeps the
discussion moving on track and relates the remarks of various participants to
each other, to the talk and to previous discussions and talks.
The Group Reunion basic objectives are:
Once these objectives are reached, the group can disband for
free time, allowing each participant to pray, meditate, be alone, socialize,
receive spiritual direction, counseling or personal contact.
There has to be a certain amount of variety in social, work
and ethnic backgrounds both within the team and among the cursillistas. This blending is a logical consequence of the
purpose of the Cursillo Movement. This
mixture allows us to share both our diversity and what we have in common as
Christians. It is something simple and
at the same time dynamic. We proclaim
Christian brotherhood and human solidarity, and at the same time we are able to
offer a tangible experience of what is proclaimed.
The chosen People of God are one, through one Lord, one
faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:5). As members they share a common dignity from
their rebirth in Christ. They have the
same grace as sons and daughters of God and the same vocation to perfection. They possess in common one salvation, one
hope and one undivided charity. There is
in Christ and in the Church no inequality on the basis of race or nationality,
social condition or sex, because, "There is neither Jew nor Greek; there
is neither slave nor freeman; there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Jesus Christ"
(Gal. 3:28).
The unity of persons from diverse backgrounds during the
Weekend is an evident application of this Scripture.
If the Weekend experience is valid, then it should open up
the realistic possibility of continuing this encounter of self, Christ and
one's brothers and sisters in an ongoing way This possibility is best
demonstrated by the team, which presents the truths of the Cursillo and gave
witness to them by means of their own lifestyle as a community
The team should reflect their life of holiness, formation
and evangelization. It should be obvious
that they are Christian friends and have reached a stage of Christian community
through their commitment to each other to grow in the Christian life and to
share that life together. If the team
demonstrates this strength and love, it should cause the candidates to say to
themselves, "I would like to do likewise." Such a witness should be
motivation enough for them to leave the Cursillo Weekend eager to seek out a
group of friends so they too can grow through participation in Christian
community The team on the Weekend is not so much a team of speakers as it is a
team of witnesses to what Group Reunion means in their own lives.
Each person who experiences conversion is in need of special
understanding and assistance. The
leaders, the Spiritual Advisor and the Christian community are called to help
with the ongoing process and orientation.
The matter is serious because in a certain sense the Lord has put the
success of another's spiritual development into the hands of human beings. There is no standard procedure to follow
because there is no such thing as a standardized human being, just as there is
no standard way to rear a family or run a society or a Christian community. Each person is unique. Any process of relating must be individual
and personal as we search for effective ways of helping each individual
progress toward full Christian maturity.
In a way, all converts are kind of "prodigal," far
from their Father's house, returning to reorganize their earlier lives or to
start life anew.
1. Loneliness, in the
realm of thinking, is painful. There is
no need to try to prove this. All have
experienced it. However, it helps to
remember that Christ felt loneliness also.
Intellectual loneliness is particularly sharp. Those who have previously felt quite confident
about their insights may discover on the Cursillo Weekend that they were not
very perceptive. In fact, many of them
may have been uprooted by the cutting edge of the Gospel, and this has left
them feeling low. They consider their
current possessions as trinkets or reminders of an era in life that is no
longer relevant. They feel a kind of
gnawing emptiness, and what has been received during the Weekend seems
insufficient to ease their state of tension.
Role of the Leader: It
is important to provide tense persons with good literature, material rich with
Scripture rather than some kind of complicated psychological analysis or
simplistic interpretation of the Scriptures.
What is needed is Christian interpretation of life, which must be
discovered through the gospels. The
Spiritual Advisor and/or lay leaders have a very serious responsibility in this
area. They are relating to persons who,
in a sense, are "starving" and only the Word of God will satisfy
them.
2. Stunned, Confused:
The Gospel can be jarring, particularly when it strikes a person in the very
depths of his/ her being. The Gospel is
always a step ahead of us and may be particularly difficult for one having just
experienced the Weekend.
Role of the Leader:
The Christian community should stay by the new convert to support, encourage
and provide assurance that others understand what is being experienced.
3. Internal
Realignment: The newly converted person realizes the need for a restructuring
of life and values, both human and divine.
Because psychologically it is difficult to organize ideas and also
difficult to organize ways of making them realities, the newly converted person
will be alert to successful human models that are all around.
Role of the Leader:
All those in the supportive Christian community need to be living witnesses of
the life style they profess. The newly
converted is critically analyzing what is seen.
This inquisitive and scrutinizing approach can be easily disappointed if
the community has no spiritual depth. All
leaders need to be living models, remembering Paul's admonition: "Be
imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
4. Inner Conflict
between Past and Present: If we could picture the mind of the newly converted,
it might resemble a battlefield. There
is a continuous ebb and flow back and forth between value systems of previous
years and the Gospel message, which has now been accepted. Soon discussions begin with others about the
situation. When in the company of other
Christians, the new convert may play the role of the devil's advocate, but when
speaking with those not yet converted, he/she may enter into a heated and
sincere defense of the Gospel.
Role of the Leader:
The leaders or the Christian community need to know how to respond to this
newly converted cursillista who sincerely wants to discuss but not quarrel. If this person is blamed or misunderstood,
he/she could easily turn inward and suffer very deeply The newly converted
cursillista's situation may be much like that of an adolescent.
5. Fear of Having
Gone Overboard Emotionally: It is no secret that the heart is touched deeply
during the Cursillo. Shortly after the
Weekend, the new cursillista may ponder this conversion, admitting that the
message heard was convincing (actually it was grace), but may begin to wonder
just how much the heart rather than the intellect has been the impelling factor. This may lead to wondering whether the course
chosen can be continued.
Role of the Leader: The
Spiritual Advisor and leaders responsible must stay by the newly converted
cursillista, and by their word and example give reason to hope. At the same time, these leaders must help
this person to appreciate that there will always be tension in life.
6. Was the person
manipulated? Feeling stripped of former ideas and ideals, the new convert
begins to question whether or not he/she was manipulated or brainwashed during
the Weekend. In addition, if some
acquaintances begin now harassing about this experience, doubts will increase. Eventually, wonderment begins to set in:
"Did I kid myself? Have they put one over on me?" If this state of
mind prevails, it could result in sad consequences.
Role of the Leader: Sincerity
and simple truth are usually well taken.
There is no reason why candidates should not know that every reasonable
and legitimate means is used to bring each person to a fuller relationship with
God. This is common sense. A person's encounter with God is a serious
matter. A person's freedom is also a
serious matter. Therefore every effort
is made to eliminate anything that would serve as an obstacle to that possible
encounter. It is not only necessary to
eliminate obstacles, but also to provide the most favorable setting possible in
order for a person to meet the Lord. The
concern is not one of brainwashing but possibly of an overwhelming response
caused by an encounter with Christ. The
team studies in order to expand its understanding of the human being, and then
it makes use of basic teaching methods and insights gained through sociology,
psychology and anthropology.
A leader, a good Spiritual Advisor, a husband or wife,
should attempt to deal with a person experiencing these conflicting emotions. These leaders should be sure to be:
1. Understanding:
To comprehend is to accept this person as is.
Realize that this person is now in an internal battle stage and can fail. In fact, since the person has not yet had
time to build up sufficient virtuous support and reserve, failure is eminent. This person has not had sufficient training
or discipline to proceed along paths so narrow and demanding. This troubled state of soul is pressing, and
resolve is more or less weak.
2. Encouraging:
The newly converted cursillista needs continual encouragement and help in
developing an optimistic outlook. Optimism
can be half of the battle, and once the halfway point has been reached, there
is a likeliness to feel some degree of success.
3. Brotherly
and sisterly: If the leader and Spiritual Advisor want to be accepted as
sisters and brothers, they need to eliminate anything that appears
paternalistic, imposing or superior. It
is easier to receive criticism and praise from peers. It is comforting to know that your sisters
and brothers are at your side, especially when times are difficult.
During the Cursillo Weekends, the participants are
continually moving from feelings of ineptness to waves of elation. We must know how to deal with these emotions.
We need to help them understand that it isn't wise to make
decisions when one is emotionally or spiritually "up" or
"down." Decisions should be made when one is reasonably calm,
spiritually and emotionally. We need to
understand psychological factors and not waste time by being indifferent to
these realities.
287 Whether or not they give talks, the main
function of all the leaders of the Cursillo is to make friends with the
cursillistas, in order to make them friends of Christ. Basically they do this by;
·
being constantly at their service;
·
showing tactful interest in their problems;
·
helping them through any doubts or anxieties
they may have;
·
accompanying them along the way;
·
being living witnesses of the presence of the
Lord; and
·
bringing them before the Lord in trustful
prayer.
288 And so the Cursillo leader must
·
accept in all simplicity the trust that the
Church has placed in them, and commit themselves to being transparent signs of
the truth they are proclaiming;
·
know it is their responsibility to search long
and hard for the best ways and the right words to get at the root of whatever
problems each cursillista may be experiencing;
·
are conscious of having been chosen to be agents
of change, in order to hasten the hour of the Lord for each cursillista, with
due respect for the freedom of each;
·
are willing to let themselves be possessed and
energized by the Word that they must in some way proclaim;
·
find their strength in frequent visits to the
Blessed Sacrament, where prayer makes itself the weakness of God;
·
rely on the help of the Spirit; and
·
understand that their whole role can be reduced
to one word: service.
294 Special care must be made to avoid
revealing anything a cursillista has said in confidence. The leaders must never consider themselves
qualified to be judges or directors of anyone's conscience; they are only
instruments and witnesses of the marvels being worked by the power of the
Spirit.
296 Finally, as Leaders, we must have respect
for freedom. Freedom should be
understood in the context of what Pope Paul VI wrote in his exhortation on
Evangelization in the Modem World: "Only too often we hear it asserted in
various forms that to insist on a
truth .... is to do violence to
religious liberty...
298 The freedom of the individual must be respected,
without any reservation or condition. But
this does not negate the freedom of anyone who in a leadership capacity takes
part in a Cursillo. No one can
justifiably interpret as psychological pressure or restriction of freedom a
proclamation of the message that is made with passion and enthusiasm by someone
who is striving daily to live the Gospel fully and to be an instrument in the
hands of God so that others may come to know Him, and who thus communicates the
joy which has given meaning to his or her whole life.
So, to re-state the most important roles of a Table
Auxiliary;