In his meeting with a few thousand members of the Cursillo Movement in Italy at the end of May, our Holy Father Pope Francis encouraged the group to move toward “communion and mission” in all their activities, two words, two directions that Pope Francis uses frequently in his talks and homilies to groups within the Church.
By “communion,” the Holy Father explained that each member should “go beyond oneself and beyond one's own group to form community and grow in the Church” as “a body and never a grouping of separate and divided parts … Never isolate yourself, and never lock yourself up! Always preserve and increase the vital links with the places of communion in which we live … to build community” with other groups, at a regional level, within the Cursillo movement and with the Church as a whole.” “The great challenge” he noted “is to maintain a spirit of charity and unity that is based on the spiritual heritage accepted by all, lived out and shared by everybody, understood by and entrusted to all.
By “mission,” the Pope explained, “You have a particular charism, which has led you to rediscover and to be able to announce in a simple and direct way the essential of the Christian experience, that is, the love of God for every man and woman … so as “to experience the joy of evangelizing, in all areas of life, private and public”, also reaching out to those who are far away from the Church. These are beautiful and inspiring thoughts shared by the Holy Father and, as we gather to celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Cursillo Movement here in the Diocese of Trenton, they are advice we can take to heart.
As you well know, the Cursillos de Cristianidad is an international lay movement founded in 1944 in Spain, by a group of laymen, aimed at teaching men and women how to become effective Christian leaders in their neighborhoods, parishes, work situations, and other places where people live. The group forms Christians through spiritual formation courses (cursillos), in which they are invited to build a closer relationship with Christ and to a deeper experience of Christian community. It was officially recognized by Pope St. Paul VI, who designated the Cursillos as a renewal movement of the Church. The movement is now present in many countries across the world, including the United States (Lisa Zengarini, Vatican News, May 28, 2022). In the Diocese of Trenton, the Cursillo movement began as a Spanish-language outreach in 1971 and was introduced in English the following year. The Cursillo weekends consist of prayer, mediations, presentations led by both lay and spiritual directors and small group discussion. 50 years later, its members continue the work of evangelization of society in our four counties.
In our responsorial psalm tonight, we prayed: “I long to see your face, O Lord.” That is not only our deepest desire as Christian believers … it is what we do in the Cursillo Movement: we show the Lord’s face to one another and to those we evangelize.
Our first reading from the First Book of Kings lets us know how we encounter his presence: not with strong and noisy winds, not in earthquakes and natural disruptions, not in fire but in the tiny whispering sounds of his love and his message of compassion and mercy. Like Elijah on Mount Horeb in the Old Testament, that is where we meet the Lord. And that meeting makes us “shine like lights in the world, holding on to the word of life.” Communion and mission. Unity and Charity. Joy and Evangelization. These are the traits the Cursillo Movement has brought to life throughout the Diocese of Trenton for 50 years. May they continue to be our way of life!