Cursillo

Cursillo is more than the weekend retreat it appears to be. “The Cursillo weekend is the doorway into the movement,” said Rev. Daniel Hyman, pastor, St. Thomas More Student Parish, Kalamazoo, and the English Cursillo spiritual advisor, who made his Cursillo in 2013. “The weekend is just the beginning of what is to come.”
 
And what is to come can last a lifetime. Just ask Dave Spear, who made his Cursillo in 1964 as a 29-year-old father of five. Today, he sits on the English Cursillo Secretariat.
 
“Cursillo is an experience where Christ touches you very deeply,” Spear said. “There are times you fall away and disregard what God is trying to tell you, and there are other times you come back. Cursillo is what helps you come back.”
 
A laity-born, laity-led movement, Cursillo began in Spain in 1949 to rekindle the fire of people’s faith. After an intensive three-day weekend, the new cursillistas return to their parishes to invigorate their brothers and sisters.
 
The movement spread quickly, reaching more than 60 countries and 1,500 dioceses, including Kalamazoo.
      
“Cursillo helped me to be evangelized and to evangelize,” said Rev. German Perez, Pastor, Immaculate Conception Parish, Hartford, and the Spanish Cursillo spiritual advisor, who made his Cursillo in his native Colombia in 1987. “Pope Francis is inviting us to the new evangelization, and Cursillo gives us the tools.”
   
 The Kalamazoo Cursillo Movement fell quiet in 1993, but it did not disappear. With the blessing of Bishop James Murray in 2006, Father German and neighboring cursillistas revitalized the Spanish movement.
 
At the urging of Father German and Englishspeaking cursillistas, Bishop Paul J. Bradley appointed Father Daniel Hyman as spiritual advisor for the English movement in 2013, which had its first Cursillo later that year.
 
Both movements have hosted two annual Cursillo weekends ever since.
 
Prayer wraps around each Cursillo weekend and each candidate.
 
“The purpose of the Cursillo is to encounter Christ and then share him with others,” said Sharon Matkin, English lay director, who made her Cursillo in 2009.
 
The Cursillo team itself spends months preparing and praying for each weekend.
 
 “Team formation assures a spirit of charity throughout the weekend,” Matkin said.
 
The weekend takes the candidates through an encounter with self, Jesus, and others. “Rollos” or talks anchor this journey — most from the laity, some from the priest, but all inspired by the Holy Spirit.
 
“The Holy Spirit just dominates the retreat,” Father Hyman said. “I don’t mean that in a charismatic way, I mean the Holy Spirit just floods the retreat and you can watch people’s lives change.”
 
 Jeff Chancey, a member of the English Secretariat, who made his Cursillo in 2017, remarked, “You have this newfound joy, and and want to encourage others to make a Cursillo.”
 
Spanish and English speakers take separate weekends, as the organizer’s believe that a participant’s native language is best for learning and sharing. Men and women take separate weekends for a similar reason.
 
“Once a Catholic takes the first step of attending a Cursillo weekend, it will bring change in a positive way,” said Dave Garwood, a member of the English Secretariat, who made his Cursillo in 1977. “Once the weekend is made, the candidates become cursillistas living out their fourth day in the perpetual Cursillo experience.” Cursillistas do not walk alone, but regularly “group” with other cursillistas for support.
 
“The main purpose of the weekend is to put us all on the same page,” Matkin said. “The group reunion is where we share with one another, empower one another and hold accountable one another.”
 
Ultreyas, the cursillistas name for gatherings, unite these groups, with music, food and inspirational talks. Last summer, the diocese hosted a Grand Ultreya, which united the Spanish and English movements for prayer, fellowship and support.
 
 “That is the beauty of Cursillo,” Matkin said.  “We are a family.”
 
And that family is always looking to grow.
 
“The basics of Cursillo are pretty simple,” Matkin said. “Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ.”
 
INTERESTED IN MAKING A CURSILLO? English Cursillos take place at the Amigo Retreat Centre in Sturgis. The next men’s Cursillo is March 14-17, 2019. The next women’s will be October 17-20, 2019. Spanish Cursillos take place at St. Joseph Parish in Kalamazoo. The next men’s weekend is October 3-6, 2019. The next women’s weekend is October 10-13, 2019. For more information or to download an application, go to www.kalamazoocursillo.com.
 
ARE YOU A CURSILLISTA? GO TO WWW.KALAMAZOOCURSILLO.COM TO SIGN UP FOR A NEWSLETTER AND/OR CONTACT MIKE METZGER AT [email protected].
 
NEED MORE INFORMATION? CONTACT JEFF CHANCEY AT LAKESTATE1985@ GMAIL.COM WITH YOUR QUESTIONS.