Cursillo Dear Anthony as I

Cursillo

Dear Anthony

As I know you are curious about spiritual matters, I urge you to investigate the Cursillo Movement. The Cursillo Movement has been around for about fifty years. It started in Spain, by a Bishop of the Catholic Church who found that there was a "lack of vitality" in the Church (Carroll & McCormick 1969). The original aim of the movement was to "make Christianity seem more natural courageous, joyful, and to develop a feeling of brotherhood among Christians," (Carroll & McCormick 1969). Short (1993) refers to the Cursillo Movement as "making the extraordinary ordinary," which is the subtitle of his book Religious Experience in the Cursillo Movement. Because you are a highly social young man who has insatiable intellectual curiosity, I believe the Cursillo Movement will help you grow.

The Cursillo Movement is based on communicating spiritual ideas and making Christianity more accessible to our friends, neighbors, and loved ones. I believe many people find the Church and religion in general to be irrelevant in the modern society. It doesn't have to be. The Cursillo Movement is highly practical, which is why it is applied to real-life situations. The movement shows how Christianity can help people like you and me cope with and understand the events that shape our lives. In fact, the Cursillo Movement has had a great impact on people of color and people living in developing nations. For example, Justus M. van der Kroef points out how the Cursillo Movement was instrumental in helping people in the Philippines rekindle their love for Jesus Christ and Christianity in general (1966).

The National Curcillo Center of the United States (2010) claims that Cursillo is best defined as "a movement that, through a method of its own tries to, and through God's grace manages to; enable the essential realities of the Christian to come to life in the uniqueness, originality, and creativity of each person." The Cursillo Movement will help you become more aware of your strengths, talents, and weaknesses so that you can become the best person you can be. Moreover, the Cursillo Movement is designed specifically for social settings. Although many mystics have helped us to understand Christ better, Christianity is not a religion of isolation. The Cursillo Movement reminds each of us that the message of Christ was delivered in a social setting. It was as if Jesus Christ had access to social networking only he did not have a Facebook page. Now, the Cursillo Movement allows us to network with numerous people, even those who we have yet to meet. You have access to social networking sites, which lend themselves to the types of spiritual exercises that the Cursillo Movement entails.

Carroll & McCormick (1969) describe the Cursillo Movement as "an exercise in communication; an exercise in learning to live with one's fellow man, a shared spiritual experience." When we normally go to Church, the spiritual message is sometimes lost because we seem personally removed from the priest. The Priest is speaking to the entire congregation at once. The mass is a ritual that has little in the way of personal meaning, even if we do know that we are being spiritually nourished. We might not even speak to the person sitting next to us in Church. The Cursillo Movement changes the whole approach to Christian worship. We are encouraged to make mass more meaningful by communicating with our family and friends, and by discovering what Christianity means to us personally. You are one of the most social people I know. I have always been impressed by the ease with which you make friends, and how loyal your friends have become to you. I have also noticed that you seem happiest when you are with your friends and it is not like you to develop a spirituality that is too mystical or inward-seeking. Yours is the spirituality of communication, which is why I would like to introduce you to the Cursillo Movement. The essence of the Cursillo Movement is brotherhood (Carroll & McCormick 1969). The experience of brotherhood is what will inspire you to deepen your relationship with God as well as with yourself and with those around you.

Another reason why I believe you will appreciate the Cursillo Movement is that it is progressive. One of the reasons why the movement has become popular in developing nations as well as among inmates is because Cursillo sends the message of personal empowerment via Christianity. You do not need to surrender your personal will to embrace God, the movement teaches us. According to the National Cursillo Center (2010), the purpose of the movement is "to facilitate and make possible for every person to encounter oneself always and absolutely essential in order to be able to encounter God and others." In the Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo Movement, the World Organization of the Cursillo Movement (1992) refers to how we can all become progressive Christians by interacting with others and embracing Christ.

The Cursillo Movement has been applied in numerous settings such as in prisons and in politically disenfranchised communities around the world. As a teenager, you can especially appreciate the need for a spiritual movement to speak to you directly, empowering you with respect. This is the core goal of the Cursillo Movement: to offer an experience of the true Christian community. You talk about "keeping it real," and nothing can be more real than the interactive, collaborative, hands-on approach that the Cursillo Movement entails. You as an adolescent do not need or want the type of Christianity that is going to tell you only what is right and wrong without backing up those ideas. You want tangible proof that the religion you have chosen is right for you and will help you become a better person. The Cursillo Movement gives you that freedom of choice and ability to think critically for yourself.

Finally, I am suggesting the Cursillo Movement above all because it is practical. The movement offers what can best be described as crash courses -- which is where the word cursillo comes from. Through these crash courses, you learn in an intense, hands-on environment such as at a camp. I think you will thrive in such a setting because you will be communicating regularly with your classmates about deep issues. This is not like ordinary Sunday school where you are sitting at your desk just like you are in high school. Instead, you are asked how Christianity applies to the world we live in. You will be asked to creatively apply Christian ideals to things like starting your own business. Look at the Cursillo Movement as an opportunity to meet new people and make contacts for your future. You will collaborate with others, solving problems in ethical and spiritual ways.

The Cursillo Movement will empower you so that you have the tools and techniques to become a leader. I'm not saying that you can't become a leader without the Cursillo Movement, but I am saying that the Cursillo Movement will help you become a better leader. What you take out of the course is entirely up to you; in fact, I believe that you take out what you put in.

You once indicated that you did not feel connected at all to the Catholic Church and that you were starting to question your own beliefs about God. It is difficult to imagine why the Catholic Church remains relevant in the 21st century, especially with the recent scandals that have plagued the Vatican. The Cursillo Movement helps you to distill the essence of Christianity while remaining true to your ethical beliefs. I also question the authority of the Vatican and wonder how I can reconcile my personal spirituality with Church dogma.