You’ve heard Nicole talk about Cursillo in the past year; well, the 2019 Cursillo weekend is rapidly approaching. Are you interested? Do you KNOW what Cursillo IS?
Cursillo is a movement that seeks to deepen existing faith and strengthen the knowledge of spiritual ‘self’ and the bond between you and God—and you and your neighbor. As it is shrouded in mystery, I can’t give too much away; however, I CAN tell you that it’s well worth the time spent. I won’t lie to you: when Nicole and I were sponsored to attend Cursillo, I was more than a little skeptical. I had just arrived in Bartlesville as a recent graduate from seminary. Basically, I’d just been through a three-year spiritual/academic boot-camp. I wasn’t interested in turning around and attending a microcosm of another, shorter, and lay-led version…
I was wrong.
The weekend, while not what I expected, was far from lacking. From arrival to departure, Nic and I were enveloped into a community of people serious about their faith. This wasn’t some one-off type of ministry retreat; it was/is the real deal. And, in the vein of honesty, Nicole appreciated it much more than I did, even though I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It’s become part of her ministry, part of her spiritual practice; for that, I’m eternally grateful. Within Cursillo, she’s found a piece of herself that was previously lying dormant: A spiritual leader passionate about Christ and dedicated to leading others to Him. As for me, it was a different kind of encounter with God. I’d spent so much time ‘doing’ and ‘learning’ that I’d set my own spirituality on the back-burner, set on low-heat—a fact I hadn’t realized until a week or two AFTER we got back home. Turns out, I NEEDED the weekend. I needed a time in which I could ‘Be still and know that God was God’(Psalm 46), to ask God to ‘Open my lips so that my mouth could proclaim His praise,”(Psalm 51) and to acknowledge openly without being all ‘priesty’ that I had fallen away from the sense of joy that faith can provide, instead relying solely on study and the knowledge that I was to lead and not follow.
In short, Cursillo was graciously humbling—I walked away with a sense of calming joy, a feeling with which I hadn’t entered.
So if you’ve become a little stagnant in your faith-life, if you’ve found yourself searching for a way to engage on a deeper level, or if you’re seeking a way to serve Christ by virtue of being with others, then this weekend is for you. And…those ‘ifs’ should encompass just about everyone. I will tell you that it is a time-regimented weekend—there won’t be much ‘down-time’—so if you decide to attend, know that you’ll be swept away and engaged in some activity or another for two and a half days.
But it’s worth it. Trust me.
If you’d like to attend the upcoming weekend, March 29-31 at St. Crispin’s Conference Center+Camp, please contact Nicole Ekberg at: Nicole.ekberg@resurrectionokc.org
I hope you consider this opportunity to renew, reinvigorate, and refresh. Take care of yourselves, and I’ll see you soon.
Faithfully,
Fr. Sean+