To: Metuchen Cursillo Community

From: Dr. Anthony Tangorra, Lay Director

Subject: Metuchen School of Leaders

 

 

 

 

 

“Men do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket. They set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father.”    Matthew 5:15-16

 

 

 

 

 

Our main goal this year (as it will be for several years to come) has been for us, as leaders, to improve our knowledge of Cursillo’s purpose and method in order to fully acquire the Cursillo mentality and communicate it to others. Now, what is this Cursillo mentality, spiritually or way of thinking? The School of Leaders determines the Spirituality and Culture of the Metuchen Diocese Cursillo and elects both the weekend teams and Secretariat. To explain it we will look briefly at the four essential and basic attitudes that Cursillo leaders need to have.*

1. We see our roles as Cursillo leaders as callings from God- vocations. It is no accident that the Lord has called each of us for each of us is part of the total plan of God. In Romans 8:28-30, St Paul says: “He has called us according to His purpose. He called those He intended. Those He called, He justified, and with those He justified, He shared His glory.” If we see where we are today as an answer to a calling-as vocation-we need to realize that no one fulfills their calling overnight. A vocation evolves and develops, and we need to closely examine our acceptance of that call, our response to that call, our commitment to that call. If we recognize and accept that it is a call from the Lord, then our work in the Cursillo Movement will be our primary apostolate. Because God invites us, the vocation of Cursillo is an investment of time, talent and yes, sometimes treasure. It is no accident that we are where we are today---leaders in the Cursillo Movement.
2. We realize that Cursillo leaders are first of all Church leaders. Our works, our decisions, must reflect the mind of the Church, the mind of Jesus. Because of our call to be leaders in the Church, we must be faithful to her message, which is the message of Jesus. We are ministers within the Cursillo Movement in the Church, not masters. There is no ownership; we never will “have it all together.” A Cursillo leader/Church leader must constantly be open to conversion and renewal (our Christian journey). By being faithful to the tripod of Piety/Holiness, Study/Formation, and Action/Evangelization, we have the means to continually examine our behavior and our attitude in the light of what it is that Church leaders are called to be. A mind involved in the apostolic work of the church must be a mind governed by the spirit of Jesus.
3. Being responsible for the development of our own individual formation is another important part of developing the Cursillo mentality. On the Cursillo weekend we present to the candidates a need to commit themselves to growth in Piety/Holiness, Study/Formation, and Action/Evangelization. As leaders we must make special efforts to deepen our own commitment to be truly formed and to continue that formation. We cannot give what we do not have. Remember, “we are a pilgrim people, always in process, always growing so we must continue our formation, scripturally, prayerfully, and apostolically.”**
4. We develop a lay spirituality in order to evangelize the environments in which we live. Ours is not a monastic type of spirituality nor is it one vowed to God in a religious community. In the section of the Vatican II report that deals with the laity, it says: “We are called there by God so that by exercising our proper function and being led by the spirit of the gospel, we can work for the sanctification of the world from within in the manner of leaven.” In this way we can make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope, and charity. In other words, religion in our life is to be totally integrated. Our life should be the gospel being lived in the world. Our spirituality is that total integration of who and what and how we do things. Our spirituality must be our life. Our spirituality must be authentic and observable. God does not remove us from the world; rather, He asks that we make that world truly His world by our presence.

To develop this mentality a core of leaders must live the Cursillo method themselves, and they must come together to pray, study, and build a Christian community of service through a School of Leaders. The only way to build community is by praying, sharing, and studying together so we have our monthly sessions of the School of Leaders.

In the next few weeks I ask each one of you to pray about your role in the Metuchen Diocese Cursillo Movement. If you want to be asked to serve on our teams, you need to attend the School of Leaders. If you are a Group Leader or Ultreya Facilitator or you want to be asked to serve as one in the future, the School of Leaders is for you. If you have served on a weekend Team, or you want to be asked to serve as one in the future, you should attend the School of Leaders. If you would like to be elected to serve on the Secretariat or asked to serve on a Section Committee, the School of Leaders is for you. If you are trying to discern if you have a call to make the Movement your primary apostolate whether you are a new Cursillista who has been grouping and attending Ultreya for a year or a Cursillista of several years, you should attend the School of Leaders. Each one of you can make a great contribution to the Cursillo Movement as you progress on your faith journey and answer Christ’s call to serve His Church in a special way.

*Leaders Guide on the School of Leaders, p 1-7 ( A National Ultreya Publication)

 

Please attend our School of Leaders meeting, each third Friday 7:30 p.m., at St Bernards Bridgewater, the beginning of the “Core Function” of our Cursillo movement throughout the Diocese of Metuchen.  Father Ronald Janderana is Director of our new School of Leaders.

 

De Colores

 

Dr. Tony Tangorra Jr.

Cursillo Lay Director

Diocese of Metuchen