A Publication of the Cursillo Movement of the Albany ...

A Publication of the Cursillo Movement of the Albany Diocese

VOLUME 2017, ISSUE 2

APRIL 2017

Message from the Spiritual Advisor

Message from the Lay Directors

It is a treat to look out the window and see the sun shining. I guess scientifically speaking it was always shining but maybe I just couldn't see it. Why is it that I have to ask myself. Springtime is a great time to remind ourselves to slow down, pay attention and become aware of all the new life that is beginning around us and to look with new eyes. Take time to smell the flowers, notice the needs of others and share a story with a friend. As we plant and water our gardens why not spend some time considering the question "What do I need in order to grow and to help others grow?" Rejoice is the word of the Easter season, be glad and be filled with hope. Sometimes that is easier said than done as we witness the suffering that surrounds us. Let us continue to support one another with our presence and our prayer. May we find inner peace and joy even in the midst of difficult situations. Why not pause and take time to enjoy nature; dust off that book you wanted to read; take time to visit a friend; at the least relax with a "minute vacation ". Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice."

It is spring and time to begin anew! De Colores, Sister Monica

On April 29th (see page 3 for details) we are having a Workshop. Everyone who has been on team, is on team this year and who wants to be on team in the future is especially encouraged to attend.

We longer term Cursillistas will benefit from a refresher that can help remind us of the essentials of our movement and assist us in helping newer Cursillistas. Actually everyone can benefit by attending this workshop. We look forward to seeing you!

(events relating to Cursillo Weekends) June 10--Commissioning/Picnic Aug. 18--Holy Hour Men's Weekend Aug. 24-27--Men's Weekend Sept. 22--Holy Hour Women's Weekend Sept. 28--Oct. 1--Women's Weekend October 22--Reunions Men/Women's

Weekends/Diocesan Ultreya

It is hard to believe that it is finally Spring with the cold weather that we have been having. As we all know though Spring will come in all its glory as will Easter. For now though we are still in Lent. Our Gospel reading the First Sunday in Lent was

about Jesus in the desert and brings to mind how we all have desert times in our lives. Can we sit quietly in prayer and listen for the voice of our God (our piety)? What do we do to help each other through these desert times? We have seen Jesus on the mountaintop in the second Sunday of Lent and been reminded that we can't spend our life on the mountaintop (on a Cursillo weekend), but must come down and minister to God's people (our action). During the liturgy for the Third Sunday in Lent, Jesus met the Samaritan Woman, the outsider, the rejected and we recall that we are called to be in relationship with each other (our small groups and Ultreyas) and that we are called to invite others into relationship. How can we bring others to the Living Waters offered by Jesus (make a friend, be a friend, bring your friend to Christ) In the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday Jesus encounters the blind man and we are reminded that we all need healing in one way or another and how we must help each other to heal. Where is the blindness in our lives. Where do we need sight, light? Do we remember to look at our environments and our faith to see where we are being called (our study)? The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday tells us of Jesus and the death of his friend Lazarus. It speaks to us of the experience we have all had, the death of a loved one and how we can find rest and consolation in our friends and our God. We pray that your Lenten journey has been fruitful. We pray that you have found time for Prayer, Study and Action. As Easter fast approaches we wish you many blessings and great gladness as we joyfully proclaim `He is alive!'

De Colores,

Linda and Tom

Men's Weekend August 24 -- August 27, 2017 Dominican Retreat & Conference Center

Women's Weekend September 28 -- October 1, 2017 Dominican Retreat & Conference Center

Apr 11

6:30pm

Apr 16

Apr 25

7:00pm

Apr 29

9am-3pm

Apr 25

7:00pm

May 9

6:30pm

May 17 TBD

May 23 7:00pm

June 10 11:00am

June 13 6:30pm

June 27 7:00pm

Aug 18 TBD

Aug 24-27

Sept 9

Sept 12 6:30pm

Sept 22 TBD

Sept 26 7:00pm

Sept 28-Oct 1

School of Leaders, St. Jude the Apostle School, Wynantskill Easter Secretariat Cursillo Workshop, Transfiguration Parish, Troy Secretariat, St. Edwards, Clifton Park School of Leaders, St. Jude the Apostle School, Wynantskill Information Night Prospective Candidates, TBD Secretariat Commissioning/Picnic, St. Pius X, Loudonville/The Crossings, Colonie School of Leaders, St. Jude the Apostle School, Wynantskill Secretariat, St. Edwards, Clifton Park Holy Hour Men's Weekend, Men's Weekend Pyramid Life Center with overnight option School of Leadrs, St. Jude the Apostle School, Wynantskill Holy Hour Women's Weekend Secretariat, St. Edward's, Clifton Park Women's Weekend

Nearly fifty friends gathered for a potluck meal and an Ultreya at the Corpus Christi parish hall on January 29th. The Ultreya and Group Reunion, provide us with the spiritual food and emotional strength to sustain us on our mission. The bonds of friendship and the tripod of piety, study, and action that give us perseverance are developed and maintained in Group Reunion and Ultreya. These friendships and the enlightenments that Jesus gives us on our journey are forged and tempered in His Holy Name so that we may carry on His work.

We opened our Ultreya with a moment of silence and in our circle, an empty chair draped with a prayer shawl for a familiar friend, Sandy

IMO Sandy Haas Haas, who went to be with the Lord in December. As we went around the circle for introductions, we found many in our group

to have made their weekend outside of Albany and a few people who came along to see what Cursillo is all about. We are thankful that they found us and welcome our new friends!

The beatitudes were the main theme of our meditation and these magnificent verses provide a great deal to reflect upon. After grouping and a social break, we heard from our witness on one of the tripod legs, action. Her talk was reflective. While trials are an inevitable part of life, they present opportunities to plant seeds and to find moments of joy in the suffering. Hugh led us in song throughout the event.

We are grateful to those who participated in the Ultreya, especially our witness and to anyone who helped out in any way to make this a positive and encouraging event.

By Wendy Marino, Post-Cursillo Chair

Saturday, April 29, 2017 9:00am - 3:00pm

Transfiguration Parish, 50 Hillview Drive, Troy

Team members on the 2017 weekends and those who would like to be on team in the future are strongly encouraged to attend.

Topics to be covered:

We will provide a light breakfast and lunch. There will be a free will offering to reduce costs of the workshop.

Please RSVP so we can order enough food.

All Cursillistas are welcome, especially new Cursillistas, those who expect to be on a team and those who want a refresher. Our job is to grow in faith together and build strong leaders. Here's an opportunity to do just that.

RSVP to Wendy at marino_w@ or call 518-280-0338 and leave message

The Albany Diocesean Cursillo Community has a new website through WordPress. The new website is user

friendly & will serve as the go-to place for information about upcoming events as well as resources about the

Cursillo movement. It is a "work in progress" as we make adjustments to the content and what kinds of infor-

mation we will post on this site. Our new web master is Rich Athens and we thank him for volunteering for this

job! We especially thank Carl Rosenthal, who has volunteered for so many years to manage and maintain the

Cursillo website, which used a program that is just too old to continue to use with all the new website technolo-

gy available now.

We invite all Cursillistas to review the new website and give us feedback to help me and Secretariat members

improve and enable the site to attain our communication goals for the movement. The link remains the same:

albany/ You can email me at mlbeehner@ with comments or call me 518-

581-0742.

By Harrilyn Beehner, Pre-Cursillo Chair

There is an information night scheduled at 7pm on May 17, 2017, at Our Lady of the Assumption Church located at 498 Watervliet Shaker Rd. in Latham, NY. As we did last year, the purpose of this gathering is to provide information about Cursillo to prospective candidates. This gathering can help you if you wish to sponsor a candidate and would like more information to share with them. If you are thinking of sponsoring someone, or know someone who would like to learn more about Cursillo, we encourage you to have them attend. If at all possible you should attend with them, but if you can't, let me know they will be attending by themselves. Several Cursillistas will share how Cursillo made a difference in their lives.

There will be pamphlets and other information about Cursillo available as well as light refreshments.

If you are attending and bringing a candidate or if you have questions, please contact me at mlbeehner@ or call 581-0742.

By Harrilyn Beehner, Pre-Cursillo Chair

Simon of Cyrene carries Jesus' Cross. We were on the fifth station of the cross and I was sitting in the pew at St. Peter's parish in Saratoga Springs thinking about Jesus' cross. How difficult it must have been for him to carry, the weight of it, the harshness of the bare wood,

against skin that had been torn apart by whips during the flogging. It must have been impossible to go on another step. Then Simon is thrust into the scene to pick up the cross. Jesus could just walk for a little while. Simon may have been just a reluctant person in the crowd. I wonder if they glanced at each other. The glance from Jesus. What did Simon see in those eyes? Perhaps his humility, his gratefulness, his compassion and love, his forgiveness, perhaps the end goal of saving us? As difficult as it is to deal with our own crosses or challenges, we are also called to relieve others in their difficulties, being Christ for them, even when we are a reluctant passerby, when we are

tired or when it is inconvenient. Our action, whatever amount we can give, may just end up being their first real encounter with the Gospel message. Our example and our witness are often the best tools for evangelization.

A little over 30 of us braved the cold and were rewarded with a warm bowl of soup, delicious bread and salads on Friday night, March 24th at St. Peter's parish. Later we moved into the church for the Stations of the Cross. Deacon Ed Solomon led our group in a beautiful interpretation of the stations. Were you there when they Crucified my Lord, we gently sang after each station.

Thank you to all who helped set up, brought food, cleaned up and did a reading. A special thank you to Deacon Ed and to Cheryl Dudinetz for their assistance in organizing the event in their home parish. We are halfway through Lent and we keep on going; recommitting to our sacrifices, our prayers and our giving. Because we know what is coming.

By Wendy Marino, Post-Cursillo Chair

Check the NEW Albany Cursillo website for complete and current Cursillo News. It can still be found at: albany/

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download