We all know our mission statement….Love God, Serve Others, Grow Disciples. This statement is a great summary of our values at Holy Spirit, what matters to us. As with any mission statement, it serves as a guide to shared goals and ultimately to using our God-given talents to serve those goals. But actively applying those goals is where many of us, myself included, get stuck.
My name is Matt Kilroy. I have been a parishioner at Holy Spirit for over 40 years and recently assumed the role of point person for the Cursillo Movement program for our parish. I am writing this article to share with you how I learned about this program, why I decided to attend a Cursillo weekend, the benefits I gained from that weekend and finally to share information on Cursillo for anyone who is inspired to pursue the program.
Over the years I have attended many Catholic programs, Bible studies and retreats, but I still felt inadequate to the task for sharing my faith and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I recently shared this dilemma with a friend who told me about a four day program called Cursillo that he had completed. I did some investigation of my own and decided to attend the four day weekend in our area last October. It was nothing like I had ever experienced before. The primary goal of Cursillo is to help each person, in their own unique way, with their own unique talents, to provide leaven for the world where they live,
work, play…to bring Christ into our small part of the world. And I have to say this weekend gave me the courage and skills to do just that.
Cursillo is for those committed to their Catholic faith, who wants to be that leaven, want to shine Christ’s light into the world they live in. If that is you, I believe that completing a Cursillo weekend will be just the spark you need to do that.
The course is offered once per year at a parish in our diocese, with men’s and women’s Cursillo’s on separate weekends. Each weekend begins on a Thursday evening with check in and continues through Sunday evening. You will be provided with a notebook, a place to sleep, showers, and all meals Friday through Sunday. The recommended donation for the weekend is $150.
In order to register you can obtain and print a Cursillo application form from the local GR Cursillo website. Your sponsor will need to fill out the back of the form. A sponsor can be anyone who has already completed a Cursillo weekend. If you do not know any Cursillo graduates I would be happy to fill the role of sponsor for you. Once you and your sponsor have completed the form it should be mailed to Rose Compo whose address is located at the bottom of the form. The links to the local and national Cursillo websites are listed below as well as my contact information. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or if you would like assistance registering for this program.
Prayerfully consider if God is calling you to this next step in your faith journey, helping you to Love God, Serve Others, Grow Disciples. God Bless and De Colores!
Matt Kilroy: Holy Spirit Cursillo Movement Point Person
(616) 304-5718
coachkilroy@prodigy.net