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Leader's School
Thur June 6, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
RE classroom #8

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Fri June 7, 7:00pm
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Ultreya-BA
Fri June 21, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA

Leader's School
Thur July 11, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA
RE classroom #8

Ultreya-Tulsa
Fri July 5, 7:00pm
St. Mary's, Tulsa

Ultreya-BA
Fri July 19, 7:00pm
St. Benedict's, BA

Men's Weekend #30
Sept 26-29, 2002
St. John's, McAlester

Women's Weekend #30
Oct 10-13, 2002
St. John's, McAlester

 

History The Weekend The Fourth Day The Movement Pope on Cursillo
Pope John Paul II

Press Release on the Holy Father's visit to the World Ultreya, July 29, 2000

The Holy Father's remarks to the World Ultreya

The Holy Father's Remarks during his Angelus Message of July 30, 2000

"Cursillos" Celebrate Jubilee with Pope

Holy Father Calls for Remaking of Christian Fabric of Society

VATICAN CITY, JULY 30 (ZENIT.org).- Dances, songs, and flags from all over the world were part of the setting for John Paul II's meeting yesterday with 20,000 members of the "Cursillos de Cristiandad," an apostolic movement present in some 60 countries, and numbering some 5 million adherents.

Fifty-one years after the foundation of this movement in Palma de Mallorca, the directors decided to hold the movement's third world meeting or "Ultreya," as it is commonly known, in the Vatican.

John Paul II was determined to meet the members of this movement; he briefly interrupted his stay in Castel Gandolfo, and arrived at the Vatican's small heliport shortly before 7 p.m. After crossing the Arch of the Bells, he drove into St. Peter's Square, greeting all those present. He received a floral tribute from children in the atrium and was greeted by Frances Ruppert, the Cursillos' world president.

The Pope then encouraged the gathered crowd to be witnesses to the presence of Christ for the men and women of the 21st century. "This is even more urgent today, as entire countries and nations, where Christian religion and life once flourished, and was capable of giving life to communities of living and working faith, are now subject to harsh trial by the continuous spread of indifference, secularism, and atheism," he added.

"In face of this situation, which is a challenge to believers to remake the Christian fabric of human society, through the insertion of 'new men and women' for the encounter with Christ, the Cursillos' method attempts to change the environment where people live and work in a Christian way," the Holy Father said.

All those present responded to the Pope's words with prolonged applause. The most numerous and noisy were the Spanish. Along with them, was a large contingent from the Fatima diocese, led by their Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva.

Individualism and relativism are the great challenges for Christianity at this time, according to the Pontiff. "In face of a culture that also frequently denies the existence of an objective Truth of universal value, and that often sinks in the shifting sands of nihilism, believers must be able to indicate clearly that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Therefore, addressing the millions of members around the world, the Pope said: "To you, who opened your heart wide to him, Christ himself asks that you tirelessly announce him to whomever has yet to accept him. He asks you to place yourself in his service, at the service of his Truth that make one free."

Around 8 p.m., as the sun was setting, John Paul II bid farewell to the pilgrims and returned to Castel Gandolfo. The III World "Ultreya" of the Cursillos of Christianity continued well into the night, framed by Bernini's colonnade, and absorbed in the testimonies of representatives from around the world.

 

 

Remarks of Pope John Paul II at the World Ultreya


To The "Cursillos De Cristiandad Movement

Christ is calling you to serve his Truth

 "You who have generously opened your hearts to Jesus are being asked by him to proclaim his name untiringly to those who do not yet know him", the Holy Father said on Saturday, 29 July, to the thousands of members of the Cursillos de Cristiandad Movement who had come to Rome during the Jubilee Year for their Third World Ultreya. The Pope reminded them that the "more transparent this "diakonia of the truth' becomes in your daily lives, the more convincing it will be". Also attending the meeting was a pilgrim group from the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, Portugal, and faithful from Poland. Here is a translation of the Holy Father's address, which was given in Italian, Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese and Polish. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters! 

1. I am pleased to extend my affectionate greeting to all of you who have come here from the five continents for the Third World Ultreya of the Cursillos de Cristiandad, the Ultreya of the Great Jubilee. Thank you for your visit and welcome to all. 

I greet the Spanish-speaking cursillistas who have come from America and from Spain, recalling that this apostolic experience was founded in Palma de Mallorca by Bishop Juan Hervás, the zealous Pastor of that ecclesial community. 

I welcome each one of you and encourage you to make this Ultreya of the Great Jubilee a time of renewed commitment to holiness of life and to the apostolate. 

I extend a cordial welcome to all the French-speaking participants. 

I very cordially greet all who are with us from German-speaking countries. May this celebration strengthen your faith. 

I greet the President of the World Organization of the Cursillos de Cristiandad and thank him for his cordial words to me in your name, and for presenting your movement's apostolic commitment and the good which the Lord works through you. I greet the movement's founders, spiritual leaders and various officers. Your presence here, so varied and festive, shows that the tiny seed planted in Spain more than 50 years ago has become a great tree laden with fruits of the Spirit. Indeed, it continues to be a successful response to the question asked by my venerable Predecessor Pope Paul VI at the first world Ultreya in Rome:  "Can the Gospel still win over the mature person ... in urban and rural cultures?" (AAS, 58, 1966, 503). 

You transform the world by becoming new men and women 

I am therefore delighted to join in your thanksgiving to the Lord for all he has done and never ceases to do in the Church through the Cursillos de Cristiandad. 

The theme of this world Ultreya - "Evangelizing the Milieus of the Third Millennium:  A "Challenge' for the Cursillos de Cristiandad" - demonstrates your effort to repropose the experience of Christ to the men and women of the 21st century with new means and enthusiasm. This has become even more urgent, since "whole countries and nations, where religion and the Christian life were formerly flourishing and capable of fostering a viable and working community of faith, are now put to a hard test ... as a result of the constant spread of indifference to religion, of secularism and atheism" (Christifideles laici, n. 34). 

2. In view of this situation which challenges believers to "remake the Christian fabric of the ecclesial community" (ibid.), the Cursillo method aims at helping to transform in a Christian way the milieus where people live and work through the involvement of "new men and women" who have become such from their encounter with Christ. This is the goal of the three-day "little course" on Christianity, in which a team of priests and lay people, supported by the prayer and sacrifices of the movement's other members, communicate the fundamental truths of the Christian faith in an especially "living" way. When presented in this way, the message of Christ almost always opens participants in a cursillo to the gift of conversion and to a deeper awareness of the Baptism they have received and of their own mission in the Church. They feel called to be the prophetic "leaven" which is kneaded into the dough so that the whole mass will rise (Mt 13: 33), to be the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world" (Mt 5: 13-14), to proclaim to everyone they meet that only in Jesus Christ is there salvation (Acts 4: 12), and that it is "only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear" (Gaudium et spes, n. 22). 

3. Dear brothers and sisters, be the courageous witnesses of the "service of the Truth" and work ceaselessly with the "strength of communion". In relying on your rich spiritual experiences, which are a treasure, take up the "challenge" that our time raises to the new evangelization and fearlessly give it your own response. 

Faced with a culture that often denies the very existence of an objective Truth of universal value and frequently loses its way in the "shifting sands" of nihilism (cf. Fides et ratio, n. 5), the faithful must know how to show clearly that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (cf. Jn 14: 6). 

You who have generously opened your hearts to Jesus are being asked by him to proclaim his name untiringly to those who do not yet know him. He is calling you to his service, to the service of his Truth, the truth which makes us free. 

The more transparent this "diakonia of the truth" becomes in your daily lives, the more convincing it will be. As you are reminded in a prayer often used in the Cursillo Movement, "Christ has no hands, he has only our hands to change the world today. Christ has no feet, he has only our feet to lead this world to himself. Christ has no lips, he has only our lips to speak to the people". 

Carry out your apostolate in harmony with the Church 

4. This is your apostolate, carried out in constant harmony with the Church, to show the "strength of communion" which is at once the style and the very essence of the People of God. As you face the various forms of individualism which fragment and divide your evangelizing ability and resources, join your missionary forces with those of the various ecclesial groups raised up by the Spirit in the Church of our time. Endeavour to restore the beauty of the first Christian communities which prompted pagans to say with admiration:  "See how they love one another!". And always be docile to the directives of the Magisterium. No charism, in fact, dispenses you from referring and submitting to the Pastors of the Church, whose discernment is a guarantee of fidelity for the charism itself. May the Jubilee celebration instil in all of you a renewed fidelity to your original inspiration and a firmer ecclesial communion. 

Many people are looking to you for the light of faith 

5. "Bright colours deck the fields in springtime. 

Bright colours clothe the little birds outside. 

Bright colours paint the rainbow we see shining...". 

During the days of a cursillo, the words of this popular Spanish song help the participants to reflect on the multifaceted beauty of creation. In encountering Christ, you have learned to look with new eyes at others and at nature, at everyday events and at life in general. You have experienced that true happiness is found in following the Lord. This personal and community experience must be passed on to others. Many men and women of our time, who unfortunately turn away from God, expect from you the light of faith that will help them rediscover the colours of life and the happiness of feeling loved by God. 

"Courage! Ultreya! Go forth!", the Successor of Peter repeats to you today. Look to Mary, an example of unfailing fidelity to God, and, like her, put your trust in every circumstance in God, the Father of Mercy, who guards your steps on the way of truth and love. 

I extend the same cordial greetings to all the other pilgrims who have gathered here. In particular, to those of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, led by their Pastor, dear Bishop Serafim:  

Dear brothers and sisters! 

Two months have passed since I had the pleasure of being among you, enjoying your warm hospitality and witnessing your radiant joy at seeing the holiness of two of your compatriots confirmed:  Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto. In seeing you here today - as the chosen representatives of this local Church - I see my visit repaid:  you have come to the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles in a spirit of prayer and penance to implore pardon and forgiveness, and to renew your dedicated commitment to that work of divinizing humanity which began 2,000 years ago with the birth of the God made man. 

I cordially greet the whole Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, with my wish that this Great Jubilee of the Incarnation will be for you all that "year of the Lord's favour" which became a reality with Jesus and in Jesus (cf. Lk 4: 19-21), so that you can hope confidently in the power of his message and saving work, love everyone with self-giving love and reparation for the ingratitude to God of so many, and witness to faith courageously and consistently in today's society. 

May the Virgin Most Holy, mystically present in your Marian shrines, the most distinguished of which, by her choice, is the Shrine of Fátima, grant you her motherly guidance on your journey of penance and conversion, and support you in the fulfilment of your good intentions for your Diocese and for the world's salvation. 

I cordially greet the pilgrims from Poland who have come to this meeting. I thank you for your commitment to the new evangelization and to building the civilization of love and solidarity in the world. The Church needs you! She needs your Christian attitude and your holiness, so that she can carry out the great work of salvation in the world. 

I affectionately assure you of a constant remembrance in my prayer and impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all, as a pledge of abundant divine graces. 

 

Remarks of Pope John Paul II during his Angelus Message of July 30, 2000, discussing the movement 

CHRISTIANITY IS AN ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS, NOT MERELY A DOCTRINE

Pope Analyzes Revolution of New Movements and Communities

CASTEL GANDOLFO, JULY 30 (ZENIT.org).- "Christianity cannot be reduced to a doctrine, or simple principles," John Paul II said today, alerting his listeners against a stagnant idea of Christian life. In fact, the Holy Father added, "Christ, the center of Christianity, is alive and his presence is the event that constantly renews the human creature and the cosmos."

Today was a special Sunday for John Paul II. On one hand, the people of Castel Gandolfo, located some 30 kilometers from Rome, where the Pope is spending the rest of the summer, were celebrating their "peach festival": a typical noisy summer celebration of good food. The Holy Father also received the visit of the group "Festival of the New Roman Song on Tour," at his summer residence. On the other hand, with no space left in the patio of the papal residence, members of the "Cursillos de Cristiandad," who celebrated their Jubilee in Rome over the weekend, were connected live from the Vatican General Audience Hall with Castel Gandolfo for the traditional Angelus prayer.

The Pope had vivid memories of his afternoon meeting in St. Peter's Square with 20,000 members of that movement from around the world. In fact, it was contact with the members of this movement, born 50 years ago in Spain and boasting a following of 5 million throughout the world, that inspired the topic the Holy Father addressed this Sunday.

John Paul II said that what characterized the "Cursillos de Cristiandad," as well as similar ecclesial movements, "is the new evangelization of adults." Over the past half century, these realities have caused a genuine revolution in the Catholic Church: "The Christian message is proposed through times of intense spiritual experience, capable of making one rediscover the beauty of encountering Christ and of being Church, as well as the joy of fraternity and reciprocal service, permeating the whole of life with a Christian spirit."

The demand of integral Christianity -- that no reductions be made when it comes to truth -- at the same time, knows how to measure itself against history and modernity. It marked the whole of the last century and emerged with force during Vatican Council II," the Holy Father added.

Thus the Pope explained the motive that gave life to these new movements and communities, which on other occasions he has referred to as  a "springtime of the Spirit": "Through the unfolding of what at times were dramatic events of the past decades, the Church has understood ever more clearly that its task is care and responsibility for men and women, not in the 'abstract,' but the 'real,' 'specific,' and 'historical.' The Church incessantly offers Christ, the only Redeemer of humanity."

"In fact, only in Christ, and the Church does not tire of repeating it, especially in this Jubilee Year, can human beings find the real and full meaning of their existence. Therefore, Christianity cannot be reduced to a doctrine, or simple principles, because Christ, the center of Christianity, is alive, and his presence is the event that constantly renews the human creature and the cosmos. This truth of Christ is vigorously proclaimed today, as it was courageously defended in the 20th century by so many witnesses of the faith and illustrious Christian thinkers, among whom I am pleased to remember today Vladimir Sergeevic Soloviev, the centenary of whose death we commemorate these days." the Holy Father said.

 
ANGELUS MESSAGE July 30, 2000

Dearest Brothers and Sisters!

1.  Even at the height of the summer, the Great Jubilee does not stop. Yesterday, among the numerous pilgrims who converged on St. Peter's Square were those of the "Cursillos de Cristiandad" movement, born 50 years ago, and now extended to many countries of the world.

The characteristic of the Cursillos, as of similar ecclesiastical movements, is the new evangelization of adults. The Christian message is proposed through times of intense spiritual experience, capable of making one rediscover the beauty of encountering Christ and of being Church, as well as the joy of fraternity and reciprocal service, permeating the whole of life with a Christian spirit.

2.  The demand of integral Christianity -- that no reductions be made when it comes to truth -- at the same time, knows how to measure itself against history and modernity. It marked the whole of the last century and emerged with force during Vatican Council II.

Through the unfolding of what at times were dramatic events of the past decades, the Church has understood ever more clearly that its task is care and responsibility for men and women, not in the "abstract", but the "real," "specific," and "historical." The Church incessantly offers Christ, the only Redeemer of humanity. In fact, only in Christ, and the Church does not tire of repeating it, especially in this Jubilee Year, can human beings find the real and full meaning of their existence. Therefore, Christianity cannot be reduced to a doctrine, or simple principles, because Christ, the center of Christianity, is alive, and his presence is the event that constantly renews the human creature and the cosmos. This truth of Christ is vigorously proclaimed today, as it was courageously defended in the 20th century by so many witnesses of the faith and illustrious Christian thinkers, among whom I am pleased to remember today Vladimir Sergeevic Soloviev, the centenary of whose death we commemorate these days.

Remembering this Russian personality of extraordinary profundity, who with great clarity also warned about the drama of the division among Christians and the urgent necessity of their unity, I would like to ask you to pray so that believers in Christ of the East and West will be able to find their full communion as soon as possible. For this to take place, it is indispensable that they all be converted to the living Christ, yesterday, today, and forever. By living his Gospel without compromises, they will become the yeast of a new humanity. This is the prayer we raise to heaven today, sustained by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Seat of Divine Wisdom, to whom we now turn in trust.

 (©L'Osservatore Romano - 9/16 August 2000) 

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