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"A People Being Transformed in Christ through Faith, Worship, Witness and Service"

Notable News

Second Touch 2012, February 3-5, 2012.

Cruise with us? We will be sailing on the Norwegian Sun Feb. 11th or Feb. 25th

Volunteers Needed _ Little Portion Friary,

WLOF our local Catholic Radio station is looking for someone who lives in Attica to allow them to put up a radio receiver .

Details can be found in this months Newsletter.

Please Pray for Paul Dewald, Abby Quinn, Deacon Peter Bedard, Diane McElroy,

Lou Pauly, Fr. Joe Badding, Don Kinner,

Bob Mahiques, Fr. Jim Wahl, Fr. Rich Coveny, Mary Rieman, her son Mike & Luke & those who have entered their 5th Day.

Reunion Mass

Fri. 13 _ 7:30 pm Christ The King Church

30 Lamarck Dr. Snyder, NY 14226

School of Leaders

Mon. 16 _ 7:00 pm OMGC school.

All Cursilistas are welcome.

Sections will meet after the school.

Ultreyas Scheduled for January

Southtowns

Thurs. 19 at 7:30 Jim & Marilyn Malloy's

101 South Lane, Orchard Park 662-4017

Rainbow Vineyard

Thurs. 19 Our Lady Czestochowa Church,

64 Center Ave, N. Tona, NY 14120

Ultreyas Scheduled for January

Bethany

Thurs. 19 _ 7:00 - St. Martha's Church

10 French Rd., Depew, NY 14043

Fruit of the Vine

Thurs. 26 _7:30 St. Joseph's School

in Fredonia

Pueblo de Paz

Sun 29 _ 7:00

82 Prospect St., Warsaw, NY 14569

Living Flame, Spirit of the City,

and Pescadores Ultreya

No meetings scheduled

About Us

Frequently Asked Questions

About Us

What is the purpose of Cursillo?Our Cursillo Community wants to provide for us, a method of living a Christian life, where all of our spirituality may be deeply developed, lived and shared by the methods of Cursillo. The three-day weekend is a joyous, fun - introduction into a supportive and growing community of friends of Christ, where today, now, in our daily experiences : men and women can work together to bring Christ into our everyday lives. The Cursillo method, in our community is designed to: Make it possible to live in union with Christ, and to desire to bring others to Him.What is a Cursillo weekend like?The weekend consists of spiritual talks, discussion, daily Mass, prayer time, and the availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The "talk" parts are built around 15 short presentations given by laypersons, clergy and religious. After each instruction small groups discuss the material presented.Who may attend a Cursillo weekend?Cursillo is only for those can receive the sacraments of the Catholic Church.The Cursillo weekend is held separately for men and women, any catholic over about 25 years (including priest, deacons, and religious) Many have made the three day Cursillo weekend. Is Cursillo part of the Catholic Church?Yes. Cursillo, similar to Mission, Marriage Encounter, Charismatic Renewal, Christian Family Movement and other renewal programs; all are part of the Roman Catholic Church and the Diocese of Buffalo. Our Bishop has made a Cursillo. Mission was developed by Cursillo as a mini retreat for parishes. Making a Mission can often lead to making a Cursillo Weekend.What happens after a Cursillo weekend?Your weekend only lasts three days, but you are invited to build on it for the rest of your life. This is a very important and key element of our Cursillo Movement. Cursillo expands your spiritual lives through prayer, study, and action, so it enables you to become a more active disciple of Christ. Throughout our Diocese, we have monthly Ultreyas, which are friendly prayer groups, where we meet, pray, share our faith, and often have a witness talk of How Christ is in our life. This spiritual follow up keeps our members spiritually stronger, and this follow up, special to Cursillo; is a need of ALL of us. This is one of the Cursillos greatest assets. It is often said that "we" never expected praying and being in a Catholic Community could be so much fun.Is Cursillo another organization?There is no formal organization of Cursillo. Activities for each Diocese are planned by a Lay Director,by an ordained Spiritual Director, and a group of Lay Leaders. Those who attend Cursillo weekends are encouraged to return to their families, parishes, places of work, and other groups to which they belong; and through their example; make Christ more present.
The History of Cursillo?The Cursillo Movement is a movement within the Catholic Church. Cursillo is often associated with a 3-Day weekend. There is much more than just the three-day weekend. This Movement started in Spain, in 1940, bringing the young men to know Christ better. They had been working to bring men to Christ, so they could then work together to Christianize the world. The first Cursillo in the USA was held in Waco, Texas, in 1957. In 1962, Cursillo began to blossom in the US Catholic Church. We are proud that as of the coming of the 2000s, there are over 600 dioceses of the US Catholic Church with an active Cursillo Movement. In 1965, Lou & Liz Pauly introduced it to the Catholic Church at Buffalo. Weve held about 200 weekends in Buffalo, and (about) 75 priests, 40 Deacons, 200 Sisters, 2,300 laymen, and 2,500 laywomen have made a Cursillo weekend. Most of the parishes in our Diocese have The Cursillo Movement is a movement within the Catholic Church. What is the meaning of the word Cursillo?Cursillo (pronounced cur-see-you) means "little course" in the fundamental teachings of Jesus; as it is lived by Christians. It is Spanish since it was founded in Spain by Eduardo Bonnin. The goal of the Cursillo Movement is to make Christ the prime influence in todays society. The Cursillo is often described as a retreat; however, it differs from the typical silent retreat. While there is some quiet time and considerable time for prayer, there is more time for discussion with your peers than in most retreats. The three day course begins on Thursday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon. It is conducted by a team of laypersons, priests, deacons and religious. Cursillo is best described as an experience of living in a Christian community. The experience of Cursillo enables one to sense more vividly the enthusiasm of the first Century Church as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:44-47: They devoted themselves to the Apostles" instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of the bread praising God and winning approval of all the people. Day by day the Lord added to their number.A Brief Explanation?To explain the experience of Cursillo to someone who has never experienced Cursillo is at best, difficult. And worse in this cold web site. Asking your fellow parishioners, who made Cursillo would be better. We can give you their names, see bottom of page. Often, for those who already have experienced Cursillo, it is still somewhat mystifying. This is not because the Cursillo Movement is some sort of a "secret" organization. The reason behind this is the mystery of God. No one can fully explain how God touches each person in His special/unique way through the various elements of the Cursillo Movement. However we will attempt to explain the human aspect behind the Cursillo Movement. Cursillo is a relatively conservative movement, fully accepted by the Roman Catholic Church.During your Cursillo, we look forward to your experience as;1. An encounter with you, yourself ; To discover ourselves and our own worth on a more fundamental level.2. An encounter with God ; To experience the presence andlove of Jesus, the Christ.3. An encounter with other people ; To become aware of our loving and caring Christian Community.
Next Step

Sponsorship

Next Step

We hope to show you why you should have a Sponsor.

"Make a Friend, Be a Friend and Bring a Friend to Christ"

The above statement is one of the most basic tenants of our Cursillo movement, especially when a member sponsors a new candidate.

Another is :

"Talk to God about your friend, before you talk to your friend about Cursillo"

When is a holy and good candidate ready to make their journey to be closer to Jesus Christ by making their own Cursillo? Cursillo is also sometimes called a three day experience, or a " the Cursillo retreat". Well, it is good if a candidate has some specific and some general attributes. Specifically, and most important, the candidate must be

a fully practicing Catholic, and be able to fully receive the sacraments of our Church.

Ideally the spouse should also meet this criteria. These general attributes are difficult to explain in this cold web page. Cursillo is for those who are committed to a relationship with Jesus Christ, and pray every day. Cursillo can strengthen that relationship in a new special way. But, often the person making the Weekend needs some direction to strengthen and help them in their Christian Action. This is the role of their sponsor: teaching them the ongoing structure of the Cursillo Movement, after their weekend, which is a great help to the new person. There are separate Men's and Women's weekends scheduled. The right time for you as a catholic candidate to make a weekend is difficult to determine. So, this leads to our time tested rule of having an active sponsor for each new candidate. Another of our time tested preferences is to have the husband make the weekend first, and then sponsor his wife. A great, great joy comes from being a sponsor of your spouse.

Your 1st, and best step, is to pray about it.

The 2nd best step is continue to pray about it.

The 3rd step is to find the "RIGHT" Cursillo member to be your sponsor.

It should be a Cursillo person, and one that is a friend of yours, --- but who?

There are a couple of paths to find your Cursillo sponsor, and we hope to direct you. Many of the Priests and Deacons in Buffalo have made a Cursillo. Ask the Priest or Deacon in your own parish. If they have not made a Cursillo, they may know a Cursillo person in your parish. Many of the Lectures, Ministers, CCD teachers have made it.

The Buffalo Cursillo Community developed for parishes the Parish Mission. If your parish has MISSION, many on the Mission Team have made a Cursillo. And often it is said that Mission is the stepping stone to the deeper Cursillo experience. After making a Cursillo Weekend, at a Cursillo Mass, the person said " Mission was wonderful, but today I see Mission as 101 in my pray life and Cursillo as graduate School "

You may know a person at work that has made a Cursillo. We have a section,

called PRE-CURSILLO for accepting candidates through sponsors.

It's is headed by:

Edward & Ruth Hackett: Call: Home (585) 457-9853, Cell 716-863-9851

or Email:ehbanker_rochester.rr.com

They would answer any questions, and would love to help you find a sponsor

in your parish. Ask them by clicking on : buffalocursillo_yahoo.com

Member Resources

Buffalo Cursillo Weekend Schedules

MEN'S and WOMEN'S Weekend

When: No Weekends Scheduled at this time!

Time: Sponsors bring Candidates _ 7:00 PM Thursday

Where: Our Mother of Good Counsel School, South Park Ave., Blasdell NY 14219

Directions: Take Blasdell, exit 56 of the 90, turn right at exit. At the 1st signal, turn right onto

(Rt62) South Park, Church & School is on right side of South Park in about a 1/2 mi.

Cursillos: Please take some time to pray about those you want to ask and then ask them with an application in hand.

Sponsors: To be a sponsor, you need the required new candidates application form:

Click Candidates Applications Icons & download the application in MSWord or Adobe PDF

Print the Three page application, fill it out and send/email to Pre-Cursillo :

Pre-Cursillo -- Ed & Ruth Hackett

3921 Main St. Strykersville, NY 14145

Home - 585-457-9853

Cell - 716-863-9851

E-mail - ehbanker_rochester.rr.com

When the candidate is accepted, Pre-Cursillo will send them further information

Contact us

Lay Director

Don Appenheimer

716-825-3427

Cu rsillo

Mark Schweizer

716-648-1640

daheimers_yahoo.com

mschweizer54_hotmail.com

Spiritual Advisor

Deacon Mike Quinn

716-515-8725

Post-Cursillo

Tom & Terry Felong

716-652-4392

deaconmikeq_roadrunner.com

ThomasTFF_aol.com

School of Leaders

Tony Morgante

716-481-1525

Secretary

Becky Gullo

716-698-2474

drtony_thespaminator.com

becky_mymailwny.com

Pre-Cursillo

Ed Hackett: 716-863-9851

Ruth Hackett: 716-913-6432

Treasurer

Rob Evans

716-823-8718

ehbanker_rochester.rr.com

buffalocursillo_yahoo.com

2011 10 BuffCursews.docx

2011 10 BuffCursadobe.pdf

Candidates

Applications

Newsletters

2012 January Newsletter.docx

Article 1

January Newsletter

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Well, here we are 2012. Advent was great. The preparing for Christmas was a bit of a chore especially as we continued to learn the new music for the New Missal. For me it seems like the and also with you is burned into my brain and is said more times than the new and with your spirit. We were talking the other night and someone said they found themselves saying Constanstinople rather than Consubstansial. But well get it and it will seem like something that we have always done. Advent is always a special time for me as we prepare to once again greet Our Lord and Saviour into our hearts and into our homes. Its a time of getting ready, a time to put the lights on the house, a time to start setting Alices hundreds of manger scenes all over the place, a time to call the kids and go hunting for just the right tree, a time to plan. Once again I put my wishes for gifts out there, tools or toys. Thats my usual request and again everyone came through. This year I received not only the the regular gifts of something to work with and something to play with, I found out once again that I received other than the awesome gift of Alice, the kids and grandkids, I remembered that I received three other tools that as a Cursiillista we have all received. Piety,Study, and Action. These three gifts are so necessary to the on-going conversion of all of us. We need to recall these gifts daily and spend some time thanking God for how He has changed our lives in and through these gifts that we received on our weekends. Piety, those times when we can feel the presence of God in our lives, in prayer, at Mass, during our visits with the Blessed Sacrament, and all those times that we recognise a true dedication to Christ as our own personal Brother, Lord, and Saviour. Study, those times when the Holy Scriptures, books writen by Saints, holy men and women, articles in publications like the guideposts or daily guides. Study can be so much more than reading, it can be anything that brings one into a closer relationship with Christ. Action, seems to be the thing that we are compeled to do if our Piety and Study are a real part of our everyday life. My hope is that we keep these gifts and use them often in the New Year. The result is that our Cursillo Movement here in Buffalo will become even more Christ centered and will continue to grow throughout 2012.Happy New Year!! ULTREYA!In His PeaceDon Appenheimer #85daheimers_yahoo.com Schedule:Reunion Mass Friday January 13 _ 7:30 pmChrist The King Church30 Lamarck Dr. Snyder, NY 14226Ultreyas Scheduled this monthSouthtownsThurs. 5 at Carl & Elaine Stack6490-37 Taylor Rd., Hamburg, 649-4615Rainbow VineyardThurs. 5 Our Lady Czestochowa Church,64 Center Ave, N. Tona, NY 14120BethanyThurs. 5 _ 7:00 - St. Martha Church10 French Rd., Depew, NY 14043Fruit of the VineThurs. 12 _ 7:30 St. Joseph School in FredoniaPueblo de PazWeds 11 after 7:00 MassSt. Marys Church East ArcadeDo you have a candidate in mind?For an application call Ed or Ruth Hackett585-457-9853 home, 716- 863-9851 Ed's cell, 716-913-6432 Ruth's cell e-mail mail to:ehbanker_rochester.rr.com(applications are available BuffaloCursillo.org) If you have a possible candidate, you can encourage your candidate to read more at our site. Our site is designed for people to learn more about Cursillo.From the Spiritual Advisor This is an interesting quote I found a few months ago. I will tell you who the author is later in my notes I am often amused that while we all sing so heartily the De Colores, which speaks of the beauty of the different colors, how often the misguided the leaders demand either by their words, but mostly through their actions, that what they really want is for everyone to be one color their color, and to arrive their one way their way. Any guesses? Think about it for a few minutes. And so we have a new yearso full of hopes and dreams. Hopes and dreams for ourselves, our families, communities, parishes, and of course our Buffalo Cursillo. As I look back on the year since I had been appointed by Bishop Kimiec as your Spiritual Advisor, I see many good things happening. Our Secretariat being led by the Holy Spirit, the School of Leaders studied the Charisms and is now looking at our pastoral plan, and we had two very holy weekends. There has been some sadness in the division that we have but I feel that can be overcome if we look to the why we do it rather than the how as mentioned above in the quote at the beginning. To truly look at the WHY, I challenge ALL of us to study the movement with a vigor unsurpassed in Cursillo. If we study the Pre-Cursillo, the Weekend, and Post Cursillo we will see what we are doing and why, and what we are doing right and what can be improved from a more learned point of view of the movement rather than we always did it that way or the National tells us to do it that way. That is where most of the sadness that I see comes from. Go to the National Website and look for articles and newsletters. Go to your Ultraya Coordinators to see what info they may have and contact any one of us on the Secretariat and we will find information for you. Pre-Cursillo. We need to study our environments, larger environments, as well as who would be good candidates for a weekend. In the Cursillo leaders Manual on Page 83 and starting on page 93 of the Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo Movement, it tells us that Pre-Cursillo is the study of environments and the searching of influential persons within those environments. 3 Day Cursillo. We need to study the weekend itself. We have made a number of minor adjustments for this past set of weekends but the weekends as they are, were very powerful as stated in the candidates witnessing at the closing and the Welcome to Your Fourth Day Dinner. Post Cursillo. We need to study the role of all of us, especially the sponsors role in getting our new Cursistas to Ultrayas, into small friendship groups, to reunion masses, Second Touch weekends, and any ongoing formation available. Let us pray: Dear Lord, We pray that this year will bring us closer to you. May we take the time to know you and help us to celebrate the gifts that you graciously have given us. May we have the courage to use the gifts given to us to serve you and to spread your word. May we also see and love you in all the people we meet so in turn they will see you in us. We ask for they will be done thru us for your glory. Amen PS The quote at the beginning was by Edwardo Bonnin in a talk entitled EVANGELIZATION THROUGH CONVERSION that he gave at the First Canadian National Encounter in Kitchener, Ontario in 1992. Deacon Mike Quinn 532 South Shore Blvd, Lackawanna,NY 14218 (for snail mail)716-515-8725 phone and textDeaconmikeq_roadrunner.comPre-Cursillo It is the time of year for New Years resolutions. That more often than not means taking a very close look at what we have done well and what we have not done so well. Once we have done this search, we then resolve to find ways to make changes that help both us and those we are in contact with. Hopefully for us in Cursillo, we can reflect upon the friendships we have built over the years and how we in turn reflect our Lord Jesus into the lives of those around us. Our resolution should not be making a huge or dramatic change but rather how do we enhance what we already know how to do. Let's resolve to be a little more open to those friendships that Christ presents to us. And as we build those friendships, show them the absolute best way to grow closer to Christ through a Cursillo weekend. Right now, after our weekends last fall, we have very few applications in hand (about 6 means and 12 women applicants). So we need many applications and we need them now. This will help us to ensure the next round of weekends for fall 2012 happen. If we want more weekends each year, we need more applications to show the need exists. Take a few moments to discuss Cursillo with all your friends and help them understand just how blessed a weekend is. Yes there are talks and discussions... but there are no tests to take, no final exam that they have to ace. They just need to be open to Christ. Then and only then should you fill out the application with your candidate and mail it to us. Please don't wait for dates to be set, we need the applications months in advance to help plan. God Bless Send applications to Ed and Ruth Hackett3921 Main St., Strykersville, NY 14145585-457-9853 home716- 863-9851 Ed's cellE-mail to:ehbanker_rochester.rr.com School of Leaders Dear Friends, Happy New Year! May the peace of the Savior be with you in 2012. On Monday January 16th, School of leaders will continue its study of the Leaders Manual. Christine Becker will report from chapter 2 which covers "The essence, purpose and mentality of the Cursillo movement."Please try to attend school of leaders and help it grow. National Cursillo would like to see a strong school of leaders where our movement produces team members for the weekends and leaders within our community. School of leaders is where we study our movement and its role in our life and environment. Since September of 2011 we have been implementing some minor changes to the school to conform more to what national envisions. With our community participation, the school can be a rewarding and fruitful opportunity to allow for growth. School of leaders is also updating our pastoral plan this year. We have been operating with a pastoral plan that national has asked us to modify to conform more to their agenda and become more homogenous with all Cursillo movements. I am also looking for volunteers to do book reports on upcoming chapters from the leaders manual, please contact me if you are interested at drtony_thespaminator.com I truly need your help and participation which will bless our school and movement. May God bless all of you? Tony Morgante 191Post Cursillo Hello everyone and Happy New Years to all! First of all, Terry and I would like to thank all the Cursillistas that helped us during the year, with your ideas, helping in cleaning up after functions, and just being there and participating in all the various, functions throughout the year. That kind of participation initiates our strength to evangelize in our environments and keeps us strong. I would like to thank Maria Hens, for stepping up to plate and take on the responsibility of becoming the new Cursillo coordinator for the Fruit of the Vine Ultreya. Terry and I went to her indoctrination in December with over 30 Cursillistas in attendance. God Bless you Maria and I know you will revitalize your community. Thank you for saying yes. An important date to remember is our January Reunion Mass that will be held Jan.13th at Christ the King in Snyder at 7:30 PMAnd also let us not forget the Second touch Weekend being held at the Columban center for more information call Carol Palesh 716-694-0942 DeColores and a Happy New Year, Terry and Tom FelongThomasTFF_aol.comCursillo A Merry Christmas greeting to all from the Cursillo Section. After a very busy fall season the Section took a vacation in December from its usual monthly meeting. The next scheduled meeting will be on January 16th, immediately following the School of Leaders.With no new business to report I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jim and Pat Mohr for their donation to the Section. After the Womens weekend #205 Pat donated their cot and mattress, which I am sure will get plenty of use on future weekends. This leads me to say, if you are looking to donate sleeping and/or kitchen accessories please keep the Section in mind. The Section would be glad to review potential donations with its building coordinator and kitchen personnel in hope of filling a need. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail or by calling me at the number listed below. In last months newsletter I mentioned what a blessing it was for me to work my first Palanca team. I was able to witness first hand the impact that true Palanca (prayer, sacrifice and Acts of Mercy) plays on each weekend and on a grander scale its importance to the success of the Buffalo Cursillo movement. Our Cursillo Leaders Manual explains that the miracles of Gods grace are granted by sincere prayer and sacrifice and that a good measuring tool of any local movement is its attitude toward Palanca. On the weekend Maureen and I worked we learned that everyone is capable of Palanca and many are able to work on a Palanca team. The only criteria is a willingness to sacrafrice. Now is the time for each of us to pray about filling a Palanca team position and getting your name on the list for future weekend selection. You can register through your Ultreya or by contacting the Cursillo Section. Either way we will see that your name is placed with the Palanca Team selectors. In closing I would like to remind everyone, especially our newest Cursillistas of the 2nd Touch weekend that is coming up on the first week in February. It is a wonderful opportunity to re-unite with those you met on your weekend as well as make new friends with Cursillistas from around the Buffalo Diocese. The weekend will take place at the St. Columbian Center - 6892 Lakeshore Rd., Derby NY. The dates and times are Friday, February 3rd - 7:00pm through Sunday, February 5th - 2:00pm closing. Doors open on Friday at 4:00pm for registration. This years theme is CRITERION and SINCERITY. Rooms remain available for overnight stay and daily commuters are always welcome. For more information regarding registration please speak with your Ultreya Coordinator or contact Carol Palesh, our 2nd Touch Coordinator directly at (716) 694-0942. May God, our God, bless us continuously during this Christmas season and keep us safe throughout the New Year!In His Service,Mark Schweizer #195Cursillo Section Coordinatormschweizer54_hotmail.com(716) 648-1640Treasurer's Report Dear Friends,Happy New Year! Well it looks like we made it through 2011. With a new year comes a chance to start over with a clean slate. I wish you all good luck with any of your new year resolutions. May God Bless you all this year! Gifts in any amount can be sent to the address below. Buffalo CursilloP.O. Box 2185Blasdell, NY 14219 Ultreya,Rob Evans #159buffalocursillo_yahoo.com World Cursillo News Dear Friends, Thank you for your prayers for the North American Caribbean Group (NACG) of the World Cursillo Movement. Carol Palesh and I hosted a meeting in November for members of the NACG Executive committee. Fr. Einer and Maribel Gomez came from California and Doc Alvarez from Texas. They all stayed at our home. We had a very blessed time together growing in friendship and discovering Gods plans for our service in NACG. This is an exciting year for us. We are planning an Encounter for the leaders of NACG this August. . There will only be 80 participants as it is being held at the Mount Carmel Monastery in Canada. It is a beautiful intimate setting for all of the countrys leaders to gather. So far, we are certain of attendance by Cuba as their National Secretariats President has confirmed his attendance. There is much work to be done and many friends have come together to form a committee to support this event. The Prayer Committee designed a prayer card bookmark that was shared with all the leaders in North America. It was also translated into Spanish and French. A copy of the prayer bookmark, will be available to download from BuffaloCursillo.org, so that everyone can join in this prayer for the success of this Encounter. Thank you Cathy Aguilaro, Laura Minnie, and Cheri Yager for your beautiful work!! The charism is very much being studied by all cursillistas around the world. The monthly newsletter from the World Cursillo Movement OMCC in December encourages all cursillistas to continue to study the Charism of our Movement. Thank you for your continued prayers. De Colores!!!!Gail TerranaPresident, NACG North America Caribbean Group of the World Cursillo MovementGater77_verizon.net Region III News First of all I would like to wish you a Happy New Year filled with God's love and grace. Fr. Frank S. Salmani, in his book, Whom Shall I Send?, reminds us that one of several conditions recommended for being a leader for Christ in the First Letter of Timothy, is that we must continue to be students of our faith. Fr. Frank tells us that "a leader is not a person who says 'I don't need to hear this stuff anymore!' A leader is always seeking to learn more and delve more deeply into the mystery of Christ. Further, if we believe that the Cursillo is the best method to Christianize the world, we have to know as much about it as possible. A 'little' knowledge is a dangerous thing. What we need is ongoing formation." (Ch. 10 p 62 & 63) One way of continuing our education is to attend a Cursillo de Cursillo. A Cursillo de Cursillo is very much like a Cursillo weekend developed for those who have made a weekend and want to learn more about it. It begins on Thursday evening and ends Sunday afternoon. There are rollos, table discussions, question and answer sessions, and meditations. In Region III, the Pittsburg diocese is hosting a Cursillo de Cursillo weekend Feb. 9-12. It is a bit more expensive than our weekends here, but it is still much cheaper than the one I went to in Waterloo, Canada. Private or double rooms are available and all meals are included. It is being held at their retreat center. The cost is $225-$250. Contact me for more information if you are interested. Another way to continue our formation is read the National newsletters. The December newsletter contai

Article 2

December Newsletter

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,Last month I said that I would like to share with all of you just what Mens Weekend #204 meant to me. Well, first of all, I have to thank the men and team of Mens #202 because one of the participants of that weekend had a profound experience and when asked to consider taking on the role of Liturgist for our movement, he took on the position with no hesitation. Of course, Im talking about Bob Sesseman. I had not expected to be called upon to work on the team of #205, so I guessed that the team selectors must have run out of names when they finally called on me. Bob and I had met and grouped together at a few of our Ultreyas, so I did know him somewhat. I knew that he had a lot of experience being a liturgist on Kairos weekends, but having done that job many times myself, I knew that working a Cursillo wasnt quite the same. This weekend was such a gift to me. I know that the weekend is always about the candidates and I also know that by giving and sacrificing God will both bless and provide all that is needed to have a successful weekend. Again, I also know that we can never out-give God. Bob and I had the time to get together a couple of times before the weekend to go over liturgies, set up songs for the song practices, and do all those little things that liturgy people do, but most importantly, we got to be friends. As we all know there is a special bond between people that pray together , but that bond becomes even more special when two friends both pray and sing together. On this weekend, one of the candidates was the son of a man that lived his Cursillo with me back in 1978. Another was the son of my next door neighbor when I was growing up in the sixties on the West Side of Buffalo. We were blessed with a wonderful palanca team who absolutely spoiled Bob and I by having all of our set-ups done before we could get to them. As I said, it seems that every day and throughout the day the Lord was blessing us so that we could listen to and enjoy the talks, some for the first time by the Spiritual Directors, and join in on some of the discussions. So this weekend for me was one wonderful gift after the other, which brings me to the other thing I wanted to share with you this month.As part of my study I had read the book The Ultimate Gift and one of the directives that the main character had to perform was to write down the ten things that he was most grateful for each day. Now that Thanksgiving is over my hope is that we might take it upon ourselves to continue to be grateful for all that Jesus has given to us. As I contemplate my day, often I far surpass the ten and most times am asleep before I can remember them all. And this is exactly what the writer of the book knew would happen. We are so blessed that we dont have enough time to say all our thanks and that in itself is a blessing. So look around, see all that He has given, enjoy each other, and have a great Advent preparing for the greatest gift of all. Merry Christmas !!ULTREYA!In His PeaceDon Appenheimer #85 daheimers_yahoo.comSchedule:Welcome to Your 4th DayFri., December 9th Doors open at 6:00, Potluck Dinner at 6:45 _ OMGC School3688 S Park Ave, Blasdell, NYUltreyas Scheduled this monthSouthtownsThurs. 1 at Marie & Jim Sorrentino4535 Hidden Hollow Hamburg 649-3589Rainbow VineyardThurs. 1 Our Lady Czestochowa Church, 64 Center Ave, N. Tona, NY 14120 Bethany Thurs. 1 _ 7:00 - St. Martha Church10 French Rd., Depew, NY 14043Fruit of the Vine Thurs. 8 St. Joseph School in FredoniaPueblo de PazWeds 14 _ 7:00 East ArcadeDo you have a candidate in mind?For an application call Ed or Ruth Hackett585-457-9853 home, 716- 863-9851 Ed's cell, 716-913-6432 Ruth's cell e-mail mail to:ehbanker_rochester.rr.com(applications are available BuffaloCursillo.org)If you have a possible candidate, you can encourage your candidate to read more at our site. Our site is designed for people to learn more about Cursillo.From the Spiritual AdvisorChristmas is coming soon. The Angels will be bringing us the good news of great joy for all people, for us is be born in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This good news of great joy is for all the people of God. As people of God we have a claim to the joy and the peace that the birth of Christ brings to the world. But how do we personally enter into this "great joy" of Christmas? Christmas rings out "joy to the world," yes, but how do I make this joy my own? This is an important question, for, even though God has declared joy to the whole world, there are still many among us who do not flow in this joy, many among us who do not know how to claim this joy and make it their own personally. Part of the problem is that we miss the point at Christmas, and the whole meaning of Jesus is the reason for the season There are a few different Christmass every year. The commercial Christmas, the rather hokey spiritual Christmas, and the love of God, beautiful, peaceful, joyful Christmas. The commercial Christmas starts around Labor Day now. Did you ever get one of those stockings, whether it was plastic or cloth with all kinds of candy in it? I wonder what aliens would think if they looked in our windows and saw us sitting around and enjoy looking at a dead tree with lights on them and eating candy out of a sock. We try to give our children the gift of Jesus yet we spend thousands of dollars at times for toys for our kids; from WIIs, jsu jsu pets, star wars clone wars action figures, iPods. We sing Peace on Earth, and then we go to the crowded mall to do last minute shopping when we have known for 12 full months that Christmas would come on December 25th. We see pepper spray, pushing, shoving and people getting hurt. For many folks Christmas means Batman, star wars or big screen TV when it should mean Bethlehem, or Bible or Baby. How many people spend their time during the thanksgiving holidays away from their families due to shopping? That is truly missing the point of Christmas. The second is an imaginary, hokey, non historical Christmas. I was looking at all the Christmas cards that we received last year and as I looked, I found something very interesting. Less than half of them mention the birth of Christ. Less than half show Jesus, Mary, or Joseph. The rest are rather watered down. Happy Holidays, or seasons greetings with no mention of Christmas at all, or even just pictures of family members with some kind of wording on them. Less than half of the cards that we have received mention or celebrate the birth of Jesus. And most of the ones that do show the birth of Jesus are very commercialized, or trivialized, and sanitized versions of the actual event. We see Mary and Joseph as this sweet, clean white good looking couple, much like Ken and Barbie. And sweet looking shepherds and all dressed up wise men or astrologers if you prefer all around a nice looking clean stable area.The fact was Mary and Joseph were probably dirty due to all the traveling that they were doing and they had just escaped and on the run. Mary had just had a baby in a dirty stable. The real shepherds were looked on as trash, the lowliest among society. Their chief reputation was you couldnt trust them. And as for the stable and crib. The crib was probably carved out of rock not wood and we need to remember about the stable where Jesus was born. You probably had to hold your nose and you had to watch your step. There had to be dirt and animal poop and the mess of the childbirth. The holy cards dont show us that. We do not like to think about the smells, the dirt, the pain, agony, and Joseph and Marys fear of giving birth in a strangers barn. It could not have been a very pretty sight. Too often we see the sanitized version of the birth of Jesus. The real Christmas is one of love, joy, peace and worship to the Christ child. The real Christmas is a stunning demonstration of the deep love of God. God wrapped the first Christmas present and laid it in a manger. It was His love gift to a lost world. Until we open God's gift which is Jesus, and until you receive Jesus one can really never experience the true meaning of Christmas. In that moment, the moment of Jesus humble birth, everything changed. The world stood still and held its collective breath as the Messiah, the Savior was born in the most simple and mundane way that one could ever imagine. God joined with this ordinary, dirty, smelly world of ours. God became flesh -- not aiming to be born in a palace, but in a stinky barn. Humbly, simply, meek, poor and lowly. May Christ be born anew within each of us, and may Christ grow and mature within our hearts throughout the year and forevermore. And, because Christ is born anew this season, we join our voices with the angels visiting the lowly shepherds in the field, and we sing Joy to the world. Amen.Deacon Mike Quinn 532 South Shore Blvd, Lackawanna, NY 14218 (for snail mail)716-515-8725 phone and textDeaconmikeq_roadrunner.comSchool of LeadersNo article submitted this month. The next School of Leaders will meet on Monday January 16 _ 7:00 pm OMGC school.Pre-CursilloAs we enter the Advent Season we are reminded to look toward our Lord and Savior for that which satisfies us. We are asked to consider not those things that we want but rather focus on what we need. Our greatest need is to be wanted, loved and cared for. All our needs are provided for us in Christs sacrifice and friendship. But to receive this most wonderful gift, He requires us to give it away. If we are truly to be His friends and to know His love, we must in turn give that friendship to each and every person we know. As we approach Christmas, and look at all the gifts we can give others, give everyone you know the one thing they need more than anything else. Give them the gift of your friendship and through you, may they each come to know Christs friendship. As always, Make a Friend, Be a Friend and bring that friend to Christ God Bless each and everyone one of you.Send applications to Ed and Ruth Hackett3921 Main St., Strykersville, NY 14145585-457-9853 home716- 863-9851 Ed's cell716-913-6432 Ruth's cell e-mail mail to:ehbanker_rochester.rr.comPost CursilloHello All, December 9th at 6:30 PM at Our Mother of Good Counsel, we will have our men and womens, Welcome to Your fourth Day Dinner, for the men and womens weekend 204 and 205. (Same place where the weekends were held) Please bring a dish to pass. Please bring your own setups, plates, forks and spoons and cups. Grouping to follow. We hope to see all you babe chicks there with your sponsors. Remember that all Cursillistas are invited to attend. We are hoping to have some Grand Ultreyas this coming year, most preferably on a Saturday night. Details to follow. Also coming up is our monthly reunion mass that will be held January 13th at 7:30pm. Sponsored by the Bethany Ultreya. Terry and I would like to thank all of you for pitching in chair setups for the weekend closings and youre all around volunteer work throughout the year and we wish you and your family a Blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year!God Bless,Terry and Tom FelongThomasTFF_aol.comCursilloOn behalf of the Cursillo Section I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest Babe chicks fresh off the Womens weekend #205. The group of candidates (numbering 32) is the largest to participate in a cursillo weekend since Our Mother of Good Counsel Church became home for the movement in October of 2007. The larger number created new challenges from a building stand point and for the Palanca team and Kitchen crew but none of which a little enthusiasm and a lot of the Holy Spirit could not work through!To Team Selectorsjob well done was the echo that came from both weekend Rectors as they reported back to the Cursillo Section on November 16th. The Talks went great, one complimenting the other as the weekend built and the Cursillo Method once again was shared. The Rectors expressed their appreciation for the privilege to serve their team and candidates and for His tremendous gift, which is the reason why the weekends are. Maureen and I, were able to share the weekend in an entirely new wayby working the Womens Palanca Team #205. What a special way to experience a Cursillo weekendbeing there from opening to closing. I must be honest it was hard at times and everyone does get tried, but knowing that you were giving back the gift that someone once gave youwell it speaks for itself. That is why I would recommend you work a Palanca Team if you have never done so. Look for details of what a Palanca Team is and what is required to work on. Details of what is required will be published in a future newsletter column. For those crusty Cursillistas who are called once again to be His hands and feetyou know that it will be a new experience all over again. No two Palanca Teams are identical and that I have heard from other crusties!!! In the meantime my prayer is that many of the Cursillo community will be able to come together to celebrate with are newest brothers and sisters in Christ at the 4th Day pot-luck-dinner on Friday, December 9th. Until then may the Peace of our Lord fill each heart during this Advent season! In His service<>

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Buffalo CursilloDiocese of Buffalo, NY