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B U F F A L O C U R S I L L O
2010 July Newsletter
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
In talking to many of our brothers and
sisters I get the feeling that many of you do not read the National Newsletter.
It’s not surprising, most people that I have talked with say that they are just
starting to or not yet receiving our Buffalo newsletter. Our newsletter is very
easy to find. On the net, you just need to go to Buffalo Cursillo.net or you
can submit your e-mail address to me at daheimers@yahoo.com
and I will see that Chuck sends the newsletter directly on to you.
Since most of us are not reading the
National newsletter I would like to give you a shortened version of this
month’s articles. In the first article, Victor Lugo, the National Lay Director,
asks that we as Cursillistas be mindful of those times that we say the words
“thy will be done” in our praying. He goes on to say that in praying that
prayer we unite our free will with the will of God and that God is the provider
of all things good and ceaselessly watches over what is good for us and what is
needed for the salvation of all of us.
In his second article, Victor talks about
the power of true Palanca. He explains that Palanca in its truest form is an
offering of sacrifice. On the Cursillo weekend, we know that the Palanca that
we do for the team or a participant is given as a sacrifice to lever or move
someone who is in one place to another. While Palanca is usually offered on the
weekend itself, it is never meant to be limited to weekends. We should be
offering Palanca for the success of the local movement, the Pre and Post
Cursillos, the Secretariat, Group Reunions and Ultreyas.
My hope is that you can see the value of
going into the National Newsletter each month and check out what is going on in
the National Movement. I have found that the easiest way for me to find the
site is to goggle Cursillo and the first thing that comes up is National
Cursillo Movement. The articles on the commitment we make when praying the
Lord’s Prayer and Palanca are written in much greater depth than what I gave
and there was also a wonderful story about Fr. David Knight who has written
many books and articles both for and about Cursillo. So, do yourself a favor,
go to the National site and see what there is to offer. It’s great stuff to
learn from and share with those that you are grouping with.
ULTREYA! In His
Peace Don Appenheimer #85 daheimers@yahoo.com
REUNION MASS +
July 9 Reunion Mass 7:30 St Christopher 2660 Niagara
Falls Blvd
Directions: From the
Thruway: Rt. 90, take exit 50 to Rt.290 (Youngman Expressway). Take Exit 3 to
Niagara Falls Blvd; turn right, Rt. 62, north. Go 1.5 miles to 2660 Niagara
Falls Blvd, St Christopher Church
August 8 Picnic 12 Noon, Mass @ 3PM Shelter 2 Chestnut Ridge Park
August 10 Party 7:00 St Jude Parish Hall Niagara Falls Blvd, N. Tonawanda
Meet Juan Ruiz, a founder of Cursillo, and
friends ( see Don’s article)
We are inviting all Cursillistas, friends and family, and
those interested in living the Cursillo experience. Cursillo will provide the
pizza and wings.
Please pray
with the our people during the weeks, and sign up below, if possible
July 4-10 Terry
Felong, Lorraine Caserta, Mary Helen Smith,Bob Piskun
July 11-17 Marie Gannon
July 18-24 Linda Piskun July
July 25-31 John&Carol Palesh, Nancy Holtz, Mary Alice
Demler
We have openings. If anyone wishes to do Palanca,
please call Linda (998-2503) or email her: Tiggerlin0530@roadrunner.com and
Linda will give you the dates to choose from. Thanks!
From the Spiritual Advisor. . .
Recently I was
reminded of the power of forgiveness.
The forgiveness I am referring to is not of one that has harmed us – but
of the need to forgive ourselves.
In our travels on
this path of life, the good Lord has been very patient with us. He has been with us in our best and darkest
moments. There is a whisper of His love
touching our hearts from time to time, calling us back to Him – and here we
are. We are farther along on this path
of life, very different persons from where we once were. From time to time we
can look back and recall some of the choices we made in that “different life”
of ours with a sense of shudder and embarrassment. We have all been there. In the light of the revelation of the God we
now know, that past is an embarrassing contrast from where we are. Sometimes these thoughts can be a shudder in
our soul, and sometimes they can be more intense, even paralyzing our good
intentions in the present. I remember a
Jesuit priest once challenging me to assess where these feelings were coming
from. He was right.
The ruler of this
world in the power of his darkness does not want us to forget that past. He
wants us to be stuck in it and to have these thoughts neutralize any Godly
efforts to do good that we may have.
Thoughts like “who do you think you are to be here when you did . . . .
“, “I have no right to counsel a friend
when I did this as well”. Does anything
like this sound familiar?
We have to remember
that we are not that person of the past.
We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God to be in a very
different place now. We are no longer
prisoners of our past – but saints of the future. Once a sin has been forgiven in the sacrament
of Reconciliation, it is not God who is reminding you of it again; to Him it is
done.
In the past two
weeks I have been reminded by Catholic radio and an article I read, of what a
member of my permanent group once reminded me of. He said, “When Satan reminds you of your
past, remind him of his future” – and he will flee.
So, if you are
occasionally troubled by your former life, rest assured that it is not that God
of love that has accepted you back fully into the kingdom of His Love that is
on your case. Be instead a “wounded healer” in the lives of others that are not
quite on the same path which you are now on.
Use you past experiences to guide them into the same forgiving love you
have been given. Make a friend, be a
friend – and bring that friend to Christ.
Ultreya, Deacon
Rick Mackiewicz, #137 Spiritual Advisor rmackiewicz@juno.com
Witness
The Perfect Trip -- Have you ever had a week you didn’t think
you could make it through? I had one
like that recently. A childhood friend
who had also been my business partner died at the age of 55. I spoke to him 12 days before and he said he
had been working in Kuwait and had a medical issue he wanted to get a second
opinion on. I later found out he had been given 2 weeks to live.
The next day
I was working on a dinner at the Moose, came home and saw two messages. The first was Tom’s mother asking me to do a
funeral meal. Of course I said I would
be glad to. She thought it would be on
Wednesday if his wife could get here that day from Haiti. The other message was from my cousin
Joe. I knew that couldn’t be good since
he is about 46 years old and had never called me before. I assumed his mother and my Godmother had
died. I was correct. Since they were living in Las Vegas and she
was going to be interned in Buffalo, the service was not for a few weeks.
The next day
was Sunday and after 8:30 mass I ran into Deacon Kelly. He told me that a friend of mine from the
Moose, Frank Fitzmaurice had been given last rites and was expected to pass in
a few days. I went to the hospital to
see him, and I sat with his daughter Patsy for about an hour. Patsy said she
wanted a funeral meal at the Moose when her dad passed.
Monday I
called Tom’s mother and she informed me that everything was on hold. Tom’s oldest son in Haiti was rushed to the
hospital and his wife couldn’t leave.
Tuesday I
woke up at 6:35 and I would generally look at the clock and close my eyes
again, but the first thing that came to my mind was that I needed to go to
Church because I am going to need extra strength today. So that’s what I did. Later that morning I had two calls from the
funeral home, I figured it was for Frank and Tom. I was half right. One was for Tom, the other was for Walt. Walt’s father had started the Moose club in
1943, so I felt we had an obligation to do this for him.
Both were having memorial services on Saturday
and both wanted a meal, one for 100, and the other for 200. I worked out the details and the timing was
perfect to be able to do both. I thanked
God for the power of the Eucharist and how that problem had been worked out,
and I was sure that was the reason I needed to go to Church that morning. You would think by now I wouldn’t second
guess God, but I still do. I was wrong
again. A few hours later I received a
call from the other funeral home that Frank had passed away and they wanted a
funeral lunch on Friday. When I got off
the phone call, I had about 10 minutes to plan the meal and hopefully to get an
order in just before the food distributor closed. That worked out so I had the food I
needed. As I was searching who I could
call, my good friend Carol came to mind.
When I called her she said she was just writing a paper for her class,
and it was about a discussion we had at a Bible study years ago. So she felt it was in God’s plan that just
when she was thinking about something I had done for her, I called her asking
for help. She checked her schedule,
which is normally as full as the Pope’s, and she was free both days.
At the end
of it, I looked back in total awe at how perfect everything went once I went to
Christ for strength. As a young man,
many decades ago, I liked to frequent the race track. We would often bet on long shots thinking
that if they could get the perfect trip, we would be in the money. Needless to say, some of those horses haven’t
crossed the finish line yet, and none of them ever got the perfect trip. That week I got to see God in action, and I
will say the perfect trip is a thing of beauty.
Not only did everything go well, I received numerous blessings. Somehow, I was ahead of schedule and was able
to go to Frank’s funeral Mass on Friday.
I will long remember my eyes filling with tears listening to Danny Boy
as Frank made his final exit. Later, at
the Moose, it touched my heart as Patsy stood next to her Dad’s favorite bar
stool on which she placed a rose and had a cold beer set up for him. At Walt’s funeral meal, I saw an old college
friend and his wife that I went to Niagara with and hadn’t seen in 35
years. I also saw a high school
classmate I hadn’t seen in 25 years. I
was fortunate that we had enough help for the last meal and I was able to go to
Tom’s memorial service and then spend
time with many of our mutual friends, all who were shocked by Tom’s
passing. The final blessing came when my
Godmother’s service came on a day when I was able to get away from work and
spend some time with relatives that I rarely see anymore.
I not only
saw the strength one receives in the Eucharist, I also clearly saw that thread
of life that ties us all together. Frank
was Tom’s step uncle and the Godfather to Tom’s oldest son. My friends from Niagara are still active in
the Catholic Church and we were able to spend some time sharing the importance
of our faith lives. My Godmother
epitomized the teachings of St. Francis.
Preach the Gospel always, if necessary, use words. One of the last times I saw her, I saw the
joy in her eyes when I told her I had returned to the Catholic Church. I also told her how much she had taught me
simply by the way she treated people.
I have had
time to ponder how it would have played out if on that Tuesday morning at 6:35
I had closed my eyes and gone back to sleep instead of going to Church. I don’t know what would have happened and I
probably never will, but even though I am not much of a betting man any more,
the odds are that it was indeed Jesus in the Eucharist that made this perfect
trip possible.
Joe
Beinhauer Pueblo de Paz
Ultreya
Pre
Cursillo
As we get into the summer season, we
see the blessings of spring and summer coming together. The gardens and alive
with color, fruits and vegetables are growing and being harvested and we find
it easy to renew acquaintances and establish new friendships. In this time we
are reminded of our commitment in Cursillo to “make a friend; be a friend,
bring your friend to Christ”. As we make and renew friendships, remember why
Christ wants us to do so. Friendship is
a commitment to care for others, listen to them and encourage them to see
something more. Christ asks us to help
other see Him in the world and understand how much he loves & cares for
us. So with that, please take a few
moments each week, and encourage those you have established friendships with to
discover Christ in a new way, to see Him alive in the Church around us. We now have our
dates set for the Men’s and Women’s weekends.
On October 21-24, weekend #202 will be held for the men candidates. As we
have discussed so much in the past, we need many more applications to FILL this
weekend. As of this writing we only have 16
applications. While so many have said
they have applications they will send in, we have only two new applications
received since March. On
November 11-14 we will hold weekend # 203 for the women candidates. Currently
we have about 25 applications at this writing.
But we need more applications here as well. Please send us your
applications.
Ruth and Ed
Hackett, 3921 Main St. Strykersville, NY 14145 home
phone-585-457-9853
cell-Ed
716-863-9851 Ruth
716-913-6432 ehbanker@rochester.rr.com
Our dates for the Fall are
confirmed: Men's will be held October 21st - the 24th and the Women's
November 11th thru the 14th. The Section welcomes John Agugliaro as our
newest member as a Palanca Team Selector joining Bill Heidle and Marie Trask.
John, thank you for your yes and welcome aboard!
We are still discerning for some
open positions, especially, Section Head. I will be "retiring"
in October, so please continue to keep us in prayer for this intention.
Everyone on the Section wishes you
all a Very Safe and Happy Summer.......God's continues Blessings!
Joan
Conklin dconklin7@verizon.net
Hi Friends,
How is your summer turning out so far? Good I hope. A lot of great things happen in
the summer as we northern people adapt to the short warm season that we
have. Graduations, weddings, family picnics,
vacations, people out of town visiting, just to name a few. For me, it is putting a new roof on the
house, and as I speak, painting the house with the wife. For me, there are
marching parades primarily on the weekends, church mission starting July 10th,
and playing league golf on Thursdays,
with my son which limits the time on can attend an Ultreya in summer. Most Ultreyas are held on Thursday evenings,
I tried to go to the Warsaw Ultreya at the end of June, but we had a graduation
party that evening. Terry normally can make Thursday Ultreyas. I was wondering if any Ultreya ever
entertained the fact of moving one of their Ultreyas to a different day instead
on Thursdays. I do find most of the time
to permanent group with the men on Saturday and Wednesdays and attend most
Reunion Masses.
There are priorities in my life, Christ, being always at the forefront
and that never changes, but I must admit some of my other priorities do change
in the summer and that is to revisit with the many environments that exist only
in the summer. It always gives me the
opportunity to make a friend, be a friend during this short season we
have. And so, for the people who feel
guilty about not attending Ultreyas in the summer months, or missing some group
meetings, relax your not alone, because I can truly relate to that. Just make
sure that we see you back in September.
Speaking about the summer, let’s not forget
about the Reunion Mass that will be held on Sunday, August 8th, at
Chestnut Ridge Park. Mass will start at 3 PM.
Make sure you bring your lawn chair and a dish to pass. If you have a fun outdoor game you wish to
share, bring that too.
Also the July Reunion Mass will be held
July 9th, at St. Christopher’s, 2660 Niagara Falls Blvd. at 7:30 PM
On August 10, at 7:00 PM there will be a
get together in meeting with Juan Ruiz and friends. Let us all welcome Juan, a
national leader of the movement, his wife and friends to our community by
attending this event. Pizza and refreshments will be served. It will be held
Tuesday, August 10th, at 7 pm at St. Jude’s Parish hall, Niagara
Falls Blvd., North Tonawanda.
As always God Bless, And have a terrific summer, Tom and Terry ThomasTFF@aol.com
School of Leaders
A very special
thank you to Sister Kathleen Murphy for her informative presentation on
Spiritual Direction, we all now have a clear view of what Spiritual Direction
is all about.
June’s School was
my last one as “Principal”. I would like to thank all those who have shared
their knowledge either as a presenter or participant you made my job an easy
one. I thank God each day for the gift of Cursillo and I pray that I never take
it for granted. I have learned so much from all of you and each one of you has
helped me to grow closer to my Lord. You will always be in my prayers.
I know that you
will support and keep in prayer our new “Principal” Tony Morgante as he begins
the new School year in September. Thank you Tony, for stepping up to serve the
Lord, and the Cursillo community, as Coordinator to the School of Leaders. Have
a wonderful and safe summer.
God Bless and
Ultreya Mary Ann DeMaria
#167 mdemaria@roadrunner.com
Dear Friends,
It's July and all
dues and monthly expenses are current. Next month our insurance premium
will be due. Please continue to respond generously at the July Reunion
Mass or send any amount to our mailing address; P.O. Box 2185 Blasdell, NY
14219.
Thank you and Ultreya, Rob Evans #159 robleye@yahoo.com
World Cursillo
Dear Friends, Gary
and I just returned from our trip to Nova Scotia to attend Canada’s National
Conference. Their focus was the Ten
Topics of Cala Figuera given to us by Eduardo to help us grow in the charism. These ten elements are Gospel values and are
not just for the Cursillo. When they are
all present at any moment, then the charism is being lived. The encounter grouped them into four
sessions: Person & Friendship; Love & Freedom; were on Friday. And Saturday was: Criteria, Life & Joy;
and finally Conviction, Sincerity, and Normality.
The Canadian
Encounter is structured after a School of Leaders as modeled in Mallorca. This style of this school does not take on a
principal – student model. Anyone, new
or older cursillista, shares from his/her own study and applies their life
experience. After this shared study,
there is time for small group sharing about the rollo (groups of 6-8 share
about what they heard and what touched them).
A general large group sharing is available for reflections on what was
shared or for questions.
This atmosphere is
inviting, friendly and is open to all. I
am so happy to say that our Buffalo Cursillo Movement has adopted this style of
sharing in our School of Leaders. When
Kim Grande and I attended Canada’s Conference in 2007 on the School of Leaders,
Kim returned to our school offering this style of sharing and grouping and we
embraced it. There has been much fruit
from this in Buffalo. There is an
atmosphere of friendship and sharing by all.
I am so grateful for the openness in our School of Leaders.
Again, I hope many
of you will plan to attend an evening with Juan Ruiz, the former President of
the World Cursillo (and good friend of Eduardo Bonnin). The structure will be similar to a School of
Leaders. Juan will share on the
“Mentality” of Cursillo and then all are free to comment or ask questions. He will be present with 4 other couples from
California. Some of them are from Juan’s
own group reunion. What a wonderful
opportunity to meet Juan and his friends.
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, August 10th at 7pm at St.
Jude’s Church (formerly St. Albert’s) on Niagara Falls Blvd in North Tonawanda,
NY.
ULTREYA!!!!! Gail Terrana Gater77@verizon.net
Notable
News
Eileen Gehen entered her 5th
day. EIleen was a great lady, a great Cursillista as well as a wonderful mother
and wife.
Al Baker’s twin brother, George,
died suddenly in June. And Al is also still recovering from surgery...so the
Baker's need your prayers....
Please
pray for Linda Piskun and her family, her Mom has been called
home. Although Linda has an abundance of faith, she still needs our prayer
support.
Please
keep John Protulipac, his daughter, and the entire Pueblo de Paz community in
your prayers as they mourn the sudden loss of his wife Alison.
Please send Notable News
items to buffalocursillo@att.net, for each month; a lot happens in our Cursillo community that others
would like to know!
Address of Newsletter
Send
articles/information to: Buffalo Cursillo
or
buffalocursillo@att.net
PO Box 2185
Blasdell NY 14219
If your
friend(s) in Cursillo is not receiving the Newsletter contact: buffalocursillo@att.net.
Some emails
change, and without the new address in our list, you won’t get the newsletter
each month. If you have a friend in Cursillo that has stopped getting their
newsletter, kindly asks them to re-send their request for the newsletter to buffalocursillo@att.net.
Don’t forget
to check to see if the Cursillo newsletter is
in their blocked, spam or junk email folder.
If they
would also send their new address and phone, we can update the Cursillo master
list.
Do you have a candidate in mind?
On our site,
www.buffalocursillo.org, you can
go to member’s page, click & then download the candidates four (4) page
application form, a GREEN title. You need MSWord or GOffice (free program) to
download it.
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.
End