Calling All Cursillistas!
December 2011
As our year comes to a close, it’s good to reflect on some memorable changes and milestones within our Cursillo Movement and within our Church. In 2011, the numbers 50, 75 and 100 have special significance to Cursillistas living within the Diocese of Orange.
This year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our friend Father Ray Skonezny’s ordination. He gallantly served the Cursillo for 23 years as our Spiritual Director.
In November, our advocate and fellow Cursillista, Bishop Tod Brown celebrated his 75 year of birth.
And finally, our own Executive Spiritual Director, Deacon Doug, has now energetically led over 100 grace-filled Cursillo Retreats at Marywood since September 2005.
In Orange County, our retreat weekends have continued to be capacity-filled with eager candidates. Our teams are filled with loving team members. We are attracting candidates from nearly every parish inside Orange County. In some cases, we are receiving applications from outside California and even overseas.
We have been asked by the bishops of Dublin to consider sending a team to assist with the possibility of re-establishing the Cursillo Movement in Ireland.
The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove may soon become the new home of our Diocese and the Cursillo Movement.
It's now been a number of weeks, but how many of us still occasionally respond with the “old” familiar greetings and responses during Mass instead of the new mass parts? “The Lord be with you.” “And with your spirit.”
Finally, a special Christmas message of joy from Mom...
Our Lady of Medjugorie’s Christmas message given on December 25, 2010 "Dear children! Today, My Son and I desire to give you an abundance of joy and peace so that each of you may be a joyful carrier and witness of peace and joy in the places where you live. Little children, be a blessing and be peace. Thank you for having responded to my call."
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
November 2011
Thank you one and all for your participation in the 2011 Cursillo Dinner Auction. It was another amazing evening filled with delicious food, comradery, and fellowship. The Cursillo relies on your generous donations to propel itself into the future & to ensure our movement will continue evangelizing future generations. I would like to give special thanks to Laurie Bois, and her dedicated team on a superb evening. I’d also like to give a big heart filled thanks to everyone who donated & bid on live auction items and the wonderful silent auction novelty baskets.
Wow, I’ve now been home just long enough to catch up on my sleep after spending ten days on pilgrimage following the footsteps of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the Holy Land. There is nothing quite as powerful as celebrating Mass with several Cursillista companions in Capernaum on the breezy, sandy shores of the Sea of Galilee and renewing wedding vows in Cana. I now pray with vivid images of each and every mystery of the rosary from the Annunciation in Nazareth to the Nativity in Bethlehem through the Crucifixion on Calvary and on to our Lord’s glorious Ascension.
There were two sites that touched my soul in an especially powerful way. The first was climbing down into the cave to venerate the spot where Mary gave birth to her son, Jesus. The second was overlooking the walled city of Jerusalem from the vantage point of Jesus where he wept for his children, Israel.
While walking in Jerusalem following the footsteps of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I realized that we Cursillistas are most fortunate to perpetually walk with Christ in our everyday lives.
De Colores and Happy Thanksgiving!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
September 2011
On July 28th, 2011 the Southwest Airlines jet I had boarded three hours earlier landed softly on the runway in San Antonio, Texas. I was just in time to catch a shuttle driven by a Cursillista and soon whisked away in a passenger van to St Mary’s University not far from the famous “Alamo” and “River Walk.” In true Cursillo fashion I was offered a plentiful meal at the moment of my arrival. This seems to be one of the three prerequisites necessary to holding a successful Cursillo event. The three prerequisites to most Cursillo gatherings in my experience appear to be, lively grouping, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and banquet-style food.
The National Cursillo Encounter in San Antonio was my first glance at the inner-workings of our beloved Cursillo Movement on a national level. One of the most striking attributes of the Cursillo is its staggering diversity. We have Vietnamese, Spanish, English, Filipino and Korean speaking Cursillo communities thriving in our country. The second attribute is the unity and love that permeates our movement allowing it to be held together by special people seeking to evangelize their neighbors and spread the good news of Christ. The third is joy. This happiness is not contrived; it is a true gift from God to the workers in His vineyard.
Who will join me for an upcoming informative Regional Encounter weekend in Fresno? Everyone is invited... Orange County Cursillo is part of Region 11 which includes Hawaii, California and Nevada. We will be busy looking deep into the operational side of the Cursillo and studying the logistics of what works well and possible changes within the movement.
Reserve on your calendar the weekend of September 30th to October 2nd 2011. Place your reservations ASAP.
I’ve included a link to the Regional Encounter registration form and information for your convenience.
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
July 2011
Our Fifth Day
On our fifth day will we have any regrets? During our Cursillo weekend we all learned the techniques necessary to live a love-filled life open to God’s grace through piety, study and action. What can be more important than navigating souls to everlasting joy? I find it interesting to listen to and glean wisdom from people experiencing a dreadful crisis in their lives. Here is a top five list of regrets compiled by a palliative care nurse assisting her terminally ill patients:
- I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
- I wish I didn’t work so hard.
- I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
- I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
- I wish that I had let myself be happier.
In 2007, a 15 year old parishioner from my parish, San Francisco Solano in Rancho Santa Margarita, was diagnosed with cancer. After a four year battle, Diana Leung succumbed to death on June 18th, 2011. In her journal she wrote this reflection for us to meditate:
“I am currently learning to live with metastatic, (spreading), cancer. I was diagnosed in 2007, and have only made it this far because I know the Lord is carrying me through, and that He’d never give me more than I can handle. Everyone has a cross to bear, and this is mine, I’m thankful for every day of life that God gives me, and you should be too. A word of advice… give thanks every time that you wake up to a new day, because God never promised you that day would come.”
Perhaps Jesus was speaking directly to Diana in her most dire time of need. John 14: 1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”
We are never alone; the Spirit of God is ever present in our lives. He gives us a glimpse of what is promised to us through fellow mankind such as the palliative care nurse and sweet Diana. Continue to seek Him often in adoration of the most Holy Eucharist to soothe the yearning within the depths of your heart.
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
June 2011
The Rosary Loop
Last weekend I was invited to visit a friend from Chicago. I’ve stayed in his home many times before and I consider it a “miniature retreat.” The panoramic view from his sixth floor condo highlights an excellent view of the Chicago skyline including, of course, a prime look at the Sears Tower. Last Saturday night, since he was busy with some volunteer work, I decided to kill a few minutes waiting for him to return home by going outside to stretch my legs and perhaps take a ten minute walk. What began as a brief stroll through his quiet Italian neighborhood in Chicago turned into a situation which I am still trying to unravel and understand.
As the elevator descended to street level I yanked my Medjugorie rosary from my front pocket and began a favorite prayer, “I believe in the God the Father Almighty…” Still clutching my rosary, I walked down the street, looked both ways then crossed at the corner, “Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be Thy Name… “ Minutes later, at the Racine subway station I jumped onto the blue line heading toward the downtown loop, transferred to the red line and finally exited on Harrison St, and walked toward Michigan Ave in downtown. “Hail Mary full of grace…” As I approached The Art Institute and Millennium Park’s giant metallic “jelly bean” I dedicated my rosary to the conversion of poor sinners in Chicago and for the end of evil within the city. “Glory be to the Father and to the Son…”
I consider myself a puny foot soldier, yet an energetic prayer warrior for Christ. The weather was near perfect so I just continued walking and praying, stopping briefly for a quick text message to my host explaining my absence. This spirited marathon lasted more than two hours of nonstop walking, worship and praise. Soon I reached Grant Park where Obama had celebrated his November 2008 presidential win with thousand of revelers. “Hail Mary full of grace…” I walked past the park’s ice rink; (funny, I don’t remember it from my previous visits), “Hail Mary full of grace…” My favorite view was on Harbor Drive overlooking Navy Pier with all its lights after sunset.
Now perhaps it was just a coincidence with no connections what so ever to my marathon prayers, but at the same time I was praying with much joy in Chicago swinging the rosary at my side a serious spiritual assault was launched against the one I love most at home. My wife Lisa is a gift from God and I chose to be with her out of six billion people and to be with her always. Marriage is a most wonderful gift from God…. I pray that each of my married Cursillistas brothers and sisters realize that the most precious gift a mother can give her kids is to truly love her husband. The most cherished gift a dad can give his children is to be in love with their mother!
Sirach 26: 1 – 4 Happy the husband of a good wife, twice-lengthened are his days; A worthy wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life. A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the LORD; Be he rich or poor, his heart is content, and a smile is ever on his face.
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
May 2011
A Prayer for Our Priests...
Last month, my wife Lisa and I redeemed two complimentary airline tickets to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We had been to this area before, but just in passing and never in April. The weather near the southern tip of Florida is amazing this time of year. The air temperature was 85 degrees and an attentive lifeguard told us that the ocean water temperature was 80 degrees. We had five days to explore and enjoy the area. We already want to go back...
While strolling along the boardwalk on Hollywood Beach, we met a verbose, yet friendly retired school teacher named Peter. In our brief encounter we learned of his Greek heritage and that he was raised by a divorced mother back in the 1930’s. Apparently, when Peter was just a newborn his dad was chased off by the in-laws. Peter’s dad was unacceptable to the family simply because he had no Greek blood flowing through his veins! Peter went on to explain how his family assisted with the founding of local Greek Orthodox Churches. He was proud of the fact that his family helped open these places of worship. I used this segue to jump in and tell him that my wife and I call the Roman Catholic Church our spiritual home. I explained that Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics have many similar and beautiful attributes between our churches. This was when Peter replied that “politics” had reared its ugly head and had infiltrated his church, causing him to no longer participate within church activities. He said, “God and I have a good relationship; I don’t need a church anymore.”
Isn’t it easy to criticize our church leaders? We can easily blame them for the crud experienced at our parish level. We are flawed and can pull down instead of lift up. Surely Christ is the head of our church… but humans make up the body of the church. Instead we Cursillistas need to remember pray for our priests.
For years I have been praying this brief petition.
Will you join me?
Return to prayer…
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
A Prayer for Our Priests
O Jesus, Eternal Priest,
Keep all Thy priests within the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where none may harm them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch Thy Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips, daily purpled with Thy Precious blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of Thy glorious priesthood.
Let Thy holy love surround them and shield them from the world's contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit and may the souls to whom they minister be here below their joy and consolation and in heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.
O Mary, Queen of the clergy, pray for us; obtain for us a number of holy priests...
Amen
Calling All Cursillistas!
April 2011
Return To Prayer
One of my favorite quotes from Medjugorie is, “Pray until prayer becomes a joy to you.”
We Cursillistas are a faithful remnant of prayer warriors. We pray as if everything depends on God and we act as if everything depends on us. God notices us as we “storm the gates of heaven” with our petitions...
Is it just me or have you also been called to a deeper and more vigorous prayer life the past several weeks? Lately, I have been receiving a daily text from my Cursillista brother, Efrain Gutierrez, at about three in the afternoon reminding me to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. It is a most welcome suggestion and I typically readily comply. My other brother, Manny Castro, e-mails me a daily list of people needing special prayer or supernatural healing. I usually pause from my task-at-hand and immediately pray for those most in need.
Some other special friends have recently told me they are somehow painfully restrained and unable to pray as they desire. What is causing this mental or spiritual block? I implore them to persevere because they are significant in the eyes of Christ and loved by our Divine Father so I encourage them to fight through this complacency. “Pray until prayer becomes a joy to you.” Choose to be with your creator, spend time in prayer. Meditate on Jesus’ last few hours living on earth. Position yourself at the foot of His cross on Calvary; hear in your soul His last seven words. Imagine yourself speaking softly to Mary; let her know you share the pain she suffers in her heart.
Pray especially now more fervently in the wake of the Japanese tsunamis, 9.0 earthquake, nuclear radiation, civil unrest in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia and the ongoing saga in Iraq and our war on terror in Afghanistan. What’s next? We have much to pray about...
“Pray until prayer becomes a joy to you!”
Return to prayer...
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
March, 2011
Feast Day of Saint Juan Diego
Last month as my wife, Lisa, and I were driving toward Lahaina in Maui, we were greeted by a billboard announcing the familiar moniker of the Hawaiian Islands "Welcome to Paradise..." During our brief stay we were fortunate enough to catch a few early morning weekday masses at Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in downtown Lahaina not far from the wharf. One morning as the 7am Mass concluded, we selected a front row pew to meditate and pray the rosary. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man approached us and said “I see you are praying the rosary... I want to give you a copy of the book I wrote about a Marian apparition site in Medjugorie...” Guy Murphy introduced himself and said he lives in Chicago. Apparently, he felt called to give us this wonderful gift.
Now there is no possible way this man could have known at that exact moment he greeted us, I had been praying intensely for Mary’s intercession regarding a problem with two men I know in Chicago...
Isn’t Mary a great mother? We are very lucky to have such a loving advocate!
While some enjoy Hawaii as a slice of paradise, we Cursillistas in Hawaii enjoy a double dose of paradise when we are able to receive the Eucharist while vacationing ... in paradise.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta explains the joy she experiences while receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ during Mass. She said, "When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now."
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Calling All Cursillistas!
February, 2011
A New Beginning...
In July 2010, I was approached by Deacon Doug Cook and Mike Blasi to possibly serve within the Cursillo in a very special way. After prayerful discernment I have accepted the challenge of stepping into our retiring Lay Director’s shoes. My friend, Mike Blasi, has led us in a very loving and professional manner the past four years. His departure has left us with a gigantic void to fill. Please continue pray for Mike and his lovely wife Sharon as they shifts gears with their move to Hawaii. Although Mike is leaving us we still have an exciting task of guiding the Orange County Cursillo Movement into the future. My vision for the future of Cursillo is one of Marian love and capacity-filled weekends.
We will strive to continue the hard work of filling weekends with Catholics yearning to satisfy their faith by emphasizing the Pre-Cursillo portion of our Movement. We will be stressing the spirit of love by welcoming our Catholic sisters and brothers to explore the window of Christ’s love through a weekend retreat at Marywood.
In the spirit of New Beginnings... I am thrilled to introduce Cursillo’s 2011 Catholic Man of the Year nominee, Al Langer of Cursillo #63 / September 1981. Al will represent our beloved Cursillo Movement on March 19th 2011 as nominee for the Saint Joseph’s Radio sponsored event…Orange County Diocese Catholic Man of the Year.
If you haven’t had the chance yet, I would highly recommend reading Al Langer’s autobiography “A New Beginning.” The readers of A New Beginning will experience a remarkable journey. Through the heart, mind and eyes of a young Alfred Langer they will have a new comprehension and understanding of the horrors of war, be able to sense the tragedy of homelessness, and appreciate the reality of losing everything they own. But even through the massive heartbreak and callous misfortune they will also be exposed to and learn unforgettable lessons of family values and uncompromising faith.
De Colores!
Gary Gordon
Click here for the Calling All Cursillista articles from the Mike Blasi era as Lay Director -- June 2007 through January 2011
