Perseverance Is the Key to Growth in Christ Through the Cursillo Method

#15 Ultreya

PURPOSE:

This talk is intended to offer encouragement and confidence to the new Cursillistas as they go back to their environments. While the world has not changed during their weekend, the Cursillistas have a new set of tools for their spiritual journey. That new set of tools is the Cursillo method. Group Reunion is the small group for growth in Christ; Ultreya is the regular experience of the larger community. This talk is the full and final description of the Cursillo method and life in the Fourth Day – regular contact with Christ and regular contact with one‟s brothers and sisters in Christ.

CORE IDEAS:

 Perseverance is the key to growth in Christ through the Cursillo method.

 The Fourth Day is the rest of one‟s life, a pilgrimage to God in which we encourage one another by the cry, “Ultreya!” Onward, upward and forward!

 Participation in Group Reunion and Ultreya are key elements for continued Christian growth.

INTRODUCTION:

Cursillo originated in Majorca, Spain. Catholic Action groups in Spain planned a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James at Compostela. The pilgrimage was held in 1948 and was a visible sign of renewal in the Church.

As pilgrims traveled the rough terrain to the shrine, they encouraged one another with the word, “Ultreya!”, that is, “Onward!” or “Keep on going!”

As the Cursillo method developed, “Ultreyas” became the community gatherings for support and encouragement.

THE MISSION:

1. Our baptismal covenant calls us to continue in the apostles‟ teaching and fellowship, to persevere in resisting evil, to proclaim the Good News, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, and to strive for justice and peace. (BCP, p. 304-305) Cursillo provides a method to make that covenant a living reality in our lives.

2. While our Cursillo weekend may have given us a “mountain-top” experience, the biblical story of the Transfiguration (compare Mt. 17:1-21, Lk. 9:28-43, Mk. 9:2-29) offers us an example of how mountain top experiences sometimes lead us into “valley” duty.

3. Our Cursillo weekend may have changed us, but our environments at home are still the same. (A personal example may be helpful here.)

4. Cursillo provides a means by which we are able to persevere in our faith journeys and continue to be converted by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. (A personal example may be helpful here.)

5. Being changed and transformed we are able to reach out and transform our environments for Christ. (Mt. 28:19) (A personal example may be helpful here.)

THE PURPOSE OF ULTREYA:

Ultreya has four major purposes.

1. Ultreya provides for sharing: for individuals in the Floating Group Reunions; for the community as a whole in the lay witness talk given by the speaker and in the responses to the talk.

2. Ultreya creates an atmosphere of enthusiasm where all can witness to their own experiences of God in worship and prayer, in encounters with others, and in evangelizing the world.

3. Ultreya aids in ongoing conversion of the participants. By praying, sharing, and hearing the Lay witness talk, the participants are encouraged to incorporate new ideas and opportunities for growth in Christ into their lives.

4. Ultreya encourages evangelization of environments with the knowledge that the individual is a part of a witnessing community of faith, and by fosters friendships that encourage personal and communal evangelization. (A personal example may be helpful here.)

THE METHOD:

1. The basic principles of Cursillo include:

a. regular contact with Christ through prayer, sacraments, liturgy, study of scripture, and spiritual direction; and

b. regular contact with brothers and sisters in Christ through Group Reunion, Ultreya, and regular attendance at corporate worship.

2. The Ultreya leads people to live, share and grow in the Spirit enkindled on the Weekend. (An example of how the speaker‟s Ultreya has helped)

3. The basic, suggested format of Ultreya is as follows: (See NEC Library book, “Ultreya” for more details)

a. Prayer

b. Small “Floating” Group Reunions for sharing recent experiences of Piety, Study, and Action (30 Minutes).

1. To broaden each person‟s vision of ways to live in Christ

2. To help people seek out and discover friends with whom to form a permanent group reunion.

c. Lay Witness Talk (10 Minutes)

Tells a personal story,

1. About a recent action and its result

2. Planned with prayer and study

3. Undertaken to bring a person and/or environment closer to Christ

d. Lay Response and Spiritual Director‟s Scriptural Response reflecting on the talk and relating it to an event or events in the life of Christ

e. Announcements and closing prayers

CONCLUSION:

1. Recall that the word “Cursillo” means “little course”. As this “little course” in Christianity concludes its first-level course, we are encouraged to continue our learning and growing in Christ. Group Reunion and Ultreya are the primary tools offered by the Cursillo movement for continuing our growth in Christ.

2. We can have confidence as we face our future in faith that “Christ and I are an overwhelming majority,” and we have a community we can count on.

3. If we will follow the basic plan of the Cursillo movement we will be able to “live and share what is fundamental for being a Christian,” part of the definition of the Cursillo movement.

4. The Cursillo movement‟s intent is to never leave anyone stranded. Ideally, everyone can find a place to grow in Group Reunion and Ultreya.

5. Dedication to Christ with these tools will allow our faith to become that which it is intended to be: deeply felt, lived in daily life, and spread by love in word and deed.

Ultreya!

COMMENTARY ON THE OUTLINE:

1. This is primarily a witness talk. Ideally, it presents a picture of one who has made a Cursillo weekend, has become a dedicated apostle, and has lived the Fourth Day using the method of spiritual direction, Group Reunion, and Ultreya. The result has been a strong and fruitful Christian life.

2. The speaker needs to be personally convinced of the value of the Christian message and of the help afforded to his or her own living as a Christian witness which is provided by the Cursillo method.

3. The talk is best when it is realistic and enthusiastic with a tone of confidence:

a. Realistic – perseverance will not be easy

b. Enthusiastic – it is possible to persevere and see results

4. At the same time, the speaker is encouraged to avoid presenting Group Reunion and Ultreya as extra responsibilities to be taken on by the Cursillistas. Instead, the method of Cursillo is to be presented as a set of tools by which one can accomplish that responsibility which has already been accepted by virtue of one‟s baptismal covenant. The Cursillo method is a means of achieving that which we are already committed to do.