At an exciting new venue ! See the attached Flyer for the Diocesan Ultreya below:
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M/W51 Combined Cursillo – Success
MW51 Cursillo 2024 – The first combined men’s and women’s Cursillo weekend-MW51- in Newcastle Diocese was held 22nd to 25th August.
The theme was “God’s steadfast love” taken from Lamentations 3: v22 ”The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end”. God’s steadfast love was strongly felt during the preparation and delivery of this Cursillo weekend especially as we were trialling a new format previously used in Bathurst Diocese.
Three candidates attended the weekend together with fifteen team members. The integrity of the Cursillo experience was not lost in the new format. Nine talks were delivered by team members; Spiritual Advisors lead us through an experiential learning experience of a “Journey through the Sacraments”; we worked through a bible study and enjoyed times for rest and quiet reflection.
Lively discussions took place during table community discussion sessions-men’s table communities separate from women’s table communities. Meals were shared together enriching the “being in community” aspect of the weekend. Mananita and Clausura were very touching encounters for the candidates together with written palanca.
The theme song “Freely, freely you have received” MP181 speaks of the love given to us by God. MW51 gave all participants the opportunity to receive God’s love freely and to be strengthened to share His love in our communities through listening to Him, thereby bringing hope to a world where many live a life without hope.
LYN WICKHAM
LD MW51
Encourager – Winter 2024
One of my favourite stories is St Francis and the wolf. A wolf is terrorising the town of Gubbio and when St Francis hears of it, he goes there to tame the wolf. When he meets the wolf, he arranges a peace by promising the wolf if he stops, the people of the town will make sure he doesn’t go hungry.
The townsfolk agree and from then on, the wolf roams freely throughout the town, well-fed by the residents. When the wolf finally dies, he is mourned by every person in the town.
DOWNLOAD ENCOURAGER HERE: Web version Encourager 2 – reduced
I love this story for a few reasons. The logical way of resolving the problem of the wolf
is to hunt him down and kill him. St Francis’ way is conflict resolution. Both sides have
to want to repair the relationship and both sides have to give something up. The
ending that would have happened if the village hunted down the wolf would have been
cheering his death. The ending we get, though, is sorrow at the wolf’s death.
Conflict resolution is never easy.
We will often put ourselves in the initial role of the villagers; “I’ve done nothing wrong, it is all the
other person’s fault”. Can we open ourselves to the possibility both of us need to change?
Maybe this relationship can be salvaged?
We can’t make the other person come to the table, but I never want to be the one who is the
obstacle to reconciliation. I don’t have to give up everything. I don’t have to let the other person
walk all over me, but I do want to be sitting at the table with an open mind and a listening ear.
De Colores,
Fr Mark Cooper
Southern Qld 40th Anniversary
Over 3800 Cursillistas, have participated in Cursillo Weekends since it was introduced to Southern Queensland by Canberra/Goulbourn in 1985.
In 2025, Southern Queensland is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with the Diocesan Ultreya being held at St John’s Cathedral on November 8.
All are welcome to join in this wonderful celebration. Like other Dioceses, Cursillo Southern Queensland is looking forward and building on the great foundation laid by decades of faithful and passionate Cursillistas.
Onwards and Upwards !