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
