Diocese of Gary

VALPARAISO – It is pretty much unanimous among Catholics who have completed a Cursillo weekend. “It is a life-changing experience, but hard to explain,” said Sue O’Connell, the Diocese of Gary Cursillo coordinator, echoing a phrase heard from just about every Cursillista.
    
Catholic women have another opportunity to find out for themselves what it is all about when Cursillo of the Diocese of Gary hosts this year’s Cursillo Women’s Weekend, Sept. 10-13, at Camp Lawrence.
    
“It begins on Thursday evening and ends at about 5 p.m. Sunday, and is a purposeful journey of discovery,” said Father Thomas Mischler, the Cursillo spiritual director. While Thursday night includes a Rosary and the Stations of the Cross to give participants a chance to settle in, “Each full day has a particular plan – the first day focuses on reflecting on who we are and understanding ourselves, day two is about our relationship with God, and the third day is about our relationship with the world we are being sent out to serve,” added Father Mischler. While components remain the same, the Cursillo weekend team develops the schedule and the order of the activities.
    
“I will give talks, called ‘rollos’ in Spanish, each day, as do team members who are all women who have completed a Cursillo, said the senior priest, who recently retired after serving at Holy Spirit in Winfield. “We have Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, say the Rosary together, and there are reflections by deacons that emphasize some aspect of the day’s theme; I am also hoping to have some religious sisters involved this year.”
    
Each class is asked to become apostles by taking some action to bring others to Christ, said Father Mischler. “The most well-known in our diocese is probably the soup kitchen at St. Joseph in downtown Hammond, started by a men’s Cursillo class many years ago and still open,” he noted.
    
O’Connell, a parishioner at Nativity of Our Savior in Portage, said she first became involved in the Cursillo movement in the 1970s, when her parents both completed a weekend. “It involves the whole family; we became more active in our parish,” she recalled.     
    
After making her own Cursillo in 1995, she subsequently became a team member and later the lay director, whose title was recently changed to diocesan Cursillo director. “There is a lot of preparation for a Cursillo, and the team holds workshops. We provide all the meals in addition to developing the schedule, so it takes a lot of work. We expect 10-plus women this year.”
    
O’Connell has been active in her friendship group since 1999 and also attends Ultreyas.
    
“My high-level explanation is that Cursillo is a message and a method,” O’Connell said. “Jesus had a message, that God in Christ loves us, and the method is friendship. He made friends and used friendships and stories to get his message out. A Cursillo is not a simple retreat, but a short course in Christianity.”
    
Debbie Rose, a team member this year, said, “You can describe a Cursillo weekend in a few different ways: it is a structured retreat for Christians that offers a fresh, practical experience of faith - centered on prayer, community, and reflection - so you can return home strengthened and inspired to live your discipleship day to day. It is also a faith retreat where participants meet others, spend time in prayer and talks, and reflect together on how to live the Gospel more intentionally, so they come home encouraged and renewed.
    
With scheduled spiritual talks, guided prayer times, moments for reflection, and small-group sharing,” she added,  “The goal isn’t just providing information; it’s transformation and encouragement for everyday life.
    
“If a woman is interested, I would encourage her to pray about it. It’s a beautiful experience, and by attending, they would be doing themselves a favor. It brings you closer to God,” said Rose.
    
“Cursillo helped deepen my relationship with Jesus; he became alive and more present to me,” said Carol Slager, a parishioner at St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville who called Cursillo a family and attends a friendship group. “I believe in the Cursillo movement, and I ask others to make the weekend, and I always keep asking until they do it. It changed my life.”
     
The Cursillo movement was established in 1944 in Mallorca, a Spanish island, in an effort to revitalize Spanish Catholic men in the aftermath of World War II. The movement came to the United States in 1957 through a pair of Spanish Catholic Air Force pilots stationed in Waco, Texas. The Diocese of Gary introduced the movement, which by then had been opened to women, about 20 years later.
    
“Make a friend, be a friend and lead a friend to Christ. That is our Cursillo goal,” said Father Mischler.

    
Any woman interested in making the Sept. 10-13 Cursillo at Camp Lawrence can visit cursillogary.com/womens-weekend for more information and an application. Applications are due Sept. 9. The cost is $150, but sponsorships are available. The next Men’s Cursillo Weekend is slated for Nov. 5-8, with more information available at cursillogary.com/mens-weekend.

Caption: Members of the Cursillo friendship group that meets weekly at St. Patrick in Chesterton include:  (front row from left) Leti Moreno, Debbie Rose, Josephine Martinez, Joan Baruffi, (back row) Anna Sasin, Sharon Duracz, Cathy Schuster and Debbie Pedzinski. (Provided photo)