Cursillo in Atlanta
Life-changing is a phrase that often bursts forth from the lips of those who have participated in the Christian renewal movement called Cursillo. Some have found Cursillo so powerful, it has inspired a vocation. In fact, a number of priests and deacons in the Atlanta Archdiocese say their Cursillo experience moved them to consider ordained ministry. Deacon Bill Keeling, who attended a Cursillo weekend in 1973, talked about the conversion he experienced. “Making a Cursillo weekend was one of the greatest gifts God has ever given to me … Cursillo took all the things I had learned from my grandmother, my parents and the Catholic schools I had attended and made sense of it. It gave me direction and the necessary tools to continue to grow in my faith.” Sr. Margaret McAnoy has been involved in Cursillo in Atlanta as a team member and spiritual director for forty-four years. She says her first Cursillo weekend helped her to discover that she could have a personal relationship with Jesus, a realization that changed her life.
Cursillo is not just for those called to religious life. Its primary focus is to help all men and women to be greater witnesses of Christ to their families, to their workplaces and to the world. The name Cursillo is Spanish meaning short course. Cursillo is considered a short course in Christian living. It begins with a three-day weekend that is filled with talks, prayer, faith-sharing and fun. Cursillo participants or Cursillistas, as they are called, usually come away inspired, empowered, renewed and challenged to live their faith more fully.
Cursillo is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in Atlanta. In the past fifty years, an estimated ten-thousand men and women in the Atlanta Archdiocese have participated in Cursillo. Atlanta Cursillo weekends are held twice a year at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Men and women attend separate weekends. The next weekend for men is October 8-11. The next weekend for women is October 15-18. For more information on Cursillo in Atlanta, go to http://www.atlcatholiccursillo.org/.
You will be hearing more about Cursillo in the weeks ahead at St. Thomas Aquinas. In the meantime, we are looking for persons who are either interested in attending or have already attended a Cursillo weekend. It you would like to sign up to attend an upcoming Cursillo weekend, or if you have already made a Cursillo weekend, please contact Terry Zobel, tzobel@sta.org.
