Men's 197th Cursillo

The theme for the weekend was “On Eagles Wings,” and did we soar! Back in October, when I had received the final “yes” from the men who would make up the Cursillo Team for the weekend, I said to Kelly, my wife, “God has given me a great Team!” After I had called each of the Candidates and spoken to them about the weekend, I then said to Kelly, these men are ready for Cursillo! But I have to say that I sig-nificantly underestimated God’s goodness on both accounts! The Team was magnificent, and the Candidates, our new Babe-Chicks, caught FIRE!

Just as any Rector is, I had been anxious about the start of the weekend. I was especially so, because I had been preparing for so long. I was first asked to be Warden for the Men’s 195th Cursillo in July of 2018. Due to a series of un-usual circumstances, I served as Warden for almost three years before the 195th happened in June 2021. With that much preparation, how could I not succeed?

Well, this Team exceeded all expectations, pre-senting their Rollos and explaining the Cursillo method of make a Friend, be a Friend and bring a Friend to Christ to our new Brothers. And these Candidates! They were not only ready, they were like dry kindling! Once they caught the sparks of Piety, Study and Action, they burned bright with the FIRE of the Spirit! Pen-tecost came early at the Casa. Tony Ventola once said that the Holy Spirit runs up and down the halls of the Casa touching souls during a weekend. Well, in this case the Spirit flew up and down the halls—like an Eagle!

Our new brothers very eloquently and pas-sionately described the impact the weekend had on each of them. Their witnessing at the Closing was very inspiring, and of course, gratifying to the Team and Service Team. A common theme in the witnessing was the beginning of a new journey with Jesus. Our new Brothers truly understand that Cursillo is not just three days!

But perhaps the highlight of the weekend was a surprise visitor we received. On Saturday after-noon, just as we were finishing lunch, this visitor, a fellow Cursil-lista, stopped by to greet us. It was none other than Cardinal Joseph Tobin! He wished us a successful and Spirit-filled week-end and gave us his blessing. He even shared a joke with us before he departed!

The weekend was brought to a close with a wonderful Fourth Day witness by Kelly En-right. Kelly described in wonderful detail what her Fourth Day Groups have meant to her over the course of the years since she made her Cursillo. She also told how our Fourth Day Groups, and the Cursillo commu-nity as a whole, have supported us through the difficulties our families have faced over the past eight months. She encouraged our new Brothers to take the opportunity to be part of a Fourth Day Group and assured them it will be life-changing!

Thank you and congratulations on a job well done to all of the Team members on the weekend. Our team included: Jeff Rutkowski—Ideals; Mickey Santiago-Laity; Hugo Santi-ago—Piety; Sam Zarro—Action; John Loman—Study; Frank DiMola-Study of the Environ-ments; Wendell Joyner—Christianity In Ac-tion; Ed Enright—Total Security; John Ven-tola-Personal Contact; Jerry DiMauro-Personal Contact; Gordon Roehrer—Music Minister.

We had the privilege of working with a first class Service Team, who was led by Pat Ferrara, Tom Tor-pey and Dino Hard-ish. We were also backed up by a stellar Support Team, led by Bob Weingartner.

Joe Lynch served as Warden and was a tre-mendous help to me throughout the prepa-ration and the weekend. Please start look-ing for Candidates for Joe’s weekend, which will be in June of next year!

A great big thank you to the entire Cursillo community for the prayers and support sent our way for this weekend. You all helped make it special and blessed!