Mystery, Action, Legacy

This short speech of mine was part of a cursillo event I attended in support of a friend [this is actually an old draft, I’ll have to get the edited version up soon]:

To me Thomas’s witness is about to how cursillo deeply affected his life and continues to do so.  At the end of my cursillo retreat weekend, I remember we were all asked “what does cursillo mean to you?”  I remember answering that “I don’t really know, but it is my way of living out the second greatest commandment which is to love your neighbor as yourself”.  The ideal and first greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and all our strength which means to prefer nothing over God.  The closest we can be to perfection is always being one with the will of God – to be who God created us to be.  Cursillo reminded me that our purpose is to love God and reach heaven and because we were created to love, we all have the ability to reach heaven.  The way we achieve this is always being in the state of sanctifying grace though the sacraments especially confession and receiving the Eucharist.

Honestly I still don’t completely know the answer to what cursillo means to me or how cursillo has changed my life.  I think Cursillo in a way is an image of God like the Trinity is reflection of Piety, Study, and Action… God the Father most Holy, Jesus’s words of everlasting life, and the love of the Holy Spirit in action.  I could ask more generally, “how has God changed my life?”  I could say much but I’ll pick three points to echo Thomas and his dad –  Mystery, Action, Legacy:

1) Mystery.  Thomas’s dad said: “you don’t have to be a leader; you do what you do best.  however you will always have to be prepared because you will not know when the time will come where you will be called to be a leader”.  Trust is very important.  We have to remember that while cursillo is a good framework and method, we do not know everything; if we did, it would be like saying we know who God is.  It takes humility and trust for Thomas’s dad to answer to call to cursillo, same with Thomas and his mom.  I know in my life I’ve realized that humility is about the truth; if you ever want a challenge, ask God to let you see yourself as God sees you.

2) Action.  Thomas’s dad said: “follow [your] instincts and [your] conscience; follow what God wants us to do and don’t follow the way of the world”.  Thomas’s parents were not distracted and absorbed into the world like many parents today; Thomas’s dad gave him great advice and his mom practiced being an active cursillista for years before Thomas even realized what was going on. The phrase  “Faith is caught, not taught” means people see your actions and can often tell if you are a hypocrite, and they’re much less likely to believe in the Catholic faith if you are a bad example.  I’ve learned that action is prayer.  Words without action almost seems like a lie and not really humble.

3) Legacy.  Thomas’s dad said: “be happy with what you have in life; God has blessed us with so much good. Do not overlook the blessings you have”.  God bless my parents; I don’t blame them but I sometimes feel like I’m an orphan. But I’ve realized that God gave me Jesus and when I receive Him in my flesh and blood, He is my family, mysteriously, literally blood-related.  I’ve realized that God also gave us Mary as our mother and because Mary’s blood is in Jesus, I am her child.  I am very blessed.  We all are very blessed and I think it is strange that the more blessed we are it seems the more we take things for granted.  We need to be grateful to God and this is where we can find real peace and happiness.  The real orphans are those who do not know God as their father and Mary as their mother.

I challenge you to think for a moment: what is the greatest legacy you can give to the next generation?  What can you give that will last from generation to generation, even eternity?  Mystery.  Action.  Legacy.  The best inheritance I have found is gift of the love of God and the gift of the Catholic Faith to the next generation.  De Colores.