Christ is Counting on You!Group Reunion • Ultreya • Environments • Sponsorship • Perseverence

D I O C E S E O F L E X I N G T O N C U R S I L L O N E W S L E T T E R

Apr-May 07

Cursillo is Changing!Cursillo is Changing!Cursillo is Changing!Cursillo is Changing!Cursillo is Changing!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE. . .

• Changes - What Goes

Around, Comes Around

• Women’s Talks, Times

& Closing

• Faith At Work

• It’s Palanca Time!

• Hope Does Not

Disappoint

cont’d on page 5

As part of Pope John Paul II’s call toevery movement of the church to return totheir original charism, the Cursillo

movement in theUnited States hasbeen studying ourprimary focus andcharism over thepast several years.We are nowentering into acountry wideupdating of ourdocuments(Leaders Manuals,

Cursillo Weekend Manuals, and everythingelse) and our weekends to reflect the resultsof this study.

The primary spiritual change takingplace is a stronger focus on personal andongoing conversion (of each Cursillista) asopposed to a focus on our communities andour outreach or evangelization. The Cursillomovement still intends to change and reformthe world for Christ. Our method to do this

is to convert each person into a truerapostle and lead us all to understand whatGod would have us do in our daily lives.This includes spreading the Word (some-times by our words, always by ourexample). I think the change recognizesthat our outer mission will happen moreeasily when our inner conversion contin-

ues, while thisouter missionis notguaranteed ifthe innerconversion isignored. Youshould seeincreasedemphasis onour prayer life

from our documents and our communica-tions, as well as an ongoing emphasis on“making a friend, being a friend, andbringing our friend to Christ”.

The outward sign of the changes for us is

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Lay Directors - cont’d from page 1

Greetings from Women’s Team #49!We are enjoying our time together and

working hard on all the preparations for theweekend. Along with writing our talks(called “Rollos” in the new manual toremind us that we are really unrolling onetalk), we are focused on becoming friendsin Christ and building a community of lovethat will welcome our Babe Chicks.

As you know we will be the first women’steam to use the new Cursillo manual. Thismeans that we will be going back to the oldtripod of Piety, Study, and Action (instead ofHoliness, Formation, and Evangelization).We will also add back the Sunday Rollo “TheCursillista beyond the Cursillo” as a lead-into “Total Security” (aka “Group Reunionand Ultreya”). Our Cursillo weekendhappens to occur on Derby weekend, sowe’ll be sure to have fun with that whilecelebrating our Joy in the Lord on Saturday.

We have chosen Ephesians 3:17:“Rooted and grounded in love” as ourtheme. Our prayer is that we will, throughGrace, be rooted and grounded in the loveof Christ and that his presence with us and

the candidates will feed and support usthroughout our preparations and theweekend itself. May Christ’s love be thefoundation for our Babe Chicks throughouttheir 4th Day.

“To Be Your Bread” is our song. Aswe sing it together, we will be bringing“our lives as they are” to the Lord’s table,and asking him to “come and change us -to be a sign of his love.” This song is awonderful reminder of the power of theEucharist to change us for the better -Christ working in and through ourbrokenness, blessing us so that we mayshare ourselves and Christ’s love in ourenvironments.

We humbly ask for your prayers andpalanca for us and for the candidates thatGod will send to the weekend. Pleasealso remember to reach out and includethe Babe Chicks in Group Reunion andUltreya. They will be looking for a way toconnect in with our loving communityand your openness and love will enablethem to continue to grow in their 4th Day!

De Colores! Teresa Nolet

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Fr. Paul Prabell (Sp. Dir.) ...... Habitual Grace (Fri. - 10:10am)............................................. Sacraments (Sat. - 9:20am) ..................... Christ the KingFr. Pat Steward (Sp. Dir.) ........ Actual Grace/Faith (Fri. - 1:30pm)............................................. Obstacle to a Life of Grace (Sat. - 2:55pm)............................................. Life in Grace (Sun. - 9:05am) .................Good ShepherdJulie Johnson ......................... Ideals (Fri. - 9:15am) .................................. Holy FamilyBarb Ross .............................. Layperson in the Church (Fri. - 11:10am) ..... Holy FamilyKim Kovarik (Asst.) ................ Piety (Fri. - 3:00pm) ................................... Mary QueenEileen Lewandowski ............... Study (Sat. - 8:20am) .................................... St. MichaelBobbie Newman .................... Action (Sat. - 1:15pm) ............................ Christ the KingLastenia Fraley ....................... Leaders (Sat. - 4:10pm) .......................... Christ the KingDiane Monahan ..................... Study of the Environment (Sun. - 8:05am) ... Mary QueenMary Jo Enderle (Cha-Cha) .... Christianity in Action (Sun. - 11:15am) .. Sts. Peter & PaulKabby Akers (Backup) ............ The Cursillista Beyond Cursillo (Sun. 12:50pm) Mary QueenTeresa Nolet (Rector) ............ Preliminary Rollo (Thurs. 7:45pm)............................................. Total Security (Sun. - 1:35pm) ............. Sts. Peter & Paul

Women’s #49 Talks & TimesWomen’s #49 Talks & TimesWomen’s #49 Talks & TimesWomen’s #49 Talks & TimesWomen’s #49 Talks & Times

The Women’s weekend is quicklyapproaching and we need Palanca letters forthe team and candidates.  I know you’ve beendoing palanca for the success of theirweekend so now all you need to do is tell theteam and candidates about it.  And if youhaven’t done any palanca, it’s not too late!You may mail your Palanca notes to me at1685 Chandler Ln., Lexington KY 40504 ore-mail them to me at kfister@insightbb.com. If you mail them to me at home, please besure they are in the mail no later thanMonday so I will be sure to receive themand get them down to Cliffview by Thursday. 

If you want to write personal palanca,you can get a list of the team and candidates

here:  www.rc.net/lexington/cursillo/spring2007weekends.html#Women

Please make sure to write the person’sname on the front of the envelope.  It’s alsohelpful if you write if this person is acandidate or team member.   If you are thesponsor of a candidate, please indicate thison the front of the envelope.  This willreally help out the team when they aresorting through the Palanca letters.

Remember what a powerful impactPalanca had on you when you were onyour weekend.  Please take a few minutesto think about what you can do to help ourCursillo be as successful as it can!

De Colores, Karen Fister

It’s not too late for palanca!It’s not too late for palanca!It’s not too late for palanca!It’s not too late for palanca!It’s not too late for palanca!

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 God is always at work in my life andonce in awhile, I am blessed with theknowledge about where God is guiding meprecisely when it’s happening.   So it was in the summer of 2005. As alongtime freelance writer who yearned tohave more time to work on my fiction, Iapplied for a summer artist-in-residencegrant from the KentuckyFoundation for Women. A fewweeks after applying, I receivedthe call that I had been chosenand would have the opportunityto spend a week at their retreat– Hopscotch House – exploringthe idea I had proposed. It feltlike such a success to me that itwas almost as if I had alreadybeen offered a contract topublish the book. The summerwas beginning to look verygood!   Then I received an e-mailmessage from an editorwho I had never metasking if I might be interested in discussingthe possibility of working on a book for herpublishing company. The editor was LaurieDelgatto of St. Mary’s Press and those e-mailexchanges prompted me to think about thepossibility of writing my first nonfictionbook.   The next thing that happened didn’t getmarked in the column of good news for thesummer. I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

HHHHHow faith plays a role in my lifeow faith plays a role in my lifeow faith plays a role in my lifeow faith plays a role in my lifeow faith plays a role in my life        It came as such a shock that everythingseemed slightly unreal for a few days. Andthere wasn’t much time to re-establish anysort of reality before they were wheeling meinto surgery. The post-surgery news wassurprising. The tumor had been very large

and fast growing, but it hadn’tspread into the lymph nodes.Nonetheless, I would likelyneed chemotherapy and

radiation.   My week at Hopscotch House

was scheduled for 10 days aftersurgery. The surgeon assured me it

would be a positive thing for me to do,so I embraced the opportunity withenthusiasm and packed up my notesand laptop for the trip. I could dealwith oncologists and further testswhen I returned.   I also had to consider thisbook I might still have the

opportunity to writefor St. Mary’s Press. Icalled a fellow

Catholic journalist who had been throughbreast cancer treatment and asked her –am I crazy for thinking I can write a bookwhile going through chemotherapy? Sheassured me I wasn’t crazy. As I prayed to seeGod’s will in this situation, it seemed that Icould not only do it, but it’s where God wasleading me. What could be more affirmingand uplifting while going through chemo-therapy than to hear stories people had to

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Lay Director: cont’d from page 1

a return to the original Cursillo tripodof Piety, Study, and Action from ourmore recent Holiness, Formation, andEvangelization. There has been a hugeamount of discussion on this at thenational and regional levels, but to methe reasoning is simple. The old wordsbetter reflect what I myself must do inorder to change my life and become abetter apostle for Christ. Many of theweekend talks have changed in bothtitle and content as a result of thisrenewal. Joe Lerza and Teresa Nolethave graciously volunteered to be thefirst users of the new Cursillo Manual,and their teams and candidates will

experience the change. The newbabechicks will not recognize anydifference. It will fall to us veterans tochange in order to support them intheir Fourth Day, and to continue tolearn and grow in the Cursillo move-ment.

If you are interested in learningmore about the changes, please contactme (noletda@alum.mit.edu). You canalso read more at the National Cursillowebsite (www.natl-cursillo.org) ororder one of the new Leader’s Manualsfrom Kim Kovarich ($15 from Kim atkak217@insightbb.com or 2125Rollingdale Rd., Lexington KY 40513).

tell about their faith?   And so I wrote. I researched my novel ideaat Hopscotch House then proceeded tobegin writing. When I returned home, Iexchanged more e-mail messages withLaurie in between appointments withoncologists and machines that tested me forvarious cancer-related consequences. At theend of August, I began chemotherapy. InSeptember, I began interviewing people forYes! I am Catholic.   My task was to write a book for teenagersthat includes stories about why peoplechoose to be Catholic. Since the firstaudience I had ever felt drawn to writing forwas teenagers, the project seemed aresponse to a long-forgotten desire. As Iheard from people who experienced theirown heartaches, physical challenges andspiritual highs and lows, I knew the project

was an answer not only the prayers of theeditors who conceived it but also to myprayers for guidance in this phase of  mylife.   I finished the most intensive part of thechemotherapy in January 2006. After ashort break I moved onto the radiation as Ialso finished up the last of the 39 inter-views. By June, I was down to an easier-to-handle chemotherapy every three weeksand the draft of the book was finished. Notlong after that, I completed my finalrevisions and put the project in the hands ofthe good people at St. Mary’s Press.   They tell me I’ll see the book in Septem-ber of this year. I’ll keep you up-to-date asthat month nears. And in the meantime, Ihope you, too, will be open to where God isguiding you in your life. 

De Colores! Beth Dotson-Brown

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Diocese of Lexington Cursillo SecretariatDiocese of Lexington Cursillo Secretariat

Lay Director Dan Nolet Sts. Peter & Paul (859) 236-9164

Spiritual Advisor Fr. Jim Sichko St. Mark (859) 268-9938

Pre-Cursillo Nick Maddage St. Mildred (606) 561-0554

Cursillo Kim Kovarik Mary Queen (859) 492-8070

Post-Cursillo Dan & Donna Connell Jesus Our Savior (606) 784-3900

Palanca Karen Fister Holy Spirit (859)278-1910

Secretaries Rick & JoAnn McQueen Jesus Our Savior (606) 784-4287

Leaders School Ann Hoenscheid Holy Spirit (859)223-1728

Treasurer Lastenia Fraley Christ The King (859) 357-2040

Cursillo Reunion and Grand UltreyaCursillo Reunion and Grand UltreyaCursillo Reunion and Grand UltreyaCursillo Reunion and Grand UltreyaCursillo Reunion and Grand UltreyaAugust 3 - 5 at CliffviewAugust 3 - 5 at CliffviewAugust 3 - 5 at CliffviewAugust 3 - 5 at CliffviewAugust 3 - 5 at Cliffview

Having just traveled through the 40 daysof Lent to the triumph of Easter, we mustcontinually remind ourselves that we are apeople of HOPE!   Beinghopeful, does not mean thateverything will turn out for ourbenefit!  Being a person ofHOPE, means that whateverhappens in life, somethinggood will come out of it.    JohnPaul II wrote:  “We cannot livewithout hope.  Many hopes godown when they crash againstthe rocks of life.  However,Christian hope “does not disappoint,”because it is based on the solid foundationof faith in the love of God revealed in Christ.

 It seems that with every upcomingregistration, we are plagued with cries,sometimes panic, for occupants to fill theslots for our upcoming cursillo weekends. 

Instead of cries and panic,  I suggestprayerful hope and confidence that GOD isworking with us and that God is among us. 

In the ups and downs of life, wemust constantly be remindedthat God never promised useverything we wanted; Godpromised us everything weNEED.   As you journey thisEaster Season, look back inyour life and in your life’sjourney —  has God ever failedyou?   Has God ever disap-peared?   Has God ever gone

back on a promise of HIS?   Regardless ofwho you are or where you are, the answerto these questions are NO. As we continue in our 4th day, may we bereminded that our 4th day should beEVERYDAY!   Wishing you peace andblessings! FR. JIM

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