Humility a Virtue to Grow

From our Spiritual Advisor: 

We are called to witness Christ to others and bring them into relationship with Him.  More specifically, we are called to make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ.  If we want to succeed at that, we must be focused on Jesus and others and less on ourselves.  That means we need to continually be working on the virtue of humility. 

In one of the Sunday gospels just before Easter, we heard the story of the Pharisees who were intending to stone a woman who had been discovered in adultery.  In their lack of virtue and prideful, judgmental perspective, this was the only thing to do.  Their hearts of poison and narrow, arrogant attitudes caused them to judge others but blind to their own sinfulness and arrogant behavior.  Jesus taught them a lesson by telling them that whoever was sinless among them should cast the first stone.  As we know, they dropped the stones and walked away.  And Jesus, showing how He desires us to live, forgave her.  God is love and mercy. 

All of humanity has a large disfigurement from birth called original sin.  It causes us to have something very ugly – human pride.  It is the most fundamental of sins and the mother of all vices.  It feeds all other sins, worst among them being envy and pride.  We need to seek virtue and work daily to rid ourselves of these sins, or our pride will ultimately destroy our spiritual lives, and eventually bar us from eternity in heaven with the Holy Family. 

Pride is the most horrible of human vices and inherently against of human nature of God given goodness and ultimately makes us anti-human and destroys our souls.  It blinds us and fools us into thinking we are above God and all others.  If we want to grow in holiness, we must start by working to eliminate self-pride. 

This is a spiritual improvement project that we must all work on.  Continuously.  When you recognize this in yourself (we all have it), pray about it and seek God’s help.  He is always there to assist you in seeking virtue.  Pray the Litany of Humility often.  The Holy Spirit works powerfully through that prayer.  Do not always look to be first.  Look for ways to serve others.  Be extra patient with others.  Examine your thoughts and actions daily before bedtime, looking especially for that behavior in your life that day.  Go to confession often. 

Most of all, remember always that God created us, loves us and in His endless, tender mercy, forgives us if we but ask Him.  His spirit is always there to assist us as we seek to grow in His likeness. 

DeColores,  

Deacon Denny Scherger, Cursillo 115

June and a Thank You

From Our Lay Directors

June tends to be a month of beginnings and endings. Graduations have just occurred or will be occurring soon. There are many weddings. June can be a time for the end of one way of life and the beginning of a new way of life.

I love that we have several opportunities to begin a fuller way of living our Christian lives through special feasts this month. We start off on June 1st with the Feast of the Ascension, Christ’s returning to heaven with the promise of the sending of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” What a promise!

And then it happens on the Feast of Pentecost. As Jesus foretold in John 14:26 “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” We may not think that we know the Holy Spirit as well as we know the Father and the Son, but I know that I certainly experience the Holy Spirit the most!

June’s feasts also include the Feasts of the Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi. The Feast of the Holy Trinity reminds us of the mystery of three persons in one God. From Jesus’ time on earth, we learn from John 16:15a “Everything that the Father has is mine.” And although it was so difficult for the apostles to see Jesus go to heaven, he tells them in John 16:7b “For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.”

I was blessed to attend the Eucharistic Congress last year which brought me a deeper appreciation of the Eucharist. What a transforming gift to receive Our Lord, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, every time we attend Mass! Christ becoming a part of us, strengthening us in our vocation as disciples for Him!

June ends with the Feast of the Solemnity of Peter and Paul on June 29th. This feast isn’t usually assigned to a weekend Mass, but since the date coincides with a Sunday this year, we have the gift to celebrate it when we usually attend Mass. St. Peter encourages us to “get out of the boat” of our comfort zone and step out in faith. St. Paul is the patron saint of Cursillo, leading us to speak of Jesus wherever our environments are.

Both of us want to thank all those who have supported the Cursillo movement in the Toledo Diocese, and us in our position as lay directors for the past 5 years, taking the time and energy to keep Cursillo moving forward. And it is! Please keep our new lay directors Karen Frisch and Troy Peebles in your prayers as they begin this role on July 1.

What a gift the Cursillo movement has been to all of us! We encourage each other in our faith journeys, opening our eyes and lifting our hearts and minds to God in thankfulness for all the blessings that are bestowed on us every day. May your June be filled with many new beginnings in your walk with Christ!

Ultreya!

John Lyons and Kathy Otermat

April Showers Bring May Flowers

From Our Lay Directors:

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Now that Spring is officially here (as of March 20th ), we’re seeing more blue skies, but also the showers that are so much a part of this time of year. For me in my spiritual life, the showers depict the efforts and sacrifices I can choose to make to grow into a more fruitful, joyful follower of Christ. Jesus tells us in John 15:5a-b,11 “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit… I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

With more than half of April in the season of Lent this year, I still have time to take advantage of this season to become more fruitful. Just as the Scripture readings now are building up to Palm Sunday and the rest of Holy Week, perhaps we can take advantage of this time to grow a little more in our life with Christ. And, of course, offering prayer and palanca for the upcoming Women’s #298 is always an opportunity for growth!

We are blessed in this movement to have methods to help us to become more fruitful. I learn so much from the women that I group with, from new ways to study, deeper ways to pray and surrender, and different approaches to struggles in my life that I have difficulty in understanding and acting upon. And they learn from me, too. We build each other up. Ultreya is another opportunity for fruitfulness. I attended the Tiffin Ultreya recently. What wonderful sharing from men who attended the recent #297, plus those who have lived Cursillo for a long time. I learn so much!

Praying for you as you continue in your efforts to have a fruitful Lent! DeColores!

DeColores & Ultreya

John & Kathy