Spiritual Director
Fr Jim Brown
DeColores! My sisters and brothers in Christ.What a blessing you are in my life as you live Christ in your everyday life, making Him visible in all you say and do. As we begin this fourth month of the year April, we move from the forty days of the Lenten Season and Holy Week into
the Fifty Day of the Easter Season. The forty days are a reminder of our ashen character as we journey with Jesus through the Way of the Cross into the Fifty Days of Resurrection. In Jesus the ‘dust that we are’ is given new Life and new possibilities, new hopes and new dreams.
I came upon an April poem by Fr. Andrew Costello CSSR, published in Markings in 1990 by The Thomas More Association. (All rights reserved) It is entitled, “April Mirror”
April scenes of budding and bursting flowers, Easter moments, fresh starts, new beginnings.
And this spring I stand here on the edge of a field of new possibilities. And yet a winter mirror of my sins stares me in my face.
Lord, I see the Judas in me and all the times I have betrayed you, and then going out all alone and every time hanging myself in shame. Lord, I see the Simon Peter in me who keeps denying you,3 times,70 times 7 times, Rarely in words, so many times in deeds, and I never stop to hear the rooster crow. Lord, I keep seeing the Pontius Pilot in me, washing my hands over and over again of responsibilities at work and at home, and not being able to wash away the reality that this is what I am really doing every time: guilty, guilty, guilty, over and over and over again.
Toledo Diocesan Cursillo Mission Statement: Cursillo is a Catholic Lay Movement embraced by the Diocese of Toledo to bring hearts closer to Jesus Christ in order to transform society and be of service to the whole church. It is our mission to form small Christian Communities to deepen Spirituality in ourselves and in others.
Lord of Resurrection, Lord of Spring, Breaker of mirrors, help me to start looking and seeing a new me in me (and You in me) in this new springtime in my life.
(Andrew Costello)
During these fifty days the Church calls us into the season of “Mystygogy” which means an
unfolding of the Mystery of who we are now in the Risen Christ Jesus and how we are to live in
these mysteries. The Latin word for ‘mystery’ is Sacrament. We are called to BE living Sacraments of Christ’s presence in our environments.
This year, and for the next several years we are focusing on the Eucharistic Revival.
Revival · restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc. · restoration to use, acceptance, or currency: the revival of old customs. · a new production ...
The awakening or quickening of God's people to their true nature and purpose.
Revival literally means "come back to life." An ER doctor might perform a revival of
someone whose heart has stopped. We usually use it to mean "returned to ...
• The act or an instance of reviving or the state of being revived ; an instance of
returning to life or consciousness; restoration of vigor or vitality
This year is the Year of the Diocese. On the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
on June 11, the focus turns to the parish observances. [This will be a wonderful opportunity for
Cursillistas to lead in their parishes.] The third year will be a national celebration, like a
Eucharistic Congress to be held in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Why do we Need it? Why Now? Because the Church needs healing. And the World needs the Church! Scandal, division, disease, doubt. The Church has withstood each of these throughout our very human history. But today we confront all of them, all at once. Our response in this moment is pivotal.
In the midst of these roaring waves, Jesus is present, reminding us that he is more powerful than the storm. He desires to heal, renew, and unify the Church and the world. How will He do it? By uniting us once again around the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist. The National Eucharistic Revival is the joyful, expectant, grassroots response of the entire Catholic Church in the United States to this divine invitation.
I invite all who are reading this article to share it with others and to get involved with the Revival
Process, in the Diocese and especially in the parish. After all, we in the Cursillo Movement have so much to offer the Church.
I would like to close with the new Diocesan PRAYER FOR EUCHARISTC REVIVAL: Soon we will be praying this at every Mass.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who promises to remain with us always and who is ever present to us in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Reawaken our belief in His presence in the Eucharist and deepen our understanding of, love for and living out of this great Mystery May this Sacrament of his sacrificial love be for us the sign of unity and the bond of charity. Nourish through our worthy reception of the Body and Blood of your Son, so that we may enjoy communion with you and with one another. Make us living witnesses of your love and mercy throughout our local church. Send us forth as faithful missionary disciples, strengthened by the grace of the Eucharist to proclaim the Gospel, so tall may know that the Living Bread Jesus gives us is His Flesh for the life of the world.. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
I encourage you to check out www.toledodiocese.org/eucharist and/or
www.eucharisticrevival.org, The national web site. Also much can be found on FORMED,
Augustine Institute, Ascension Press and Bishop Barren’s Word On Fire. And there is always the Catholic Catechism. Wow! There is so much to choose from. What a blessing.
May each of you be blessed in the Lord Jesus and always BE a blessing to all you serve.
Fr Jim Brown