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School of Leaders (SOL)Friendship

E. Paul SemmensJune 2012

Cursillistas! Walk the Paths of the world taking with you the divine seal of grace on your faces with confidence and serenity. May your friendship with Christ blossom

throughout all the world in a thousand colors.“ Pope Paul VI, May 1970

Agenda

† Bible Enthronement & Reflection† Leader’s Prayer† Reflection & Floating Group Reunion† Technique Talk: Friendship† Discussion/Announcements† Closing Prayer

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Leader’s Prayer

† Lord grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our Movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success.

† My God, give us a spirit of self sacrifice so that we may offer everything for Your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary. Instill in us courage in our initiatives, good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that determination, which in spit of failures, assures victory.

† Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which divides or discourages.

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Leader’s Prayer con’t

† Help us to maintain at a high level, a meaningful supernatural and mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by preference, the most humble task and will rejoice at the good performed by others, so that all our spirits, united in a common purpose, will have one single spirit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces, Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living Presence among us. Amen

† Our Lady of Guadelupe, Patron of the Americas, Pray for US.† St Paul, Patron of the Cursillo, Pray for US.

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5Technique Talk

Definition of Friendship(Wikipedia)

† Friendship is a relationship between friends, a friendly feeling or attitude.† Friends care for one another and look out for each other.† For a deep understanding to occur between friends, they must open up about

personal things, listen carefully, and be loyal to one another. † Value that is found in friendships is often the result of a friend demonstrating the

following on a consistent basis:– The tendency to desire what is best for the other– Sympathy and empathy– Honesty, perhaps in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth,

especially in terms of pointing out the perceived faults of one's counterpart– Mutual understanding and compassion; ability to go to each other for emotional support– Enjoyment of each other's company– Trust in one another– Positive reciprocity — a relationship is based on equal give-and-take between the two

parties.– The ability to be oneself, express one's feelings and make mistakes without fear of

judgment.6

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Initial Thoughts on Friendship

† In Jn 15:9 Jesus said “I Love you” – 1 Jn 4:10 sent His son as expiation for our sins, the ultimate act of Love

† In Jn 15: 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you– The Greek root word for friend is love or beloved

† It’s amazing Jesus picked the word, friend; He could have used so many others– Servant– Disciple or Apostle– Follower– Associate– Companion– Supporter

† In Jn 15:16 Jesus said “I chose you”

I Love You I Chose YouBe My Friend

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Love

† The word Love has many meanings

† We often think of it as an emotional attachment

† The word Love evolves from the Latin word Caritas – to value

† Love in a Christian sense has to do with what I value which

dictates the way I act and behave

Saginaw Michigan White Book, May 15 2012

Initial Thoughts on Friendship

† In Jn 15: 17 Jesus said “Love one another”– So that meant not to necessarily to have feelings toward one another– But to value, appreciate the other person

† In Cursillo, the foundation of our Charism is we love by being friends -we see God’s love through the love of others

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I Love (Value)

You

Make a Friend

Be a Friend

Bring a Friend to

Christ

I Choose You Be My Friend

In Order to Love…

† Cursillo is a community of people who love, who value each other

† We have to feel loved: No one can love if he is not loved; you can’t give what you do not have– When we realize God loves us, His

presence shines in us– God gives His love unconditionally; we

can’t earn it – But we can & do gratefully share it in

our groups & with others on our weekends

† The core idea therefore is friendships are a reflection of Jesus’ love for us 10

GOD US

CURSILLOCOMMUNITYOTHERS

Friendship

† The Cursillo method believes all true friendships come from God† When two people are friends and they bring God into their

friendship, God amplifies His graces† Friendships bring us individually & collectively closer to God; they

are a way for our love to grow† The Tripod is intended to build our friendship with God, ourselves

and others– Encounter God; Piety: we learn God loves us– Encounter our selves; Study: we learn to love ourselves – Encounter with others; Action: Our love of God enables us to

love (value) others

– Father David Smith, Cursillo Regional Encounter April, 2012

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Encounter With Others

To Be a Friend

Encounter With Self

FriendWith God

Friend With Self

Encounter With God

To Form Yourself So You can be Friends With:

Friends With Others

Cursillo Friendship Organizations

† The Cursillo is a Charism of friendship† So our Movement emphasizes Friendship – Friendship Groups– Ultreyas

† The basis of all we do is friendship, love and respect and when that is missing, our Charism fails– Many attend the weekend and fall away because they cannot

find a group that offers them friendship– They do not feel comfortable; they do not see God’s love

† The School of Leaders is the friendship group for those who have made Cursillo their apostolate

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Summary

† As Cursillistas, we believe the Love of Christ is wielded as the only force capable of transforming the world [and we are His instruments]

† The Charism of Cursillo is to feel the intimate experience that God loves me. [By seeing God through others]

† Then based on the realization that God loves us, the Charism of Cursillo is to have an apostolic hunger, as being baptized, to communicate the great news of the Love of God [God’s Love] to the most people in my environments, with a preference to those distant, so that all will feel that God loves them.

† The Charism of Cursillo is to live "DeColores" (filled with grace), giving testimony in the movable square meter that surrounds us by the best means that is friendship.”

• Juan Ruiz, Former President--OMCC 14

15Announcements

SoL News

† Telecom for all Rectors in late June to discuss July SOL topic, flow of the weekend. Details soon.– Candidates should not anticipate, but teams should!

† Remote SoL is third Thursday of each month at 7PM. Attendance information is at cursillo.org/birmingham

† Next SoL is 2d Saturday of July in Cullman, 0930 (July 14)† New Cursillo Products:

– Team Survey– Qualifications to serve on a team– New Team Member Orientation

† Cursillo Summer Social, Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, Hanceville, 1130-3:30PM

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04/08/2023 17

SoL Six Month Schedule

Jan Feb[Ultreyas]

Mar[Ultreyas]

Ap[Cullman]

May[Cullman]

June [Cullman]

Doctrine Role of the SoL

Ultreya Role

Ultreya Role Sister Anne Marie

Sister Anne Marie

Theology of

Friendship

Technique Bylaw Revision

Ultreya Conduct

Sponsorship Palanca New Team Member

Orientation

Being a Friend

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Doctrine TBD No SoL

Technique Weekend Flow

04/08/2023 18

SoL Action Log

ISSUE POC STATUSRevise By Laws-last updated 2004 SoL Approved Secretariat Mtg 10

March; posted on Website

Develop a list of potential alternate sites for the weekend

March Secretariat agenda item

Working; having trouble identifying alternate locations

Need to update Ultreya Facilitators Post Cursillo Working

Need to identify all groups on Cursillo website Post Cursillo Working

Need to share information with Cursillistas via email and twitter etc.

Post Cursillo Working

Need to send Ultreyas note on Palanca SoL Complete

19Discussion

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Closing Prayer

† Dear Lord, we must have fraternal charity, or we can accomplish

nothing for you.

† In loving you, help us to have a genuine concern for one another, a

generosity in sharing one another’s burdens, a gallantry in

defending the reputation of our group, a sincere sympathy in

sharing one another’s suffering and sorrows, and a joy in sharing

their spiritual growth.

† By this shall all men know that we are your Apostles. Amen.

21I Am Third

The Northern Alabama School of Leaders

22Doctrinal Talk

How to be a Friend

† Being a friend requires us to be contemplative which is a product of our faith and God’s graces– Contemplation is the pause before acting; discerning what we

are about to do and deciding if what we are about to do is our will or God’s will

– Contemplation is the ability to see things as they are; the truth– To be contemplative, we must liberate ourselves from

ourselves– Contemplation lets us see virtue in everything, especially the

goodness of each person– We desire friendship for no selfish purpose

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