Cursillo

The Cursillo (kur-SEE-yo) Movement in the Diocese of Erie has been active since 1963. 

Understanding the the Cursillo Movement is about one realizing that the Cursillo Movement is a method of spirituality.  It is a method for living one’s faith that has a twofold goal. 

The first goal is the internal renewal of the person.  The second goal is the Christianizing of the person’s environment.  The first goal is seen as the absolutely necessary step to achieve the second goal. The Cursillo Movement’s philosophy is that the first goal is meaningless unless there is also a sincere commitment to the second goal.

For the Cursillista (kur-SEE-ista), faith impels the person to “incarnate” the world, to do as the son of God did: to bring into the very guts of daily life the Word of God, the Christian message, the dynamic power and thrust of the trinity in human history.  The person who has made a Cursillo knows that Jesus did not come to save us from this world, but to help us give God back to His world.

The Cursillo Method for living a Christian life is wrapped up in two phrases used frequently during the three-day Cursillo weekend experience. These two phrases are the Cursillo Tripod and the Fourth Day.