Cursillo: A short course in Christianity

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Father John E. Vogler of Visitation/St. Ann Shrine leads small group session

A Cursillo weekend that Barry Cahill attended 10 years ago has profoundly affected his life.

“To have a priest tell me that I am precious and belong to the kingdom really reawakened my faith and how I deal with those I come in contact with day to day,” Cahill said. “That is the crux of Cursillo — living a life of Christ at home, at work, in friendships, in our neighborhoods.”

Cahill, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Manchester, noted that the message that was reinforced — that he is loved by God, and that he needs to live that love in all aspects of his life — “could have saved me a lot of anguish and frustration in my younger years.”

Cursillo, in shorthand, is described as a way of helping people with a strategy to bring Christ into every environment. A re-energizing of the faith, it begins with a weekend, starting on a Thursday evening and continuing to Sunday evening. Daily Mass, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, talks, meditations and Christian fellowship help participants become Christian leaders and carry through on what is called the Fourth Day, or rest of their lives.