THE CURSILLOS IN CHRISTIANITY IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF DAVAO 1964 – 2014

(compiled, researched and written by Bong Baldoza MC #188)
14th of a series

The Essence of the Cursillo Movement

Essence defined and understood

Every living being is always subject to change.  But then, each one has to preserve its core identity as it expresses itself in new forms and styles, however, remaining always itself.   This is what we call the “essence”.   We refer to its being itself — that which makes the being to be what it is, and it is that which determines its mode of being, in both its static and dynamic aspects.

The Cursillo being a dynamic entity is thus subject to change and must improve in time but retaining its very essence, a being with a life of its own and has an internal nucleus which causes it to be what it is and which keeps it being what it is, despite all the changes it has undergone and is continuously undergoing.  Moreover, that inner self of its being is what defines its mode of being and evolving under the impact of thousand of circumstances that is brought about by those changes.

From its very conception, the Cursillo was not destined to be an organization, be it civic or religious, nor it was started as a ministry of the Church.   It began as a work of forming the youth to become more Christian at the time when Christianity was not being felt in society.  Several young men began this movement aimed at conversion of the individual into Christ, and in turn, such converted individual be able to permeate society with the life of Christ and His teachings, hence, transforming society to become a Christian.  The idea is the conversion of the person as it continues its pilgrimage, not only to Santiago de Compostela, but more so, to its final destination, the Kingdom of God.

Thus, the Cursillo started as a Movement and is continuing to be such as years go by, until today.  It consists of the following elements:

a) It is a Movement,

b) It is a Movement of the Church,

c) It has a method of its own,

d) It makes possible the living and sharing of what is fundamental for being

a Christian,

e) It helps one discover and fulfill one’s personal vocation,

f)  It fosters the creation of core group of Christians, and

g) It enables these groups to leaven their environments with the Gospel of