Deacon’s Corner

Many blessings to all!

I hope all is well, that your summer was safe and that you were able to grow stronger in your faith! As we enter fall and the cooler weather seasons, I can’t think of a better time to talk about Cursillo.

Cursillo is a Spanish word that means “short course in Christianity.” Cursillo is a 72-hour retreat where you can grow in the understanding of your faith and in your relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a great opportunity to meet and be around like-minded individuals.

As I shared in a previous edition, over the years I was blessed beyond what I deserve by my involvement in the Northwest Area Cursillo movement. I am so blessed to be an Assistant Spiritual Director for our area.

By the Grace of God, I have experienced close to 30 Cursillo weekends. Many of them inside the prison walls of the Henry Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg. When it seems like my faith life is so-so, not really on fire, it never fails that the “gift” of a Cursillo weekend is there to lift me up. I love the mountaintop taste of heaven experience of Cursillo. I like to think that I’m preparing my soul for the ultimate mountaintop experience, the beatific vision, heaven!

I will not say that you need to make a Cursillo, I will say that as a child of God, you deserve to make a Cursillo. In all my Cursillo experiences, I can definitively say that I have been around many saintly people. How they lived their lives made me desire the ways of Christ. It is those same people that were by my side on my journey to the diaconate.

With Father Mark’s blessing, we ask that you pray about making a Cursillo. If you have any questions, ask any of your clergy here at Sacred Heart or you can email me at: mmartel@sacredheartmoline.org.

The next men’s weekend is October 19 - 22. The next women’s weekend is November 16 - 19, both held at Christ the King Believers Together Center, Moline, IL.

Ask a friend to go with you and come join us on the next Cursillo weekend!

~ Deacon Matt Martel