News published in 2009

                                                                                              January  15th , 2010.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with both humility and honour that I write on behalf of the incoming Executive of the OMCC here in Australia!  We are looking forward to serving you all through our beloved Movement for the next four years.  Our keenest wish is that we continue the good work of our predecessors, and keep open the lines of loving friendship in the Lord.

The task ahead is daunting – we, in Australia, are so few in numbers and so young in this ancient world - but with every confidence in the prayers and support of our Brothers and Sisters throughout the world, we commence our journey!!

We take this opportunity to acknowledge with gratitude and love, the dedication of the outgoing executive of the OMCC – certainly a group of people ‘steeped’ in Cursillo.
Muchas gracias– thank you!  We pray for God’s richest blessings on you and your families.

To the incoming executive committees of the International Groups:
APG –Vietnam in Diaspora;  GECC –Austria; GLCC –Argentina;            NACG –USA.
We thank you for accepting your coordinating roles. We pray our friendship develops as we get to know one another and work together for unity and progress in our Movement.

This is our opportunity to introduce ourselves to you.

Peter McMahon will take the position of Treasurer.  Peter is a retired Public Servant, active in Parish circles, who spends his spare time on house renovations, while helping to care for his two grandchildren. He and his wife Denise have a son and a daughter. They lived their Cursillos in 1980 in the Diocese of Townsville. Peter has been actively involved ever since with School of Leaders; as a Diocesan and National President; and has worked on many other teams within the movement.  He was Lay Rector for the recent outreach to American Samoa. Peter and I are in the same weekly Group Reunion.

Derek Moylan, our vice President, and his wife Mavis, are originally from the United Kingdom, but have been “Aussies” for many years now. They too have a son and a daughter. Their Cursillo was in 1984.  Derek has also served as a Diocesan and National President; been an International representative for the Australian National Secretariat, attending World Ultreyas and Asia/Pacific Encounters. He is a member of a School of Leaders and has worked on Diocesan Cursillo teams.  Derek has his Group Reunion with four other Brothers-in-Christ in Newcastle where he lives.

Margaret Morris will be our enthusiastic and hard working Secretary. She is a widow with three children and ten grandchildren.  Her "lived" Cursillo was in 1976 and she has been attending Group Reunion, Ultreya and School of Leaders ever since. Margaret numbers many roles in her Cursillo involvement. She has been a Diocesan and National President; an international representative; has served on three outreach teams in the Asia/Pacific area as Lay Rectora. She has attended World Encounters, and a Cursillo of Cursillos in Mallorca. Margaret is currently a member of the Fundamental Ideas commission, and has worked nationally on the Statutes.
Her knowledge of the Movement is vast and here in Australia she has given the Movement generously her time and talent.

Our Spiritual Advisor will reveal his own story!  I, like Peter, am blessed to be a member of the same Group Reunion and we meet weekly at Father Adrian’s City office.

As for me – I feel a little like the ‘Grandmere’ of the Australian movement. My husband David and I lived our Cursillos at Men’s No 1 and Women’s No 1 in the Diocese of Townsville in 1972. We have five children and fourteen grandchildren. I attend a weekly Group Reunion, a monthly Ultreya, and the School of Leaders. The Movement has been my main apostolate, outside of my family, for the past thirty-seven years, and, thanks be to God, I am still learning.

I have been fortunate to meet brothers and sisters throughout Asia/Pacific as part of the coordinating committee of the Asia/Pacific area, and have attended World Ultreyas and a Cursillo of Cursillos in Mallorca.  As a member of secretariats, workshops and teams I have worked for the movement at various times and places, with Peter, Margaret, Derek and Fr Adrian. This then is our latest Grouping!!

It is our wish that in the future we will be able to create the opportunity for each of the International Groups to contribute, at least twice a year, to our monthly newsletter by way of ‘local news.’  This, of course, we will work out personally with the executive committees of each International Group.

For now, we ask that you pray we be guided always by the Holy Spirit, and that we keep foremost in our deliberations the good of the Movement in all instances.

God’s choicest blessings on you all and our good wishes for a contented and peaceful 2010.
De Colores

Yvonne       
Yvonne Carrigan. President/Speaker – OMCC Executive Committee

From our Spiritual Advisor:

“Peace to his house and all who dwell therein” is a beautiful greeting used when entering a person’s home to bring them Holy Communion. It strikes me as most appropriate for this first newsletter from us as the new executive committee of the OMCC.

Worldwide we are a dwelling made of living stones aligned on Jesus. Together we share communion with the Trinity through Our Lord and continue his mission. As we say in one of the Eucharistic prayers, we exist to “complete his work on earth” and come ourselves “to the fullness of grace”. Peace is Our Lord’s gift to us and we treasure it and share it with others.

I am Father Adrian Farrelly, a priest of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. I lived my Cursillo three days in 1973. Since that time, I have served on teams in Australia, Canada (where I studied Canon Law from 1983 to 1987) and with outreach teams to New Zealand. I have served the Movement as the Archdiocesan Spiritual Advisor and the National Spiritual Advisor.
I am a member of the Fundamental Ideas commission and while I do not speak Spanish I have found that my comprehension comes alive when I attend meetings, especially the small writers’ group. Perhaps in the years ahead I can attain some level of fluency!

In addition to my involvement with the Movement, I am the pastor of an inner city parish here in Brisbane, the Judicial Vicar of the Regional Tribunal for the state of Queensland (one of the most beautiful states in Australia and one well worth visiting) and the Chancellor of the Archdiocese. I also enjoy playing golf and will gladly accompany any like-minded Cursillistas in pursuit of this sport!

As Yvonne said, we, the members of the executive Committee of the OMCC, are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that the charism that brought forth this Movement will continue to find in all of us fertile soil in which to flourish.

Shalom.

Fr Adrian

Letter from the President of the OMCC September 30, 2009

Dear friends,

Let us unite in prayer with the team of our Australian brothers who are conductinbg (from September 24 to 27, for Men, and from the first to October 4, for Women) two Cursillo weekends on the Samoa island, despite the terrible tsunami which came close to destroying them ...

The team describes how they were miraculously saved: they were to board buses from the sea at the time of the earthquake and the driver had 30 seconds to get to a ramp climbing to the mountain. From the top, they saw the disaster: boats, cars and houses swept into the sea! Despite this, they would not suspend the two Cursillo. Let us support them with our palancas!

Juan Ruiz, president of the OMCC (Cursillo World Organization)

E-mail from Omar Palacio, september 22, 2009

Dear friends :

At the beginnings of our Cursillo Movement, the seed from Mallorca spread to other regions within Spain. The Spirit kept on blowing, so it also spread to the American Continent & other parts of the world. Each country or town has its own account of how the Charism got there. A few years back, a group from Panama travelled to Cuba to spread the seed over there.

And The Spirit has not stopped blowing. He now blows toward American Samoa. You probably remember on a previous OMCC’s Newsletter we were informed of the plans to bring Cursillos to American Samoa. To bring it to fruition, a group from Australia is bringing the Charism to the people of American Samoa.

We all should pray for the success of this mission, and send our encouraging Palanca Letters so they know that we are all in this together. You might want to keep in mind that Samoa is across the international date line, so when is Wednesday in America , it is already Thursday in Samoa. Please send your Palanca letters to:
Tam Nguyen Coordinator, Cursillo Asia Pacific International Group
tamyen@iinet.net.au and tamyennguyen@gmail.com

Extract from a "Summary of the Activities of G.E.C.C. 2008-2009

The Cursillo Movement has been successfully introduced in Durban, South Africa, after years of planning. Two Cursillos were held in the month of June 2009. The team of leaders was composed of four members from Gibraltar and three from Ireland. The Spiritual Director also came from Belfast. Francis Napoli, president of GECC, was the rector for both Cursillos. The attendees in both Cursillos were very mature male and female Christians (although young), committed to taking the Movement forward in South Africa.

The Cursillos were held in a camp appropriately named “Living Waters”, deep in the country some two hours away from Durban. It was very cold during both Cursillos and most of the time candidates wore hats and gloves, some even sleeping bags during Rollos!

Before leaving Durban the structure for the Ultreya and School of Leaders was discussed and set up with them, and at a meeting with the Bishop of Durban, Francis Napoli proposed and it was accepted, the initial composition of the National Secretariat and that of the Diocesan Secretariat. The Ultreya is now being held every Thursday and already the first two Cursillos, one for ladies and one for men, are being planned for March/April 2010.

Preparations are also in place to get the CM established in Johhanesburg and Pretoria (some residents of these cities participated in the first Cursillos). The GECC executive will continue to assist them wherever possible.

The seat of the OMCC has been in the United States as the assigned country (according to the protocol) by the members of the North American Caribean Group. It now moves to another one of the four International Groups of the world. In this case, it moves to Australia in the Asia/Pacific region.

During the IV World Ultreya, Juan Ruiz introduced the incoming members of the Executive Committee from Australia: Yvonne Carrigan, President; Derek Moylan, Vice President; Margaret Morris, Secretary; Peter McMahon, Treasurer; and Fr. Adrian Farrelly, Spiritual Advisor. They will take over the responsibility of leading the OMCC in January 2010 for the next four years.

Let us always pray for the success of their mission.

Extract from the OMCC monthly letter No. 30 - Jun e 2009

During the month of May, Juan Ruiz, president of the OMCC, visited the Island of Enchantment, Puerto Rico. During his visit with Monsignor Eusebio Ramos Morales, Bishop of the new Diocese Fajardo-Humaco, a blessing was given with two hands just as it did from Bishop Juan Hervas, to begin Cursillos in Christianity in this new diocese.

During this visit to the Island of Enchantment, he also had the opportunity to visit the Cursillo House of Aguas Buenas where there was a men’s Cursillo being held [This House accommodates 24 cursillos annually] as well as a visit to the Cursillo House in Juncos. He also participated in a National Encounter with leaders from the six dioceses of Puerto Rico—the first Inter-diocesan Ultreya in Humacao, as well as the Clausura of the Cursillo that was celebrated at the Cursillo House in Aguas Buenas.

Of all these events, the most impressive was the charity and dedication of the Leaders of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement and the untiring work Fr. Jaime Capo was able to accomplish on this beautiful Caribbean Island.

In the OMCC Monthly Newsletter of August 8, 2009, Juan Ruiz, president of the OMCC, gives an account of the IV World Ultreya

To all Cursillistas around the world Dear Friends, May the peace and love of Our Lord always be with you!

"The Beauty of Being a Christian and the Joy of Communicating it" We gathered in the name of Jesus Christ... 31 countries were represented with over 5,000 Cursillistas. All gathered in friendship, all reflecting the love God has for each one of us… We had a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends from around the world. Some we never met and some we have corresponded with through email but have not met in person. ...

To read more

Dear Friends,

May the peace and love of Our Lord always be with you!

In this November Bulletin, we once again interrupt our three part format in order to share information with you not only about our service during the month of October but more importantly, to share the detailed information of the IV World Ultreya and the process for obtaining tickets which unfortunately are very limited because the capacity of the Anaheim Arena is for only 8,000 persons.

However, before giving the details about the IV World Ultreya we want to share that from October 26 until November 2 we had the opportunity to serve our friends in the Diocese of San Agustin de Talca, Chile. In an environment of brotherly love that is typical in Cursillo, Juan Ruiz had the opportunity to get to know the Cursillista and non- Cursillista community of this diocese by means of many visits arranged brilliantly in a very intelligent way by the cursillo leaders of this diocese. In addition to participating n the Friendship Encounter in Vilches, Joc, in which the President of the National Secretariat of Chile, Arturo Hernandez and the President of the National Secretariat of Argentina, Alberto Stang were present, he also participated in the Ultreya at Rio Claro and the Ultreya at Talca. On this occasion, he also visited and participated in conferences at the University of Talca, the Catholic University at Maule, the primary school of La Salles and many radio and television stations, as well as at two of the most important industries in Talca. Furthermore, Juan Ruiz had the honor to represent all cursillistas of the world in inaugurating a monument in honor of Fr. Guillermo Steenohf who initiated the cursillo movement in Talca, at a park just in front of the parish in which he lived and served as pastor. Why, might you ask, was it so brilliant for the leaders of the diocese of Talca to arrange such visits to these other sites? Because, cursillistas, university presidents and administrators and business owners alike, as well as radio listeners and television viewers as well, all recognized and acknowledge the positive effect Cursillistas have had on their environments. It was a “very close moment to Christ” to be able to see how cursillistas are living and sharing their Christianity in their environments by acting within their movable square meter.

With regard to the IV World Ultreya, we officially announced the Ultreya in our October Bulletin and now we bring you the manner in which to obtain tickets with this additional information:

1. The capacity of the Anaheim Arena is for only 8,000 persons and it is necessary to purchase the tickets as soon as possible.

2. The National Office of the U.S. will process the tickets for those people from the United States. To order tickets directly from the National office you can visit their website at www.natl-cursillo.org or call (214) 339-6321.

3. The Executive Committee of the OMCC will process the tickets for those people from outside the United States. The point of contact is Juan Ruiz and he can be reached at jxruiz@roadrunner.com and at (562) 309-5821.

4. The event will be held Saturday, August 1, 2009, from 12:00pm- 9:00pm.

5. The cost of the ticket does not include food. The arena has its own food vendors and no outside food will be allowed in other than for medical reasons. In addition, a parking fee is not included, which is $10 per car.

6. The tickets for those people form outside the United States will be held for the person purchasing the tickets at a “will call” area the morning of the event. We will give further details about the location soon.

7. Each ticket purchased must be paid in full. Tickets can be paid for by electronic wire transfer or by credit card.

8. The Anaheim arena is located a short distance from Disneyland and California Adventure Park and obviously is surrounded by hotels. The site for the Anaheim Convention Center is: www.anaheimconventioncenter.com

9. We suggest you obtain the services of a local travel agent who can assist you with making reservations at hotels and arranging tours. :

10. You will also need to investigate the necessary requirements in order to obtain a visa from the United States Embassy in your respective country.

We await the IV World Ultreya with anticipation and prayer. Thank you for your cooperation and we ask that you keep the IV World Ultreya in your prayers as well.

As always, we close by begging Our Lord to keep us united in his love and friendship.

De Colores,

Juan Ruiz
President - OMCC

Extract from the OMCC monthly letter No. 27 - March 2009

In February, at the initiative and enthusiasm of Louis Cenac, a Cursillistas from the USA now living in the American Samoa Island, both Juan Ruiz and Tam Nguyen, APG Coordinator, traveled to American Samoan Islands to meet with Bishop John Quinn Weitzel, Bishop of Samoa Pago Pago, and make a Study of the environment to start the English Cursillo.

Bishop Quinn was very supportive, welcomed and acknowledged the need of the Cursillo Movement to be introduced into the American Samoan Islands. He offered the use of the Pastoral Center to conduct the Cursillo Weekends. In addition, he appointed Fr. Eneliko Auvaia to be the Spiritual Advisor for the Cursillo Movement. Fr. Eneliko, along with other Priests and potential leaders, will attend a Cursillo Weekend in Australia or the USA. During their visit, they did a study of the environment, taped a television program with a local channel and met with several Priests, Nuns and many potential leaders with great success.

We are planning to start the first English Cursillo in the American Samoa as early as the beginning of September 2009. We ask for your prayers so that the Love and Friendship of God can reach all the people living in the American Samoa thru the Cursillo Movement.