My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
And a voice came from the heavens,
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
– Mark 1:11

May the peace of Christ be with you!

We are now a week into 2021.  Some would say that so far, 2021 is not much better than 2020!  Many continued to be stressed, anxious and worried.  But we are not alone.

John baptizes Jesus. Jesus gets a stronger sense of His vocation. It’s a sign of His transition from private life to public ministry.  Jesus is immediately validated by God the Father “you are my beloved Son.”

Remember, sisters and brothers in Christ, we too are beloved. We are validated in the eyes of the Lord and each other.  God is pleased with each of us.  2021 may not be starting out well as we had hoped. We do, however, have power.  We have the power to pray, text people, call people, check up on people.  We have the power to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives.  We have power to help and advocate for others. We can engage our public officials.

I know this is easier said than done. I was in a dark place the past three weeks. I was alone and isolated.  Prayer, my 4th day brothers, and my family got me back to the light.  They reminded me that I am beloved and that I am validated by God.  I’m in back in the light because they reached out and queried my situation.  And I took the risk and told them.  And their prayers and words of support did much to return me to the light. To them, I am most grateful.

Prayers and personal connection work.  They infuse hope and help remove isolation and darkness.  Would you please consider shining your light of Christ on someone?  Won’t you hold a candle for others to see and help them back to the light?  You will never know the impact on someone after give them hope, love, and validation.

On behalf of the Secretariat, I wish you along with your friends and families a safe, blessed, prosperous, and safe/healthy 2021.  Be well.

And finally, we have our January Virtual Ultreya on Monday, January 11 and School of Leaders on Wednesday, January 27.   We continue to hold a nascent co-ed group reunion on Saturday mornings – all are invited. Details for all three are below.

Keeping all of you in my prayers daily,
De Colores,
Larry Cargnoni

P.S. For your convenience, a list of Group Reunions (4th Day Groups) can be found now at this link: www.sanjosecursillo.org/fourth-day. We also included a space for Co-Ed Group Reunions. Please contact me if your Group Reunion (4th Day Group) needs to be added or updated.

In This Newsletter
  • Upcoming Events
  • Secretariat Update
  • St. Christopher’s Parish Prayers at Home
  • Prayer Requests
  • Cursillo Links and Resources

Upcoming Events
January 2021 Virtual Ultreya
Monday, January 11, 2021
6:45PM – 8:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
The Secretariat invites the community to join their fellow Cursillistas for our January 2021 Virtual Ultreya on Monday, January 11, 2021

We will be celebrating an evening of fellowship and music as we walk together in Christ.

We will begin some social time at 6:45PM to 7:00PM followed by prayer, meditation, sharing in small groups, witness or keynote speakers. We will offer our individual petitions followed by a rousing ‘De Colores’.

If you can, please RSVP with Facebook.
Saturday Co-Ed Group Reunions (4th Days)
Every Saturday to January 30, 2021
9:00AM
Join Zoom Meeting
Many people in our community would like to be part of a Group Reunion (4th Day) Group. However, during these days of minimal contact, it might be difficult. This is an opportunity to meet and to share online until we can meet in person. Open to all men and women here in San Jose or joining long distance.

On Saturday mornings, there is an open meeting to share Piety, Study and Action (PSA) for the week. The meeting will open with sharing guidelines, a brief verse or antiphon to help to center ourselves, followed by the Holy Spirit prayer and then on to sharing. The meeting will end when everyone has had a chance to share their PSA. Final closing will be a traditional prayer.

This is an open meeting. Attending every week is not mandatory but please join when you can and feel free to reach out to other Cursillistas. This will be occurring every Saturday including the following:
  • Jan 16, 2021 09:00 AM
  • Jan 23, 2021 09:00 AM
  • Jan 30, 2021 09:00 AM
You can also download and import the dates as a iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
January 2021 School of Leaders
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
6:45PM – 8:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
The entire Cursillo Community is invited and encouraged to attend our School of Leaders for an evening to gather and strengthen our faith journey. We will begin with social time at 6:45 and start the discussion promptly at 7PM. (Note, this Zoom session will have a waiting room and you will be admitted by the host).

The Doctrinal Talk will be the “Sacraments Rollo”.  The technique talks will be given on the Overview of the Saturday evening activities, including candidate skits, clown skit, shalom dance, Marian devotion.

If you are a new Cursillista, this is a great opportunity to learn more. If you are on a formation team, this is a great way to strengthen your overall knowledge of the process. If you are a seasoned veteran or have not been on a team for a while, come and refresh your hearts!

If you can, please RSVP with Facebook.

Secretariat Update
We started our discernment for our Post-Cursillo Chair and Three-Day Chair. We are asking the community to prayerfully discern those who are willing to serve. Serving on the Secretariat is a commitment of three years.

While we aren’t conducting weekends, the Secretariat has been busy. The Secretariat is in a unique spot. We are dealing with COVID and we are currently reviewing all aspects of our weekend and traditions.

Dealing with COVID has pushed our programs completely online. Last year, we held a number of weekly and bi-weekly events. They were popular for some. School of Leaders is active. Group Reunions / 4th Days are active. We need new ideas for engaging Community and building our and refreshing our parish representatives.

There is a new Rector / Rectora Step-by-Step manual that came from National that forces us to review our weekend content and structure. The discussions are thoughtful and introspective. There will be some changes. And we will retain most current traditions. Eventually, we will need to provide updated guidance to the teams.

The Secretariat is a supportive group and we help each other.

Would you please prayerfully consider it? I am happy to answer questions. I invite you to talk to other Secretariat members.

Please reach out to Larry Cargnoni for more information if you are interested. You can contact us and find a summary of the role at www.sanjosecursillo.org/secretariat.

St. Christopher’s Parish Prayers at Home
Father Chris Bennett and his parish provided us a new set of prayers for when we can’t gather for mass (Ordinary Time). The sets of prayers are found on the Secretariat Google Drive found here: Fr Chris Bennett’s Care Packages and Prayers.

Please share this message to other Cursillistas who might be interested.

Prayer Requests
Please also pray for those fighting with illness, Covid-19, mental distress, loss of job and the passing of loved ones.

You may also submit prayer requests on our Facebook page or on our website.

Cursillo Links and Resources
Our Cursillo Movement in San Jose is part of a rich and international fabric of Cursillo movements world wide. Below are links to several Cursillo websites that you might find interesting.

You’ll find books and manuals for purchase the National Cursillo Movement and the Eduardo Bonnin Aguilo Foundation websites below.

The NACG Cursillo North America and Caribbean organization holds weekly Ultreya on Wednesday evening at 6PM Pacific. A truly international flavor! See its website and/or Facebook page for more information.

Posting Guidelines
As a reminder, here are the guidelines for posting material to the Cursillo Facebook page and Newsletter: Posting Guidelines – Nov 1, 2019

2021 Spring Weekend Dates
We have cancelled our Spring 2021 weekends due to the pandemic.  Please stay tuned.

Stay Connected
If you are on Facebook, please also join our private Facebook group to connect with our community and stay current with our events. Please also contact John Huân Vu if you have any issues joining.

Stay up-to-date with our events by integrating the San Jose Cursillo event calendar to your personal calendar via Google Calendar or iCal.