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In the middle years of the twentieth century, two movements started in Spain initially within the Roman Catholic Church to encourage personal holiness and responsibility among believers. Those two movements are two sides of the same coin. They are the Cursillo Movement and Opus Dei. In this essay, I will talk about these two movements from the standpoint of their spiritual goals.
Opus Dei was founded by St. Josemaria Escriva on October 2, 1928 in Madrid, Spain. According to Escriva, on that day he experienced a “vision of light” in which he “saw Opus Dei”. Throughout his life, Escriva maintained that the founding of Opus Dei had a “supernatural character.”
Leaders of Opus Dei describe the organization as a Catholic teaching entity. Escriva’s writings summarized the Opus Dei mission in this way:
“The one and only mission of Opus Dei is the spreading of this message which
comes from the Gospel. And to those who grasp this ideal of holiness, the Work
offers the spiritual assistance and the doctrinal, ascetical and apostolic training
which they need to put it into practice.
In his Apostolic Constitution Ut Sit, in which John Paul II declared Opus Dei a personal prelature of the Pope, he said that "this Institution has in fact striven, not only to illuminate with new lights the mission of the laity in the Church and in society, but also to put it into practice; it has also endeavored to put into practice the teaching of the universal call to holiness, and to promote at all levels of society the sanctification of ordinary work, and by means of ordinary work."
"The message of St Josemaría," says José Cardinal Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "belongs to the perennial patrimony of the Church." The following are the main features of Escrivá's spiritual teachings, the core message of Opus Dei:
Holiness in ordinary life
Having become members of God's family through baptism, all Christians are called to a life of holiness consistent with their new nature as children of God. "The majority of Christians," Escrivá writes, "should sanctify themselves in the world, through ordinary work." Thus they follow Jesus who worked as a carpenter and lived as a son in a Jewish family in a small village for 30 years.
Sanctifying work
Whatever work Christians do is to be done with a spirit of excellence as an effective service for the needs of society, working out of love for God and all men and women. Their work then becomes a fitting offering to God. In his work of service, Jesus Christ "did all things well" (Mk 7:37).
Love for freedom
Christians should love personal freedom, both their own and that of all men and women. God the Son himself, on becoming man took on human freedom, and with his free choices he redeemed us through love: As man, he freely obeyed his Father's will throughout his whole life, even "unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). "Because he wants to," each person directs his life towards eternal union with God or eternal separation, the two ultimate roads of life.
Prayer and mortification
Love, the essence of sanctity, is nurtured by constant child-like prayer, assisted by norms of piety that include love for the Eucharist, frequent confession, reading Sacred Scripture, and devotion to the Virgin Mary. Mortification, "prayer of the senses," is especially done through a sporting struggle to practice all the human virtues out of love. "'Great' holiness consists in carrying out the 'little duties' of each moment." These actions are co-offered in the Holy Mass, the same redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and the centre and root of a Christian's life.
Charity and apostolate
Christians are to give the highest importance to the virtue of charity:
Allen says that the big majority of the undertakings guided by Opus Dei are youth and social development centres.understanding, compassion, courtesy, helping the needy, and fraternal correction. Love is orderly and should start with one's duties. Charity entails apostolate, leading people to God, the source of peace and joy.
Unity of life
A Christian who seeks God not just in church, but also in the most material things has no double life, a life of faith divorced from daily work. Instead, he has a "unity of life" — a profound union with Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, one person in whom divine power is fused with ordinary human activity. Thus, a Christian's work becomes God's redeeming work, opus Dei. Despite all his defects, which with God's help he humbly strives to uproot, he becomes more and more alter Christus, ipse Christus, another Christ, Christ himself.
According to Escrivá, the foundation of the Christian life is one's "divine filiation."Divine filiation is the Christians' fundamental state as "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pt 1:4), being children of God in Christ, the deep awareness of which brings about immense happiness: "Joy comes from knowing we are children of God." Opus Dei, Escrivá says, is "a smiling asceticism."
A Christian becomes a saint, according to Opus Dei's founder, through God's grace and mercy, and through the use of some principal means of sanctification: (1) interior life, activities turned into contemplation, which Jesus Christ calls "the one thing necessary" (Lk 10:42), and (2) doctrinal training, a well-reasoned understanding of God and his ordered work as revealed in the Catholic faith, now presented by Benedict XVI as the religion of the Logos (the Word: meaning and reason). Escrivá says one cannot love someone who is not known. Thus Escrivá says Christians should have "the piety of children and the sure doctrine of theologians."
He holds that the "paramount means of formation" is personal coaching through spiritual direction, a practice which has its roots in the early Church. According to Cornelio Fabro, eminent Italian philosopher, Opus Dei's training fosters the human virtues, habits which are developed through the repetition of free decisions in one's activities and professional work. These habits of human excellence, including love for the truth, courage, and generosity, are the "foundation," Escrivá says, of the supernatural virtues of faith and love for God. Since he always stressed the importance of "the free and responsible personal action of each member," Fabro says Escrivá "restored the true concept of Christian freedom...After centuries of Christian spiritualities based on the priority of obedience, he taught that obedience was the consequence and fruit of freedom." It is to be noted though that this Catholic-Thomistic notion of "freedom for excellence" is different from the secular notion of "free choice" as having the highest value.
Shortly after Opus Dei’s founding, another Spanish movement began to spread throughout the Catholic Church and has spread to other denominations as well. That movement is called Cursillo.
The purpose of Cursillo is multifaceted. No one definition can truly explain what Cursillo is. However, all the definitions can give a much richer meaning to the purpose of Cursillo.
• One definition states: "The purpose (or goal) of the Movement is to make Christian community possible in neighborhoods, parishes, work situations and other places where people live the greater part of their lives. It makes possible for anyone in the world to live a Christian life in a natural way."
• Another definition lists the purpose of the Cursillo Movement as: "The leavening of environments with the Gospel." In other words, changing the places we spend time by being Christlike in our thoughts, words, and actions.
• Still another definition states: "Since it is a movement of the Church, the Cursillo Movement has the same apostolic purpose as the Church herself. And the Church, as Pope Paul VI told us, exists to evangelize."
• There is yet another definition that describes the purpose as such: "The Cursillo Movement is a movement of the Church which by means of its own method makes it possible for people to live what is fundamental for being a Christian, and to live it together; it helps people discover and fulfill their personal vocations, and it promotes the creation of core groups of Christians who leaven their environments with the Gospel." These "core groups" are now referred to as "Environmental Groups."
As mentioned earlier, while the wording of these definitions may differ, their ideas are the same. The Cursillo Movement is focused to help each of us fulfill our baptismal responsibility: to go forth, as apostles, and proclaim the Gospel. We can no longer afford to sit passively by and "hope" that the world comes to know Christ. We must make a conscientious effort to "tell" the world about Christ. The Cursillo Movement provides us with the necessary tools for fulfilling our baptismal responsibility along with the training for using those tools.
In determining the purpose of the Cursillo Movement, it is important that we focus on two important aspects. The first aspect: We are communal people. The second aspect: We are teamwork people. A communal people is one that builds relationships with others. For those that serve (or have served) in the military, they realize that the purpose of Basic Training is to de-emphasize the individual and emphasize the team. Besides all these examples of teamwork, Christ gave us the encouragement to work as a team: "Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18: 19-20).
The process of formation begins with a Cursillo Weekend. Each day of the Cursillo Weekend begins with Morning Prayers and ends with Night Prayers. Mass is celebrated daily (except Thursday). Each participant should be aware that, since prayer is such an intricate part of the Cursillo Movement, there will be other cursillistas that will be continually praying and offering up sacrifices - for the success of the Cursillo Weekend. There will be proper nourishment provided and also adequate rest periods. Those that have special needs, such as a particular diet or physical needs, will be attended to properly.
THURSDAY NIGHT
This is a time to get to know each other and to have an overview of the Cursillo Weekend. This is also the retreat phase of the Cursillo Weekend, which is designed "To awaken the moral consciences of the participants, beginning with an analysis of their own lives and causing them to desire to encounter God." The retreat phase (done in silence and ends Friday morning after Mass) includes three meditations and "The Way of the Cross." The meditations are: 1) Know Yourself, 2) The Prodigal Son, and 3) The Three Glances of Christ (this is given Friday morning).
FRIDAY
The focus of Friday should be to help each participant to have a better understanding of themselves. Friday should help them discover what motivates them in different situations.
During this day the participants will hear five presentations. Three presentations will be given by members of the laity and they are: 1) Ideals, 2) The Layperson as the Church in the World, and 3) Holiness. The other two presentations will be given by the Spiritual Directors and they are: 1) Grace and 2) Faith. While the presentations provide the participants with information and witnessed experiences, it is the table discussions (following each presentation) that prove to be one of the real dynamics of the Weekend. The sharing, which takes place during the table discussions, provides the participants with an opportunity to share their own insights about the presentation. Furthermore, the participants have the opportunity to hear how other participants perceived that same presentation.
After each presentation and table discussions, the participants will draft a written summary of the presentation and table discussion. Later the participants will have an opportunity to graphically illustrate their ideas of the presentations and table discussions. That evening, each table group will share their summaries and graphic illustrations with the other participants and team members.
SATURDAY
The focus for Saturday is to combine that fully realized self (that they learned about Friday) with a wonderful and loving God. Saturday helps the participants to understand the current relationship that they have with God and should spawn a desire for a still deeper and fuller relationship with God.
The schedule for Saturday follows the same format as Friday. Again, there are three laity presentations entitled: 1) Formation, 2) Evangelization, and 3) Leaders. As with Friday's schedule, there are also two Spiritual Director presentations entitled: 1) Sacraments, and 2) Obstacles to a Life of Grace. Table discussions again play a very dynamic role in generating various insights concerning the presentations. The summaries (of each presentation) and the graphic illustrations are shared with all, just like on Friday.
SUNDAY
The focus for Sunday is the understanding of ourselves, our relationship with God, and how we can help Him in fulfilling His Will. We learn what environments we belong to and how we can affect those environments.
The same format is used on Sunday, except there is only one Spiritual Director presentation - Christian Life. There are the usual three laity presentations, which are: 1) Study and Evangelization of the Environments, 2) Christian Community, and 3) Group Reunion and Ultreya.
Sunday night at the Clausura (Closing), the participants come face to face with the larger Cursillo Community that has been so supportive during the entire weekend. It is during this meeting that the participants enter this Cursillo Community.
Cursillo then continues on with a number of regular events which tend to uphold and support the developing saint during their process of formation.
GROUP REUNION
The Group Reunion is a small group of Cursillo friends that meet on a regular basis. The purpose of this meeting is to share with one another the growth that has taken place within each of us. We share our spiritual growth as well as our growth in becoming a person who strives to bring a Christ-like attitude to our environments. This meeting is referred to as a Friendship Group.
As we make attempts to bring Christ into our various environments, we will sometimes become frustrated. The group Reunion also provides the continual support we need in order to persevere as a part of God's plan.
ULTREYA
The Ultreya (Spanish word meaning Onward) is the larger Cursillo community. It is the time for the members of the Group Reunions to meet with members of other Group Reunions. The Ultreya is also beneficial in providing the support and encouragement that each of us needs.
Both of these holiness movements represent a desire within mainstream Christianity to develop the laity beyond their weekly attendance at church. These movements have spread the desire for Christians everywhere to deepen their relationship with G-d.
Opus Dei was founded by St. Josemaria Escriva on October 2, 1928 in Madrid, Spain. According to Escriva, on that day he experienced a “vision of light” in which he “saw Opus Dei”. Throughout his life, Escriva maintained that the founding of Opus Dei had a “supernatural character.”
Leaders of Opus Dei describe the organization as a Catholic teaching entity. Escriva’s writings summarized the Opus Dei mission in this way:
“The one and only mission of Opus Dei is the spreading of this message which
comes from the Gospel. And to those who grasp this ideal of holiness, the Work
offers the spiritual assistance and the doctrinal, ascetical and apostolic training
which they need to put it into practice.
In his Apostolic Constitution Ut Sit, in which John Paul II declared Opus Dei a personal prelature of the Pope, he said that "this Institution has in fact striven, not only to illuminate with new lights the mission of the laity in the Church and in society, but also to put it into practice; it has also endeavored to put into practice the teaching of the universal call to holiness, and to promote at all levels of society the sanctification of ordinary work, and by means of ordinary work."
"The message of St Josemaría," says José Cardinal Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "belongs to the perennial patrimony of the Church." The following are the main features of Escrivá's spiritual teachings, the core message of Opus Dei:
Holiness in ordinary life
Having become members of God's family through baptism, all Christians are called to a life of holiness consistent with their new nature as children of God. "The majority of Christians," Escrivá writes, "should sanctify themselves in the world, through ordinary work." Thus they follow Jesus who worked as a carpenter and lived as a son in a Jewish family in a small village for 30 years.
Sanctifying work
Whatever work Christians do is to be done with a spirit of excellence as an effective service for the needs of society, working out of love for God and all men and women. Their work then becomes a fitting offering to God. In his work of service, Jesus Christ "did all things well" (Mk 7:37).
Love for freedom
Christians should love personal freedom, both their own and that of all men and women. God the Son himself, on becoming man took on human freedom, and with his free choices he redeemed us through love: As man, he freely obeyed his Father's will throughout his whole life, even "unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). "Because he wants to," each person directs his life towards eternal union with God or eternal separation, the two ultimate roads of life.
Prayer and mortification
Love, the essence of sanctity, is nurtured by constant child-like prayer, assisted by norms of piety that include love for the Eucharist, frequent confession, reading Sacred Scripture, and devotion to the Virgin Mary. Mortification, "prayer of the senses," is especially done through a sporting struggle to practice all the human virtues out of love. "'Great' holiness consists in carrying out the 'little duties' of each moment." These actions are co-offered in the Holy Mass, the same redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and the centre and root of a Christian's life.
Charity and apostolate
Christians are to give the highest importance to the virtue of charity:
Allen says that the big majority of the undertakings guided by Opus Dei are youth and social development centres.understanding, compassion, courtesy, helping the needy, and fraternal correction. Love is orderly and should start with one's duties. Charity entails apostolate, leading people to God, the source of peace and joy.
Unity of life
A Christian who seeks God not just in church, but also in the most material things has no double life, a life of faith divorced from daily work. Instead, he has a "unity of life" — a profound union with Jesus Christ, both fully God and fully man, one person in whom divine power is fused with ordinary human activity. Thus, a Christian's work becomes God's redeeming work, opus Dei. Despite all his defects, which with God's help he humbly strives to uproot, he becomes more and more alter Christus, ipse Christus, another Christ, Christ himself.
According to Escrivá, the foundation of the Christian life is one's "divine filiation."Divine filiation is the Christians' fundamental state as "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pt 1:4), being children of God in Christ, the deep awareness of which brings about immense happiness: "Joy comes from knowing we are children of God." Opus Dei, Escrivá says, is "a smiling asceticism."
A Christian becomes a saint, according to Opus Dei's founder, through God's grace and mercy, and through the use of some principal means of sanctification: (1) interior life, activities turned into contemplation, which Jesus Christ calls "the one thing necessary" (Lk 10:42), and (2) doctrinal training, a well-reasoned understanding of God and his ordered work as revealed in the Catholic faith, now presented by Benedict XVI as the religion of the Logos (the Word: meaning and reason). Escrivá says one cannot love someone who is not known. Thus Escrivá says Christians should have "the piety of children and the sure doctrine of theologians."
He holds that the "paramount means of formation" is personal coaching through spiritual direction, a practice which has its roots in the early Church. According to Cornelio Fabro, eminent Italian philosopher, Opus Dei's training fosters the human virtues, habits which are developed through the repetition of free decisions in one's activities and professional work. These habits of human excellence, including love for the truth, courage, and generosity, are the "foundation," Escrivá says, of the supernatural virtues of faith and love for God. Since he always stressed the importance of "the free and responsible personal action of each member," Fabro says Escrivá "restored the true concept of Christian freedom...After centuries of Christian spiritualities based on the priority of obedience, he taught that obedience was the consequence and fruit of freedom." It is to be noted though that this Catholic-Thomistic notion of "freedom for excellence" is different from the secular notion of "free choice" as having the highest value.
Shortly after Opus Dei’s founding, another Spanish movement began to spread throughout the Catholic Church and has spread to other denominations as well. That movement is called Cursillo.
The purpose of Cursillo is multifaceted. No one definition can truly explain what Cursillo is. However, all the definitions can give a much richer meaning to the purpose of Cursillo.
• One definition states: "The purpose (or goal) of the Movement is to make Christian community possible in neighborhoods, parishes, work situations and other places where people live the greater part of their lives. It makes possible for anyone in the world to live a Christian life in a natural way."
• Another definition lists the purpose of the Cursillo Movement as: "The leavening of environments with the Gospel." In other words, changing the places we spend time by being Christlike in our thoughts, words, and actions.
• Still another definition states: "Since it is a movement of the Church, the Cursillo Movement has the same apostolic purpose as the Church herself. And the Church, as Pope Paul VI told us, exists to evangelize."
• There is yet another definition that describes the purpose as such: "The Cursillo Movement is a movement of the Church which by means of its own method makes it possible for people to live what is fundamental for being a Christian, and to live it together; it helps people discover and fulfill their personal vocations, and it promotes the creation of core groups of Christians who leaven their environments with the Gospel." These "core groups" are now referred to as "Environmental Groups."
As mentioned earlier, while the wording of these definitions may differ, their ideas are the same. The Cursillo Movement is focused to help each of us fulfill our baptismal responsibility: to go forth, as apostles, and proclaim the Gospel. We can no longer afford to sit passively by and "hope" that the world comes to know Christ. We must make a conscientious effort to "tell" the world about Christ. The Cursillo Movement provides us with the necessary tools for fulfilling our baptismal responsibility along with the training for using those tools.
In determining the purpose of the Cursillo Movement, it is important that we focus on two important aspects. The first aspect: We are communal people. The second aspect: We are teamwork people. A communal people is one that builds relationships with others. For those that serve (or have served) in the military, they realize that the purpose of Basic Training is to de-emphasize the individual and emphasize the team. Besides all these examples of teamwork, Christ gave us the encouragement to work as a team: "Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew 18: 19-20).
The process of formation begins with a Cursillo Weekend. Each day of the Cursillo Weekend begins with Morning Prayers and ends with Night Prayers. Mass is celebrated daily (except Thursday). Each participant should be aware that, since prayer is such an intricate part of the Cursillo Movement, there will be other cursillistas that will be continually praying and offering up sacrifices - for the success of the Cursillo Weekend. There will be proper nourishment provided and also adequate rest periods. Those that have special needs, such as a particular diet or physical needs, will be attended to properly.
THURSDAY NIGHT
This is a time to get to know each other and to have an overview of the Cursillo Weekend. This is also the retreat phase of the Cursillo Weekend, which is designed "To awaken the moral consciences of the participants, beginning with an analysis of their own lives and causing them to desire to encounter God." The retreat phase (done in silence and ends Friday morning after Mass) includes three meditations and "The Way of the Cross." The meditations are: 1) Know Yourself, 2) The Prodigal Son, and 3) The Three Glances of Christ (this is given Friday morning).
FRIDAY
The focus of Friday should be to help each participant to have a better understanding of themselves. Friday should help them discover what motivates them in different situations.
During this day the participants will hear five presentations. Three presentations will be given by members of the laity and they are: 1) Ideals, 2) The Layperson as the Church in the World, and 3) Holiness. The other two presentations will be given by the Spiritual Directors and they are: 1) Grace and 2) Faith. While the presentations provide the participants with information and witnessed experiences, it is the table discussions (following each presentation) that prove to be one of the real dynamics of the Weekend. The sharing, which takes place during the table discussions, provides the participants with an opportunity to share their own insights about the presentation. Furthermore, the participants have the opportunity to hear how other participants perceived that same presentation.
After each presentation and table discussions, the participants will draft a written summary of the presentation and table discussion. Later the participants will have an opportunity to graphically illustrate their ideas of the presentations and table discussions. That evening, each table group will share their summaries and graphic illustrations with the other participants and team members.
SATURDAY
The focus for Saturday is to combine that fully realized self (that they learned about Friday) with a wonderful and loving God. Saturday helps the participants to understand the current relationship that they have with God and should spawn a desire for a still deeper and fuller relationship with God.
The schedule for Saturday follows the same format as Friday. Again, there are three laity presentations entitled: 1) Formation, 2) Evangelization, and 3) Leaders. As with Friday's schedule, there are also two Spiritual Director presentations entitled: 1) Sacraments, and 2) Obstacles to a Life of Grace. Table discussions again play a very dynamic role in generating various insights concerning the presentations. The summaries (of each presentation) and the graphic illustrations are shared with all, just like on Friday.
SUNDAY
The focus for Sunday is the understanding of ourselves, our relationship with God, and how we can help Him in fulfilling His Will. We learn what environments we belong to and how we can affect those environments.
The same format is used on Sunday, except there is only one Spiritual Director presentation - Christian Life. There are the usual three laity presentations, which are: 1) Study and Evangelization of the Environments, 2) Christian Community, and 3) Group Reunion and Ultreya.
Sunday night at the Clausura (Closing), the participants come face to face with the larger Cursillo Community that has been so supportive during the entire weekend. It is during this meeting that the participants enter this Cursillo Community.
Cursillo then continues on with a number of regular events which tend to uphold and support the developing saint during their process of formation.
GROUP REUNION
The Group Reunion is a small group of Cursillo friends that meet on a regular basis. The purpose of this meeting is to share with one another the growth that has taken place within each of us. We share our spiritual growth as well as our growth in becoming a person who strives to bring a Christ-like attitude to our environments. This meeting is referred to as a Friendship Group.
As we make attempts to bring Christ into our various environments, we will sometimes become frustrated. The group Reunion also provides the continual support we need in order to persevere as a part of God's plan.
ULTREYA
The Ultreya (Spanish word meaning Onward) is the larger Cursillo community. It is the time for the members of the Group Reunions to meet with members of other Group Reunions. The Ultreya is also beneficial in providing the support and encouragement that each of us needs.
Both of these holiness movements represent a desire within mainstream Christianity to develop the laity beyond their weekly attendance at church. These movements have spread the desire for Christians everywhere to deepen their relationship with G-d.
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