November 12, 2009
Memorial of Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr
For there is nought God loves, be it not one who dwells with Wisdom. For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light, she takes precedence; for that, indeed, night supplants, but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. Wisdom 7:28-30
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, "The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you." Luke 17:20-21
Piety
Father, bless our efforts as Cursillo leaders to unify the kingdom as St. Josaphat worked to unify the church. We pray the Leaders Prayer:
Lord, grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success.
My God, give us a spirit of self sacrifice so that we may offer everything for your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary.
Instill in us courage in our initiatives, good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that determination which in spite of failures assures victory.
Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which divides or discourages.
Help us to maintain at a high level a meaningful supernatural and mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by preference the most humble tasks and will rejoice at the good performed by others so that all our spirits united in a common purpose will have one single sprit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces, Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living Presence among us. Amen.
St. Paul, Patron of Cursillo - Pray for us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patron of the Americas - Pray for us.
Study
Jesus continues on his way to Jerusalem where he will meet his death. As he presses forward, he frequently stops along the way to teach, preach and heal. Today’s encounter with the Pharisees immediately follows Jesus’ encounter with the ten lepers.
The Pharisees are seeking some clues as to when God will come. Once again, Jesus turns the answer back on those asking him the question. The Kingdom of God will not come like an appointment with your doctor or a date on the calendar. Jesus reminds them that the Kingdom of God is among you. The Kingdom of God is within you.
We build the Kingdom brick by brick right here on earth. Just like Jesus built another part of the Kingdom when he healed the ten lepers, every time we act in love, every time we study to get to know Jesus better, every time we pray in our hearts, in our minds or on our lips, we build up the Kingdom. Every time we offer forgiveness to our sisters and brothers, we build the Kingdom. Every time we serve one another, we build the Kingdom.
Action
What is Kairos? The mission of the Kairos Prison Ministry is to bring Christ's love and forgiveness to all incarcerated individuals, their families and those who work with them, and to assist in the transition of becoming a productive citizen. To learn more view the short video at:
http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/System/Media/Play.asp?id=23761&key=x2objkjrctuucd4u883b
Why support Kairos? Ninety-five percent of all incarcerated men, women and youth are ultimately released and must move back into the community. Their success is greatly multiplied when they have a religious experience while incarcerated.
If ex-offenders do not go back to prison we are all safer, we save an incredible amount of money and the community is healthier! Recent studies indicate that Kairos prison ministry reduces the return to prison rate by 70%. This saves the taxpayers millions of dollars every year
How can YOU help build the Kingdom during the Kairos retreat even though you will be hundreds of miles away?
Fellow Cursillista Dan Turgeon is on the team for this Kairos retreat at the Greensville Correctional Center and he needs your prayer support for the team and the inmate-candidates. (This is the Virginia prison where the latest execution took place November 10 when John Allen Muhammad was put to death for his role as the DC sniper).
Kairos Weekends strive to have people on the “outside” praying continuously for the work of the Holy Spirit among the candidates during the 4 days of the weekend in the prison. To ensure that happens, Dan is asking you to sign up for half-hour sessions (similar to the Cursillo Weekend “Palanca clock”). Now the prayer chain runs 24 hours. The team used a lottery system to allocate times to the team members to get volunteers and Dan was lucky this time, and drew a block of time that is mid-day on Saturday, November 14 from 1 - 5 PM. Please go to the website at (Prayer Signup) or at http://www.kofc8600.org/CookiePrayers.asp) to signup. If these times are not convenient, just drop Dan an email at GrandKnight@kofc8600.org with the time you can pray for the Kairos Weekend. The overall time is from 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12 to noon on Sunday Nov. 15 if you would like to pray for the souls at Greensville Correctional Center.
“I wish I could show you the power of this, but let me say that it has been the most spiritually rewarding experience of my life. I have seen conversions to Christianity, and Christ love exemplified. Please help continue this mission,” says Dan.
