March 13, 2010
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept. My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart. Make Zion prosper in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifice, burnt offerings and holocausts; then bullocks will be offered on your altar. Psalm 51:18-21
“But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:13-14
Piety
“In their affliction, they shall look for me: Come, let us return to the LORD, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.” Hosea 6:1
Study
"Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth." Hosea 6:3
Why does God do what he does? Why does he heal our wounds? Why does he send his Son to suffer for us? Why does he forgive us? Today’s reading from the prophet Hosea gives us the answer in three compact phrases. If Cursillo is a “short course in Christianity,” then the first reading today is a Cursillo to the Power of Three.
1) God wants us to live in His presence. He does not want us banished from the Garden. He does not want us to be outcast. He wants us back!
2) God wants us to get to know Him. He wants us to strive to know the Lord.
3) God wants us to serve the Lord and each other. He desires love. He desires action. He does not want our religion to be a big show. He wants us to express our love personally, honestly and privately.
Six lines of the entire Bible nestled right here in the Book of Hosea. And in these six lines, we have the needle of our compass pointing to true north.
Action
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts. Hosea 6:6
No matter what we do, God can not turn his back on us. Even if we turn our back on God, he turns toward us, beckoning us back. Over and over again.
Since the 1960s, there have been 129 weekends throughout these decades when women from the Diocese of Arlington have gathered to learn more about the Cursillo method of piety, study and action. Over and over again. Starting next Thursday night, that cycle will begin again for the 130th time.
The team under direction of Rectora Kat Sigler has been in formation over the past three months getting ready to share their stories. They have been practicing their faith and living in God’s presence with support from each other. Thursday night, they set out from shore and head to deeper waters to become fishers of women.
Visit the weekend page (http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/w130/w130.aspx) and consider how you can support the women going through this experience as they live in God’s presence, get to know Jesus as a friend, and focus on love, not sacrifice and show. Remember how the community supported your weekend. Now is your turn to share that with these new Cursillistas.
There are still a few slots left on the Palanca Clock: http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/w130/w130PalancaClock.aspx
There is one more slot available on the Cook Crew:
http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/w130/w130CookCrewHelpers.aspx
There are sixteen candidates and space for a few more at Missionhurst:
http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/w130/w130CandidateList.aspx
Of course your living presence at Mañanita is welcome:
http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/w130/w130Mananita.aspx
Finally, the Lord invites you to share in a banquet to be held in the honor of our sisters from teh 130th weekend at the closing that will begin at 4:30 on Sunday, March 21 at Our Lady Queen of Peace.
http://arlingtoncursillo.org/CursillosSubweb/w130/w130Closing.aspx
