I made my Cursillo Weekend in 1975 at an upstate New York retreat house. I have participated in many Weekends as a Team Member and in my local White Plains Ultreya. In 1995, I became convinced that Cursillo methodology alone—without a strong spiritual foundation—could ultimately destroy the Movement. The Spirit moved me to commit myself to creating a spirituality for Cursillistas. In 1998 I published the article, “Recapturing the Vision of the Cursillo Founders,” and posted it on the New York Cursillo website. To my surprise, on April 1, 2000 I received an email from the office of the priest founder of Cursillo, Msgr. Sebastian Gaya`, endorsing the article. You can read both the email and the article on this Cursillo blog. As a result, the New York Cursillo Secretariat approved the creation of a Spiritual Development Program which appeared on its website. As each article was written over the past 12 years, it was inserted into the Program.
Neither my six years in the Jesuit Order nor my career as a business writer really prepared me for this task. But I felt strongly that it had to be done. I made a pact with the Spirit. If the Spirit wanted this work to be accomplished, the Spirit had to guide me every step of the way. Before writing, I prayed to the Spirit. And only when I experienced the Spirit’s inspiration did I write. My thanks to Fr. Hugh Grace, New York Cursillo Spiritual Director, and Fr. John Walsh, M.M., an author, lecturer and Maryknoll Seminary professor, who encouraged and guided me on this long spiritual journey.
Frank A. Squitteri