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Summary at the Diocesan Ultreya May 20, 2006
Fr. Mike Hann
In our Christian Catholic tradition the month of May is dedicated to Mary, the
mother of Jesus, the mother of the church as the title given to her at the
Second Vatican Council. I would like to reflect on the role Mary played in the
mission of the Trinity which brought about the Mission of Jesus, the Holy Spirit
and the Church. The overall mission is to establish the Kingdom of God. In order
to appreciate the role of Mary in this incredible event we should go back and
stand on the historical frontier when Mary came on the scene. From the point of
view of where Mary stood and looking back from there over the centuries prior to
that, Mary was a part of the Jewish tradition of almost two thousand recorded
history. The Jewish tradition was based on the Law of Moses, the ten
commandments and the prophets and of course their tradition. The system was well
entrenched and organized, full developed and very much in control of everyone's
life. There were about 600 laws which the people had to follow if they ever had
hope of being a part of the tradition and to be a part of the chosen people of
God. Mary was a faithful observer of the tradition. We can assume Mary was a
faithful to the temple practice. She was also a woman of prayer. In listening to
the prophets read in the temple each Sabbath and reflecting on God’s presence in
her life she felt that God was going to enter into the history and do something
extraordinary soon. She wasn’t the only one. Some other people like John the
Baptist went off to the desert with a group of people to wait, to pray and fast
so as to prepare for the great event event. Their scripture promised a Messiah
and some people, Mary included, were thinking that this event was upon them and
about to break forth. Mary felt that God was calling her to be part of that new
event and that she was to give birth to the Messiah. What an incredible
invitation. As the scripture tells us she was afraid, and she asked questions
but in the end said “Yes”. “Let it be done to me according to your word”. The
tradition of the Jewish religion was pregnant with change and was personified in
Mary. Like all other vocation calls in the bible the only assurance Mary
received was “don’t be afraid I am with you”. Actually what God was asking Mary
was if she would be a disciple so that He could borrow her body, her life, her
personality and character traits to introduce the Messiah to the world. Her job
was to present him and through her let God do the work. Mary, along with John
the Baptist , Joseph did an extraordinary thing for this world they said Yes to
God and the Jewish tradition. The result didn’t abandon the temple or the
tradition because Christianity can be seen as an offshoot of the Jewish
tradition. Mary and the others raised the bar so to speak, opened the tradition
to some fresh air of the Holy Spirit, open up the windows of the temple to let
some fresh air in. Their response changed the world. That “Yes” of Mary and the
others resulted in welcoming the Messiah, the forming of the small Christian
community with the apostles and the beginning of the Church. It was not an easy
time for them as we can follow in scripture. That invitation has reverberated
through the centuries. The call of Mary and the others is still viable and still
resounding for all of us. The yes has echoed through the ages and there have
been many other interventions by God to help the community and the Church
continue the mission. The Church has often gathered the leaders together to
reflect and discern and decide with the help of the Holy Spirit what directions
to take. Many spiritual movements have risen to help the universal mission of
Jesus be realized in each culture, in every time and in all languages and
nationalities.
One such movement more recent in our time is the birth of the Cursillo in the
1940’s in Spain. It’s purpose was really to help quicken the mission of Jesus ,
the kingdom of God. It was founded by lay people, promoted by lay people and
lead by lay people. It is one of the true lay movement in the Church today. The
movement addressed the Spanish culture, the times and language and a nation. It
was after the Spanish civil war in 1936 with the death and destruction of many
Catholics and churches. The country and the church was in disarray and needed a
shot in the arm. The Cursillo movement was that inoculation. It began to renew
the Spanish church. It gradually became called a small but intense course over a
three day weekend in Christianity. It’s purpose was to awaken the faith of
people over a short period of time and to be continued in what is called the
‘fourth day’. It has met with great success in spite of the many challenges and
difficulties. On it’s arrival in this country in Texas in 1957 it quickly spread
throughout the US and Latin America and gradually began to adapt itself to the
American scene. As Pope John Paul said as far back as 1966 “Cursillos de
Cristiandad,... travels with citizenship papers throughout the world”. He went
on to say that “whether some methods become obsolete, whether new manifestations
of the Spirit arises, the permanent task of the laity will continue to be the
infusion of Christianity into the life through the encounter and personal
friendship with God and in communion with their brothers and sisters...They
transform the temporal structures in which they are immersed guided in their
actions by the glance of Christ, he continually tries to make the world
according to God’ s plan and design..’Cursillos de Cristiandad/ Christ, the
Church, the Pope is counting on you. John Paul at the first world Ultreya held
in Rome in May of 1966. (adapted from Leaders’ Manuel p.10).
The call of Mary said yes to has reverberated down through the centuries and has
touched our minds and hearts. Our call is to carry the banner of the Cursillo
throughout our Diocese and in doing so to be courageous in our reflections on
how we can be more effective, change what is necessary to make the movement more
appealing to all ages and nationalities and touch the lives of people of every
parish in the Diocese. Like Mary we say “Yes” to God’s invitation. De Colores.
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