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Thea Barron Last March I made a Cursillo, the first area women's Cursillo of 2000. It was held in the serene setting of Missionhurst. My table was "Las Mujeres de Muchos Regalos", the women of many gifts. I'm not sure of the translation now, but what we wanted to say was that we had much to offer, to our table, to our fellow cursillistas of that weekend, and to the world. What talents God gave us, we wanted to share with others. That was one of the messages I took away from the Cursillo: to be aware of what one's talents are and to determine how we can best make use of them for others. Said another way, how we can allow Christ to use us to serve others. To reach this goal, we must first be informed about Christ's message. This we learn by spiritual reading, starting with the scriptures, and moving on to spiritual writers who enlighten us on the Christian message, from the mystics to our contemporaries. And reading the lives of the saints, not just those officially sanctified by Rome, but those we have recognized in our lifetime like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Fr. Horace McKenna, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Thea Bowman, and many closer to home, will give us ideas for how to use our talents for those in need around us. Secondly, we must pray daily, privately conversing with our Lord, receiving the Eucharist as often as possible, and celebrating the gift of our faith in community. In our hectic world, especially in this area of serious workaholics, we also need to take time off for days of recollections and weekend retreats. I believe that daily meditation time is still the best way to listen to the Lord speak to us, and I am still struggling to fit this into my schedule. Finally, we must take the big step and become public about our faith, bring it to the workplace where we spend most of the hours of our adult life. Many Christians, certainly Catholics among them, are reluctant to speak out about their faith. They feel better if it is a private thing. It has become politically uncorrect, you know, to talk about religion. Is it any wonder that the public mores as reported in the media is at an all time low? But is it? If we speak openly about our faith, we may be surprised at the response of the receiver. The chief message then that I took away from my Cursillo last year is that we must have the courage to speak out. If we believe in this Jesus Christ as the son of God, of the Creator of the universe, and we believe in His unending love and mercy for ALL people, then how can we not share this belief with others? How can we keep this a secret and watch as others struggle with their personal crosses without the gift of faith? Our individual acts of kindness to the poor among us, the homeless, the sick, the homebound, the troubled, the incarcerated, those carrying unwanted children, the disabled, the dying, speak volumes, even though not publicized. Our involvement in speaking out on justice issues, writing letters, contacting public officials, will eventually be noticed by those around us. Why not go that extra step and somehow let those around us know that we are not acting just as good citizens, but that we are acting as Christians. How? - by mentioning Lent or Advent when it comes, by taking time off from work to celebrate important holy days such as Good Friday; by sharing with co-workers that we sing in the parish choir, and inviting them to come listen; by inviting those we know are already interested in social justice, to work with us on a parish project or at a housing project or a soup kitchen. Even more simply, by praying with a friend before enjoying a meal together, or when a co-worker confides in us with a problem, by responding that we will remember them in our daily prayers. Our Christian sisters and brothers of other faiths call it witnessing, not by standing on the proverbial soapbox, but through sharing with our neighbors the fact that our daily actions are linked inextricably with our Christian faith. This is not easy in our increasingly secular world. Our Cursillo group is there it give us support; allowing us to feel less alone as we travel on our journey back to God. – Thea Barron
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