Cursillo: A Weekend That Shaped a Lifetime

“Decolores!” This is the greeting Cursillo participants use when they meet. It welcomes others into the family of God with joy, beauty, and a celebration of God’s presence in their lives. Cursillo is a powerful training experience on the journey of apprenticeship with our Lord Jesus Christ. 

In more than 50 years of ministry, I have seen Cursillo weekends equip believers in the churches I have served by deepening their faith, helping them grow in genuine intimacy with God, and helping them discover the gifts God has given them for service and witness in the world.

At 18, I attended my first Cursillo weekend. Although I had known the Lord for five years, I sensed that I lacked the depth of connection with God that I saw in others. I realized I needed a deeper awareness of God’s presence in my daily life, purpose, and obedience. It was not that I lacked desire; I simply did not yet know the resources available to help me grow spiritually. I went to church, studied the Bible, and sang Christian songs, but I had not fully grasped the value of worship, the richness of Christian community, or what faithful service to God truly involved.

That weekend became a foundation for my spiritual life and ministry. Through its training, teaching, spiritual relationships, and shared experiences, Cursillo strengthened my apprenticeship—my discipleship—with Jesus. It helped prepare me to serve as a missionary, Episcopal priest, Army chaplain, husband, and father. I highly recommend the Cursillo journey as part of your formation as a follower of Jesus. We all need deep roots if we are to grow faithfully as His disciples.

As a priest, I have always been passionate about helping church members grow in faith, but a small local congregation cannot provide every resource on its own. That is why we draw on broader church ministries such as Cursillo to help equip the body of Christ. I have seen brothers and sisters return from a Cursillo weekend with renewed passion for service—some becoming church leaders, others extending Christ’s ministry into their local communities, and some even discerning a call to ordained ministry. Through Cursillo, the churches I have served have been blessed by the growth of senior wardens, Christian education teachers, justice workers, worship leaders, small group leaders, missionaries, and outreach coordinators. Cursillo can be an important part of your discernment for service to Christ.

Cursillo teaches that every layperson has a unique mission no one else can fulfill. For some people, Christ may be encountered through us: we may be the clearest Christian witness they know, the only “Bible” they read, or the only image of Jesus they see. A Cursillo weekend helps you discover and develop your gifts so you can become a stronger witness of faith. To grow into that calling, we need a place to learn, practice, and mature. Cursillo offers that opportunity to both you and me.

This weekend offers meaningful training in the heart and practice of our faith. It helps us discern and live out our callings, equips us to share our faith, and encourages us to embody it in the communities where we live, work, and serve. It also provides ways to deepen our inner connection with the Lord, perhaps in ways we have not experienced before. I served on Cursillo weekend teams with soldiers as they learned to live out their faith in the demanding realities of military life—whether in combat or while adjusting to civilian life at home. I have found that the teachings, principles, and experiences of Cursillo can apply in any environment, helping us grow and serve Christ faithfully in our own world.

During this weekend, we learn that the world is transformed through the message of Christ carried with faith, hope, love, and humility. Our natural talents alone are not enough for this work. As leaders, we are called to depend on Christ’s transforming love for us so that we may become instruments of that same love in the places where we live and serve. The more we grow in our relationship with God, the more effective we become as leaders. Christ’s own life is our greatest model of leadership. I believe you will see this during the Cursillo weekend and will find ways to apply it in your own life. As we come to know Christ’s story more deeply, our lives are shaped to reflect His. Cursillo offers a place to discover the depth of that story.

The word, “Cursillo” means “little course.” As this “little course” in Christianity concludes, we are encouraged to continue our learning and growing in Christ within the community of the churches we come from.

Fr. Robert Blessing is a retired Episcopal priest who serves as a supply priest in our diocese. He and his wife Anne served as missionaries in Asia, Priest in several churches and served 25 years in the US Army as an active and reserve chaplain. He presently ministers to veterans struggling with Moral Injury and cares for deported veterans in Tijuana, Mexico.