Palanca

                 Palanca,  a Spanish word which means, “lever”. Just as a lever enables a person to move something, which is beyond normal strength, Palanca empowers accomplishments of things which would not be possible without the Grace of God. The truth is founded on the promise of Christ: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be.”

                 In light of the fact that grace is absolutely essential for every movement whose purpose is Christianization, a Cursillo weekend is never to be celebrated without an adequate spiritual foundation. Profound communion with God, acquired by way of prayer, sacrifice, reception of the sacraments, and reflection on the Word of God must mark every moment of the Cursillo.

 

                 The Church is a society of prayer (Pope Paul VI). Prayer is the chief means of success for the Cursillo. The Christian community must pray earnestly, before and during the Cursillo. From the moment they are selected, the team members must apply themselves at all times to prayer…. Going against the tide of secularism and loss of the sacred, everyone involved in the Cursillo has and must have, faith in the power of prayer; believes, and must believe, that there is no substitute for prayer; knows and must know, that on prayer depends all effective conversion, which is something God gives to those who ask. The Cursillo is sustained by one or more communities which, outside the Cursillo weekend and from a distance, take upon themselves the responsibility outlined so clearly by Pope Pius the XII in his encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ; “………..the salvation of many is dependent on the prayers and sacrifices of the members of the Mystical Body of Christ.” Prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the Cursillo, which in the Cursillo terminology are called “palancas,” are crucial to the spiritual success of the movement.

 

                 Therefore the strength of the Cursillo weekend is in the lever (Palanca). In order for the weekend to fully succeed it is imperative that the entire Cursillo Community offer palanca for the weekends. God hears all prayers. Palanca makes a difference in the lives of the Candidates it is the very thing that allows the candidates to open their hearts and let God enter. Without the prayers of the community the lever cannot move the hearts of the candidates toward God. Encourage your communities to get involved. The movement needs your prayers, sacrifices, and good works.

 

“The miracles of God’s graces find acceptance in the fertile soil of a heart that has been primed by community prayer.”

Eduardo Bonnin

 

GENERAL PALANCA

This Palanca is directed to the success of the weekend and the openness
of the candidates as they interact.  It is directed toward all of the candidates.
It is the prayer and sacrifice of the Cursillistas in the wider community,
delivered by way of posters and emails.

 

PERSONAL PALANCA

 This Palanca is concentrated on the particular candidate and can be delivered by cards and notes. Remember it is the prayer and/or sacrifice that is the palanca, the card or note is only the instrument  used to deliver the message.

 

The need for palanca does not end with the weekend. The success of the Cursillo movement is reliant on the continued prayer and sacrifice of the community.
We must pray unceasingly that the faithful of God  continue to serve in the Cursillo Movement;  that when preparing the weekends we do so with a strong foundation built on the prayer and sacrifice of the Mystical Body of Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lever That Moves the Weekend

Prayer is the principle medium of a spiritual order on

which the success of the Cursillo rests.

 

Cursillos in Christianity

Los Angeles English Cursillo

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