On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, the Cursillo Community came together to experience the multimedia presentation for Advent. The evening was a joint effort from members of the Floral Park and Manorville Ultreyas to promote our unity as a Cursillo community. Held at the Brentwood Academy, it was the first time since Covid that we were blessed to gather in person for this annual evening of prayer.

The theme this year was, “Advent: A Season of Holy Waiting.” There were personal reflections from Jo Anne Ayers, Mario Cannariato, Tracey O’Reilly and Ann Marie Dodd. Joanne Lauro and I shared prayers and introduced the program. We even had some surprise giveaways for a few of our attendees in the true Christmas spirit of gift giving. As each of our presenters lit the Advent candle to introduce their piece, it announced to our community that Hope, Peace, Love and Joy abound, not only around us but within us during this season.

When I presented the theme, I said that Advent is a time to wait—to be in suspense, a holy waiting. It is a time between now and not yet, a time when we are very aware of what is behind us but not sure of what lies ahead. Holy waiting is active, not passive. Holy waiting begins with listening. We listen to God. We listen to our own inner promptings.
Here are some inner promptings from our presenters after the fact, sharing their experience and how it impacted their
own Advent journeys:

“To be celebrating our Advent service in person was a beautiful prayerful experience.”– Jo Anne Ayers
“The Advent evening of prayer was a perfect way to start the season, allowing me to focus on hope, joy, love, and peace, and hold on to the stories shared. It helped me to slow down while I was holy waiting for our Savior to be born” – Joanne Lauro
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to reflect on my abundant blessings this season. I entered Advent with a deeper, more meaningful, and prayerful way to celebrate the birth of Jesus. To see each candle lit ignited that feeling in me. It was less about the external decorations and more about my interior journey”– Tracey O’Reilly
“As I was preparing for the prayer service I was focused on Joy. As they say, God always gives you what you need. In that preparation and reflection, I was able to stay in joy throughout the season of Advent. It was enlightening for me as I don’t recall in years past that I gave it much thought. My favorite line from that piece was … joyful anticipation. It is in the waiting that we can experience the joy. So, I stayed focused on being in Advent, staying present and mindful as the days and weeks went by. I entered several different stores as Christmas was coming and I needed to prepare in a few different ways, I entered
each store reminding myself to experience the joy. And you know what, I did! It was such a grace for me.”
“I am always humbled to work with my Cursillo brothers and sisters doing anything for our community. My take on this advent season was the line in my section that read “Are you waiting for peace or are you waiting in peace?” Reflecting on that line led me to think how blessed we are as Christians to be given the gift of our Lord coming to us each year. This God of ours thought of everything, each year we celebrate our Savior’s birth, and we celebrate his death for all humanity” – Mario Cannariato

This Christian Community was certainly a gift to me this Advent season. These words from Ann Marie Dodd express the gratitude of all of us involved: “And finally, I want to say how much I was truly touched by the in person gathering. Bringing the community from the East and the West together in one location and in person was truly wonderful. At first, I was skeptical, and I had even bet someone that if “X” amount of people showed up I would do a “jig”! Imagine that! Well guess what folks, more than I expected did show up and that was a wonderful grace as well. I look forward to the opportunities for our community to come together to have the opportunity to prepare for and pray during Lent and Advent. Thank you to all who came in person and on zoom. It was a beautiful evening. I look forward to the opportunities to pray together in community, it is such a blessing for each of us.”

I am already looking forward to our next in person gathering for our Lenten Evening of Prayer on March 5,2024. Let’s see what dance we can get Ann Marie to do that night!! Save the Date. Details to follow—Stay tuned!!