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We all experience the ups and downs of life, and we do not go through them alone. God has promised to be constantly with us. However, when we are in the depths of the valleys, this is not always so clear to us.

I recently lost a friend who I have known since childhood. She was a woman of faith who was not shy about sharing her faith with others. She taught preschool at her local Catholic school and spread her love of Christ with the children at the preschool and through volunteering to teach religious education for many years. I was lucky enough to have met her in the 7th grade. She was always kind and a positive light throughout all the years that I have known her.

The past few years have been very difficult for her and her family. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and went through surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. She amazed me as she fought so bravely in the midst of all her suffering. She remained the kind beacon of light that she always was.

Very recently, my dear friend lost her battle with cancer and went to be with the Lord. At her services, her husband spoke about how, at times, they questioned why she had to experience all the suffering of the past few years. But in their prayer and reflection, they knew that the experience had made their faith and their family bond stronger than ever before.

This experience, in recent days, has led me to reflect on the tremendous amount of suffering in this world. Yes, some experience more than others, but we all have to walk through the valley at times in our life. No one, no matter how good a person he or she is, can be assured that they will be exempted. Just consider Job, who was commended of God as a perfect and upright man. Consider the misery he suffered, losing his health, wealth, and family, and even his wife turned against him! Yet, God was glorified through his suffering.

It also reminds me of the tremendous suffering of Mother Mary in witnessing the torturing and death of her son. Yet she remained steadfast in her faith in God’s plan to sacrifice His son for the promise of eternal life.

It is at these difficult times, that we must remind ourselves that “the God on the mountain is still God in the valley. As revealed in Revelations 21: 4 = “Those who are willing to suffer for Jesus in this life will enjoy the rewards of eternity with no suffering at all.”

DeColores, Debbie Iomio-Whiffen

Every year, St. Paul’s Cursillo has its one and only official fundraiser: the Annual Cursillo Raffle. This event secures $2200 to be used for operations and scholarship when all tickets are sold successfully. This year, like every year, we sold all one hundred tickets at $50 each. The First Prize of $2500 was awarded to Tom Michel, Second Prize of $200 went to Ann Marie Dodd, and Third Prize of $100 went to Hank Kraker.

St. Paul’s Cursillo & Retreat Programs, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization. It has a board of thirteen members that meet approximately every six weeks. The Board consists of men and women who are program directors and team members. We review all sponsored programs under our umbrella. We discuss all aspects of our programs: locations, supplies, insurance, stipends, leadership. All decisions are made for the best interests of the Cursillo Community, and to promote Cursillo.

We are grateful for all the support you give to our Raffle, as well as for all the countless donations made to support our efforts. THANK YOU! Also, we are grateful for your attendance at our events and programs. We know why – because you believe in all having a life in God’s friendship. THANK YOU! This Cursillo program cannot, would not, continue without you. THANK YOU!

The 11th Annual Jane Nowicki Weekend was held April 19, 2024, in West Hampton in a large house overlooking the water. Every year this is spearheaded and organized by Cathy Bauer, Team Member, and is named in honor of our friend, Jane Nowicki. Jane lost her battle with cancer in 2012, and we lost a wonderful team member. She is missed and celebrated every year.

It is an amazing blessing to share my faith with my sisters in Christ. The first night we all take a name out of a hat, and we are to pray for that person until we leave on Sunday. We have no idea who is praying for us. The abundance of snacks brought every year is over the top! Everything from candy, chocolate, potato chips, nuts, a ton of fruit, home baked cookies, and much more for a two-night stay. Laughter and sharing is always in great abundance as well.

The weekend is structured and requires preplanning of meals and prayer services. Women volunteer for the meals, and it is a beautiful thing to be served! Prayers are said Friday evening, Saturday morning (which I presented) and Sunday morning followed by a talk. Small group sharing follows much like the Cursillo. Cathy chose as the theme this year “God I believe, help me in my unbelief.” Talks followed on this topic, and it is glorious to be able to share from our hearts. It is a wonderful way to refresh spiritually because there is so much love in the air.

We also have our play time; we have a happy hour with appetizers and this year we played Bible Jeopardy led by Anne Haffey. What fun! This will become the mainstay for future weekends, two teams and if you answer incorrectly the other team can steal with the right answer. There was much laughter and embracing. Saturday we always attend mass together, return, eat dinner, then watch a movie. The enclosed picture is of us after Mass.

Before we leave one another, we get up one at a time and describe the person we have been praying for before sharing her name. It is always so much fun. There is an energy in us which makes things happen when the paths of other people touch ours. This is the second year it rained on Saturday, but it doesn’t matter because we were lit from the inside.

DeColores,
Silvia Madison, Team Member

Every six weeks, the Men of Cursillo have an opportunity to gather at Our Lady of Hope Church in Carle Place, NY, to listen to a presentation given by Joe Amato. Like on our weekends, we break into groups to share about the subject matter and how it affects our Fourth Day journeys!

We end each session with a group prayer or ritual in the Mass Chapel. The men are able to bring guests that might be interested in making the weekend, to see how we do it.

To date, we have had at least ten men who signed up in the past year and a half. We have some men already scheduled to attend their Cursillo for the October weekend. Please join us this Saturday, May 18th, at 8:45 AM for the next group session. DeColores!

“A life transforming weekend—very highly recommended for anyone who wants to be a better father, brother, husband or friend” – Joe Ferrara

“The safe environment allowed me to empty the heavy sack of obstacles that I have been carrying around. I feel lighter and more capable of following the carpenter.” – Robert Schnell

“It was the most worthwhile decision that I ever made! This experience is truly priceless and I will never forget the lessons I have learned. I met people that I now call my new family. DeColores!” – Louis Jesus LaTorre

“This weekend put me on a path forward. Something I’ve been searching for, for a long time.” – Tim Wall

“Cursillo weekend is a great opportunity to step away from external life and face your internal struggles.” – Rozario J. Sylvain

“I came out of the weekend feeling loved. I feel like I want to give love the same way that I am loved.” – Edward Urquart

A truly remarkable experience that was surrounded by the Holy Spirit occurred on the weekend of April 11th – 14th at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. 20 men said YES to the invitation to strengthen their relationship with our LOVING GOD and he was present in each of their aces throughout the weekend as the transformation unfolded! The team guided the candidates under God’s direction to help bring this life changing encounter to these men!

It was my honor and privilege to serve as rector on the weekend! I was blessed to have an amazing team of Christ driven men led by the Men’s Director Jim Barker beside me!! ALL of them worked tirelessly to witness the spirit flow through each other. The Spiritual team consisted of Joe Amato, Bob Monahan, Tom Leavens and Mike McGovern. The table team included Bud Mazura, Chuck DeDora, Mario Cannariato, Michael Hoffner, Paul Bergin, Rich Grillo, and Steve Hernandez. We were all grateful for the Angel team who were there to help make the weekend run seamlessly. Led by head angel Steve Miller and joined by Edwin Aviles, Bart Giuliano, George Natali, Hank Kraker and Joe Valentino. This amazing team of men continues to answer the call that Christ has led them to and I am honored to be a part of such an amazing Christian Community in Action.

There were many Cursillistas who came on Thursday to help greet the candidates and send them forth onto their journey with Christ. The closing was attended by loved ones who came to witness these 20 men share with us what happened between them and GOD on these 3 glorious action packed days!! It was filled with love, tears, and laughter as expressed by them from the podium. May the light of Christ continue to shine through the men of Cursillo #236 during their 4th day!! DECOLORES!!!

• Wonderful to have a Saturday filled with Christ loving women. Looking forward to June. God bless.

• Loving as God loves. Today’s meeting reinforced the love of God. For us, God is love. He gave his Son to us, who in turn sent his Holy Spirit. He gave us His love. We are love.

• This was the first-time experience for me. I was very impressed how close I was to God during this time. Thank you.

• I appreciate having had the time to experience a mini retreat in 3 1/2 hours. It reminded me that I have to make the time for prayer without distractions to nurture my soul so that I can be more effective in bringing or seeing Jesus in others.

• The Irish prayer at the end was beautiful. The morning said it all. Thank you for your service. I always love the music chosen. It helps me to pray in gratitude.

• Losing my daughter this Christmas is hard at times. This time together helps me in remembering my Cursillo and that love, faith and hope in Jesus.

• Amazing Grace. Today was simply time with my best friend who comes and speaks to me through amazing women. Today was coffee with God, where
once again I was reminded how loved I am and how God wants me to do great things. Love and forgive like him freely give what I receive.

• I learned that the Lord is calling me to spend more quiet time with him.

• Transfigure me oh God.

• It was great reconnecting with everyone in the presence of God and sharing on heartfelt topics and gave me the opportunity to have the space and time to commune with God.

• Wonderful opportunity to come together with women who share our experience of heart and soul with each other and feel the presence.

• Our faith is meant to be shared. I didn’t just read scripture and listen to fellow Christians. I experienced God himself.

• I love how we come from so many lives joined together with Christ in the center.

• The morning of prayer was full of the Spirit. I learned a new method of prayer and had a moving sharing with the women of God at my table.

On March 16th, 28 God seeking women gathered in St. Anthony’s Hall in Westbury, to participate in our first “Moments With God” series. Although the weather was cold, our hearts were warm as we exchanged hugs, smiles, and exclamations of joy to see each other.

Lisa Brogan started the morning off with a very inspiring talk entitled “Loving Like Christ Loves” and invited us to become Jesus’ lambs. She stressed forgiveness, a favorite touchy subject for good Christians like us because we all have that family member, co-worker, or an annoying neighbor whom God places in our lives, so we can learn to forgive and love them just like He forgives and loves us. Theresa McHugh followed with an introduction to a different way of praying with the scriptures called “Lectio Divina”. The suggestions for this way of praying were- read the
scripture, select a few lines to reflect on, mentally chew the words and images, and make a plan of action in response to what God has spoken to us through the scripture.

The team thanks all those who attended and for your warm feedback. Hope to see you again at our next gathering which will be on June 22nd. For those who could not attend, we really hope to see
you next time. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be a Cursillista to attend, so bring a friend or make a friend.

Decolores!
Norma Scally

The Couples Weekend Retreat was held at The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington on April 5-7. After a week of heavy rain, the sun came out and welcomed us to the beautiful
surroundings of the seminary. It was a good sign of things to come. The sun was also shining in the rooms. We were welcomed with love, and it was a joy meeting the other couples on this retreat.

Thanks to Darlene and Mike McGovern for all their hard work organizing and hosting this weekend, and it was great to see Mike working the retreat after months of knee surgery complications. God is good. The meals were delicious, and the connections we made were special. We played word games, danced, and sang together, and there were tears and laughter during discussions about the struggles and joys of marriage. Thank you to all the couples who made this weekend possible. We learned ways to keep our marriage alive, and praying everyday together is the key.

We heard,” There is no Rainbow without a Storm,” and there is no marriage without these hills and valleys, but we can overcome anything when we keep God in the center of our lives and marriage.

It was bittersweet when the retreat came to an end, and we left feeling different. We found the rainbow on our weekend.

De Colores,
Norma and Rich Scally

Easter Greetings to the St. Paul’s Community!

I had the extraordinary opportunity to be in France for the Holy Days and the Octave of Easter. It was no ordinary trip, it was a pilgrimage to the sacred sites of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

We were officially founded in LePuy, France in 1650 with six women and a Jesuit priest, Fr. Jean-Pierre Medaille, SJ. Medaille was an itinerant preacher and spiritual director. As the Congregation of the Great Love of God grew and expanded throughout France, God’s presence was palpable.

During the French Revolution all religious communities were suppressed and those who continued to gather for Eucharist or were found harboring priests were guillotined in the public square. Our CSJ history tells us the six Sisters of St. Joseph met their fate with the blade. As I stood on the spot I remembered my religious ancestors. In particular, I remembered our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross. His Great Love of God, his Abba, and his teachings about God’s mercy and inclusion was too much for religious and civil authorities to fathom.

Despite the Reign of Terror there eventually was a new dawn. For the Sisters of St. Joseph, it meant a refounding of the Congregation requested by the local bishop. The woman he chose was Jeanne Fontbonne, who like all the religious went back to her family to live a quiet life once she was released from prison. This task to be the greatest challenge of her life.

Known as Mother St. John Fontbonne, she went about quietly and patiently gathering young women to once again let God’s inclusive love be manifest. In 1836 a request was made by Bishop Rosati from St. Louis to send some sisters to teach deaf children as well as Native Americans. Other requests for her sisters came from other parts of France and the known world. She lovingly sent her daughters out to make God’s love visible. Today, there continue to be 9,000 Sisters of St Joseph throughout the world ministering to the “Dear Neighbor.”

We too are sent out into the world to proclaim that Jesus is Risen! God’s love is alive! WE are people of Hope! God is asking great things of us! Let us be filled with joy. Let us make God’s presence palpable to one another and all those we meet!

Alleluia!
Marie Mackey,csj