News

The Men’s Cursillo Program held their 239th weekend on October 2-5, 2025, at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Lloyd’s Harbor, NY. Led by the Men’s Cursillo Director, Jim Barker, the Rector for the weekend was Paul Bergin, with administrative assistance from Brian Cavalllo. The Angels were George Klimar, James Slovensky, John Navarro, Kevin Shanahan & Matt O’Reilly. The Table Team Members were Greg Carter, Jim Reid, Mario Cannariato, Chuck DeDora, Joe Graham, & Rich Maikis (Sean Sorahan provided a walk-on talk). The Spiritual Team was Joe Amato, Bob Monahan, Jim Linden & Tom Leavens (with Michael Hoffner observing).
The candidates were invited—and accepted—an invitation to work on their relationships with God.
Following the weekend, Jim Barker forwarded a beautiful note to the Team about the weekend: “Hey guys,
What can I say… the world is a brighter and better place – the Kingdom of God has just expanded! All this because you “surrendered” to your will, your way, and your time to be present for God and His will. You fully gave of yourself to whatever God needed from you. Each of you brought your own God infused uniqueness, as each one of you became yet another piece of the puzzle together completing the image of God’s desires and His love… I’m not sure who received more of God’s Grace – the candidates or the team!
You did an outstanding job – how could we think anything else after feeling the Spirit from that closing… Cursillo… another way to say it – God’s miracle making machine! You guys are not only heart surgeons but you’re also engineers! “
Please let us continue to seek ways to keep Cursillo alive—and let it be led by our example and invitation!

When Darlene first sent the invitation to the Evening of Enhancement for married couples, I couldn’t help but think of the song, “Some Enchanted Evening.” The lyrics say, “You may see a stranger across a crowded room and somehow you know.” Earlier that day, as I was sitting across the breakfast table trying to listen to my husband tell me about something he was reading, all I could think of was, “Who is this guy and why is he clicking his spoon repeatedly on his oatmeal bowl in between bites and wait what, are those my reading glasses he’s wearing?”

Darlene and Mike’s talk on “Things That Bug You About Your Spouse and How You Handle It,” couldn’t have come at a better time.

Twenty-three years of marriage and there are times where minor irritations, not listening closely enough, rushing too much, children, jobs, bills, all of life’s incessant demands, can create a space between us that can make it feel like we are married to a stranger. The years can sometimes weigh heavy on a marriage.

But the very first time I saw my husband, he was a stranger, and it was across a crowded room—and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. I felt a magnetic pull to him that has never really lessened, although there are times ….as in every marriage, it’s not all cash and prizes. I love how the Married Couples Weekend and Reunion Night pull us out of our daily lives and remind us that our marriage is a living breathing entity that needs constant care. Sometimes that care is easy to give, but other times— like when our spouse is doing things that bug us—it can feel near impossible. Either way, in a marriage, the holy commitment made on the altar demands we show up—easy or hard, we show up. Mike and Darlene spoke about the triangle with God at the tippy top and both spouses on opposite sides at the bottom, the closer we each get to God, the closer we get to each other. As long as we keep God at the front and center of our marriage, it will stay strong no matter the challenges it will face—and it is guaranteed to face challenges.

Rob recently had surgery for lung cancer and, as I sat in the waiting area, all I could think was, “I’m not done with him yet.” There are so many more years ahead and things I want to learn about him because in many ways as we grow in life—as we go outside to interact with the world— as we age, we change. We are not the same people who stood on the altar twenty-three years ago. The Married Couples Retreats, and Reunion Evenings give us the opportunity to hear about how other couples handle their challenges and live with God at their center. We are given tools and support and compassion and, most importantly, humor. We are reminded to embrace the joys of marriage along with the hardships.

Rob’s surgery was 100% successful, and we went on a trip to New England to celebrate. So just three weeks after the surgery, when I was so afraid of losing him, I found myself yelling at him because I was driving through the mountains of New Hampshire and he wasn’t being a “good enough” co-pilot. Oh boy, our marriage like most marriages, will always need help. I’m grateful for the Married Couples Program and all they offer. Time spent in it, is a great investment to make for your marriage. Come join the fun, all married couples are welcome.

It seems natural that the November reflection, encompassing as it does the holiday of Thanksgiving, should be about gratitude. It’s almost too easy, really.

Sometimes an AA meeting is deemed a “topic” meeting and the speaker chooses a topic. Easily way more than 50% of the time the speaker chooses gratitude as the topic. I always think it’s a lazy choice. It’s almost too easy, really.

I mean, everyone can find things to be grateful for. Some people make gratitude lists regularly to remember not to wallow in the problems of the day. We express gratitude to our co-workers for their help, our friends for their support, our family members for their love – and we give thanks to God, for his many blessings and graces. It’s a happy endeavor. We look at our lives, see goodness and light, and are delighted to express our gratitude and share our experience of joy with others.

So if it’s so easy, why am I struggling for words to put around it? I look outside and the leaves are falling, summer has given way to the hibernation of fall, a slowing down towards the hard freeze of winter. We reflect on saints and souls. We bundle up, curl up, turn inward as the days get shorter and seem to offer more darkness than light. My gratitude doesn’t bounce, like it does on a warm, spring day. It doesn’t shine with the colors of summer. It’s different somehow.

In this season of autumn, I hear an invitation to express gratitude for the more challenging parts of my life. Thank you, for the pain that showed me the truth of who I was, so that I can now be the person you call me to be. Thank you, for the grief that allowed me to see how much I cared. Thank you, for the struggles that helped me build strength to carry the burdens you call me to bear. Thank you, for the sorrows that compelled me to reach out to you for comfort. Thank you for being there, and for allowing me to see you there, in all of it.

And thank you to the Cursillo, without which I would never have been able to write what I just wrote. De Colores.

The St. Paul’s Cursillo Community held its annual Communion Breakfast on Saturday, September 13th, 2025. The event was held at the Thomas Berry Place in Jamaica Estates, and we had 89 attendees. We gathered, prayed together at a beautiful Mass and enjoyed a delicious brunch provided by the Thomas Berry staff. Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Joseph Calise, who never hesitates to provide his services for our Cursillo community. He assists us regularly with the Men’s and Women’s weekends. We also had the pleasure of listening to the angelic music that was provided by Deb and Bud Mazura, Nan Adams, and Mario Cannariato during the Mass, which added an extra special touch to the event.
After brunch was served, we had the absolute pleasure of listening to our guest speaker, Angie-Lee Vazquez, who is a member of the Women’s Spiritual Team. She shared her Cursillo experience and her beautiful relationship with Jesus, inspiring us all and affirming to us all that God loves us and is always with us!!! I was so pleased that she said YES to the invitation!
We also were able to share some old photos displayed on screens around the room of past weekends at Humboldt street, along with some past Cursillo Breakfast events. The room was decorated beautifully (thanks to Darlene McGovern), and each table had their own assigned ST. name to it.
On a personal note, this is the 2nd year I am organizing the event and, when I was asked, there was no hesitation and I felt a nudge from GOD telling me that this is what HE wanted me to do for Him and for the Cursillo Community. From the moment I said yes, I felt my relationship with GOD growing and getting stronger!! It was a wonderful experience for me and I look forward to doing it again if asked.
Just wanted to put out a special thanks to Tommy Leavens who is not only the Director of Thomas Berry place but also a member of the Men’s Spiritual Team. His patience and assistance in planning the event was greatly appreciated!!
DECOLORES AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!

A few years ago, my husband (Doug Bauer, a member of the Men’s team) came up with the idea of combining his love of cruising with his love for Cursillo – and, as an extension of that – his love for his fellow Cursillistas!
So – in late February of 2020, the 1st Annual Cursillo Cruise was born! We had 23 people on our maiden voyage – some seasoned cruisers and some others who were not necessarily cruise lovers but, like Doug, were lovers of Cursillo and its community members! We arrived home to NY on March 1st, 2020 – and after that is when the world “closed up” with Covid, and we were happy to have made it home safe and sound!
We did not make it out in 2021, with Covid still ruining our lives, but in 2022 we did return and this time chose September as our cruise month (and we have kept that month each year to cruise)! This year, September 8th – September 19th 2025 was our 5th annual Cursillo cruise and to celebrate we chose an ELEVEN day cruise out of Manhattan to the Caribbean! We had 22 people this year and, out of 22, we had 5 “newbies” join the group! The final tallies are not in yet, but the general consensus is that all five will be invited back next year! LOL
But that is what is so great about this annual “event”! ALL are invited and you don’t have to be a Cursillista to join us! Two people in our group this year had not made a Cursillo, but we never give up hope that the spirit will move them!
Each year on our cruise we start each day, together, with morning prayer. Doug has always arranged for a conference room to be assigned to us for prayer and we take full advantage of this. We all sign up to take a morning to lead the prayer and the rest is up to the Lord. We have readings, typed up prayers, favorite chosen songs to play and always time for “sharing” among the group! And the nicest thing is as we meet strangers on the cruise, we invite them to come pray with us – we are “open to all” each morning and some people take us up on our offer! One way people talk to us is by seeing our T—shirts! Each year Doug Bauer & Rich Grillo pick a color (this year was yellow!) & we all pay to have our own shirts – which we then wear on the ship! We have coordinated days when we ALL wear our T-shirts and truly make a statement! Rich Grillo and I were on Deck 8 this year purchasing items in the shops and 2 lovely sisters from Brooklyn (reminding us of our beloved Marie & Lucille) saw our T-shirts and were excited to tell us that they made their Cursillo in Brooklyn, on Humboldt Street, almost 50 years ago! We invited them to morning prayer and the next day they were there – SO excited to be with fellow Cursillistas again!!!
We ate, we drank (boy, did we drink with the FREE unlimited drink package!). I was told by an expert that drinking a frozen margarita at 11am is not considered “Day drinking” – that is considered “MORNING drinking” – a little worse!! LOL
Our shared meals, our attendance at shows together, our excursions, & our walks into town together during port stops are all memories I will cherish forever – and that will hold me until next September! In the meantime, it’s wonderful to know that the Cursillo community offers me so many ways to keep in touch with my fellow Cursillistas each month, starting with the monthly Ultreya in Floral Park (the 1st Tuesday) & Manorville (the 3rd Wednesday) & Ann Marie Dodd’s prayer group the 2nd Tuesday of each month – these are ways I enjoy seeing my community and keeping that bond with everybody!
SO – if you think you might want to join us next fall and attend the 6th annual Cursillo cruise, keep in touch with our community &, as soon as the next cruise is picked, you will see the flyer in our monthly newsletter or Facebook page!
Until the high seas come calling me again
DeColores with much love,
Cathleen B!

TO ALL CURSILLISTAS—We are having a Women’s Cursillo weekend on November 6-9, 2025, at Thomas Berry Place in Jamaica, NY. Our Director, Rectora, Table Team Members, Angel Team, Greeters & Spiritual Team are in wild & loving preparations as we get closer to this event.
WE NEED CANDIDATES!
To the Women of the Cursillo Community—please remember the powerful experience you had on your weekend. You need to invite friends, family, women you know from Church, co-workers, fellow women in ministry, former classmates. Can you think about the women in your life that deserve this experience – the women that you hope will know the Christ you know?
To the Men of the Cursillo Community—please think of the women in your lives = wives, sisters, daughters, friends. Remember how your weekend was so great that you didn’t want it to end? How the men from your weekend felt like brothers to you at your Closing? Are there women in your lives that you want to have this once in a lifetime experience?
So time is running out for applications to be submitted—BUT NOW IS NOT TOO LATE. It is often expressed that we don’t schedule enough Cursillo weekends—that two Men’s & two Women’s Cursillos each year is not enough. Let’s put our love in action to keep Cursillo alive and growing! Let’s be as passionate about Cursillo as we are with our other commitments & interests. We know what happens on a Cursillo weekend. We trusted the sponsors who invited us to make a weekend and, in most cases, told us little of what would happen. There are people in your lives that trust your love for them—please challenge yourself to have a conversation with someone about Cursillo—and keep God in it!

Dear Creator God,

You made the wind and the waves and the wide sandy beach that stretches as far as the eye can see. I felt Your presence as I basked in the sun and dove in the sea-green water listening to the gulls daring overhead.

May I continue to bask in Your warmth in the cooling autumn days.

The ice cream truck was always there when I wanted it, and somehow the rain stayed away when the picnic supper was planned or at least it waited until the blankets were folded and we were safe inside.

I give thanks for Your bounty at all times.

Every September I still feel like it’s the first day of school again, and I need to buy new notebooks at a back-to-school sale and brush up on my algebra or rusty French so that I don’t make a fool of myself on the first day of classes.

Help me be an eternal student of Your goodness.

No sooner had I unpacked my dirty laundry from the trip we took did I glance at the calendar for the month ahead and saw it crowded with meeting after meeting after meeting. What happened to the calm of August? Even You got to rest on the seventh day.

Let me hold on to the peace and quiet of vacation.

The days are already getting shorter. The sun isn’t such a dependable alarm in the morning. It set before we even finished dessert last night, and the stars were our unexpected companions on an evening walk.

Teach me, Lord, how to measure my days.

Soon the leaves will turn in color and drop from the trees, and I’ll have to dig out the sweaters from the bottom of the drawer, and I’ll declare that October is the most beautiful month of the year. Brisk, clear luminous. In the meanwhile…

Thank You God, for summer. May there be just one more round of fresh corn on the cob.

At a recent Men’s Cursillo Team meeting, I shared that I became part of the Cursillo Community over 44 year ago and that my Christian Awakening experience has stayed with me everyday since. I owe that to the friends I made, the weekends I worked on as team, and my commitment to a friendship with God. This weekend was so transformative and life changing for me—why wouldn’t everyone want to experience it?

When I started my first full-time job after college, I worked with someone who made a Christian Awakening weekend as well. She told me that she loved her Christian Awakening, but she was disappointed in the follow-up opportunities afterwards. I was defensive because I viewed everything St. Paul’s as “perfect.” I knew that there were monthly Ultreya gatherings and other weekend retreats with Cursillo themes. How can the work of the Cursillo Community continue to strengthen and invite? It’s through follow-up and invitation.

Both the Women’s and Men’s Cursillo groups have instituted powerful follow-up programs. The Women’s Cursillo gather for Moments With God sessions that involve fellowship and prayer. The Men’s Cursillo Follow-Up sessions have the same format. The locations are based on availability, so the flyers  and emails about them are important to note.

The other essential task for others to learn about Cursillo is INVITATION. I have invited many friends and family members to make a Cursillo weekend and, fortunately, they have trusted me to go. But the best way for others to learn about the Cursillo experience is to invite them to the Cursillo Community events. Moments With God and the Men’s Follow-Up sessions are available to everyone—there is no need to have made a Cursillo to attend. The same goes for reunions, Ultreya gatherings, prayer groups and other special events (like the Communion Breakfast and the Men’s Christmas Dinner). Please invite the people in your life to experience our wonderful community so they learn about what we know!

There are so many opportunities for our Cursillo Community to strengthen our lives in God’s friendship over the next few months. You have the power, the ownership, to choose who you want to include in your journey. What would it be like to share Cursillo with everyone in your life? Why wouldn’t I want everyone I know to experience this life changing weekend and live it everyday? Please be moved to share this invitation today and everyday!

Another Moments with God gathering down in the books! For those who may not know (where have you been hiding??), Women’s Cursillo Spiritual Team Members – Chris Anest, Jo Anne Ayers, Lisa Brogan, Darlene McGovern,
Theresa McHugh and Angie Vazquez along with Cursillo Angel Norma Scally – lead bi-monthly sessions where women can spend some moments with God in prayer, reflection and community.

The clouds may have been marking their territory, but on Saturday, July 12, 2025 at St. Anthony’s Hall in St. Brigid’s parish in Westbury, NY, there was a room full of light as 31 women gathered to spend time in prayer and reflection.

Team members leading this particular event were Jo Anne Ayers, our spotlight presenter for the day, and Chris Anest who led our prayer experience. Darlene McGovern helped emcee the event while Theresa McHugh handled the visual presentation.

We began the morning with prayer led by Jo Anne Ayers. Afterwards, Jo Anne presented a talk wherein she invited us to contemplate the nudges we have received from God throughout our lives. She then asked a significant question, “How do you respond to one of God’s nudges?”

As we entered into discussion, Jo Anne’s question gave us the opportunity to consciously reflect on the ways in which we perhaps resist or shy away from God’s nudges and the ways in which we wholeheartedly step into them. Tables became enlivened as people were engaged in what seemed to be meaningful conversations about their thoughts and feelings in response to all Jo Anne shared and asked.

After a brief break, Chris Anest began our prayer experience for the day where she invited us to explore movement prayer. Chris explained that movement prayer is all about the intention behind the movement. We were then invited to recite prayer as we reflected on the words and moved intentionally along to them using the works of Joyce Rupp and Julian of Norwich. We were even able to spend some time doing Tai Chi, originally a kind of marital art that has evolved into the practice of meditation in motion. The room came alive as we moved in prayer, which led to a fitting closing prayer of dancing to Christian music!

Clouds and all, it was a beautiful morning spent in fellowship as 31 women came together to learn, talk, and enrichen their spiritual walk. But don’t just take my word for it– read on to see some of the comments of the other women present.

Some comments from participants:

“I am so happy I attended today! I loved everything! Thank you to all who spoke, planned, and worked on this beautiful session. I especially loved the movement prayer and meeting such kind, faithful genuine women.”

“You always learn something…”

“Met the nicest people and had wonderful discussions.”

For the women reading this, if you, or any women you know, think you can benefit from spending some time in fellowship, the next Moments with God is scheduled for Saturday, September 6, 2025 at Thomas Berry Place. You never know what God has waiting for you. Remember, “Be a friend, make a friend, bring a friend.” De Colores.

I love the summer! It comes with so much joy but also some challenges. One challenge is to neglect my prayer time. Our grandson doesn’t have school in the summer. He is either in camp or “camp grandma and grandpa.” He certainly keeps us busy. It’s such a joy, but it’s also a challenge. We are either taking him to camp in the morning or entertaining him during the day. My challenge is to get my prayer time in. God doesn’t take a break during the summer and neither should I!

The good news is that I can pray anywhere. God is always with me.

When I take a walk, I can imagine Jesus walking beside me. I can have a conversation with Jesus, my friend.

When I am sitting outside at night, I can look at the dark sky with its sparkling stars and think about how vast is the universe that He made for us. He made the stars in the sky and He has names for them, just as He has called each of us by name.

I can do patio prayers. As I sit in my backyard or patio, I can relax and just listen to God. As I drink my cool drink, I can think about how our God refreshes and strengthens me.

I can do Gardening with God. As I work the soil, I can work out my problems with my Counselor, God. As I weed and remove old blooms, I can ask God to help me remove the things that need to be removed from my life so I can become stronger in my relationship with Him.

There are so many opportunities to pray especially in the summer when there are less structured meetings. I will make a conscious effort to praise God for all the blessing He has bestowed on me, most especially my family and my 3 grandsons. I am also grateful for my Cursillo Community who walks this journey of faith with me.

I will remember this phrase that I learned:

THANK YOU JESUS FOR YOUR PRESENCE

How will you pray this summer? Enjoy!