Cursillo
The tripod: piety, study, action.
The plan of life of one who has made the Cursillo weekend, built on three legs — piety, study, and action. Remove any leg and the stool falls. It is irreducibly social: the solitary Cursillista is considered incomplete, and every daily practice carries a dimension of witness.
Piety: the morning offering, Mass when possible, mental prayer or spiritual reading, the Rosary, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, the night examen, frequent confession. Study: a daily portion of intentional formation, so as to understand the faith well enough to live and share it. Action: a chosen apostolic act in one's own environment — family, work, friendships.
For extroverts, for married couples who can live the tripod together, for anyone for whom "just me and God" has always felt like half the story. Make a friend, be a friend, bring your friend to Christ.
Eduardo Bonnín, History and Memory of Cursillo; the Cursillo Foundational Charter
What it proposes
- Morning Offering 06:30 · Daily · Essential
The morning offering, first leg of Piety — handing the whole day to God before the world claims it.
- Holy Mass 07:00 · Daily · Ideal
The Eucharist when possible, the encounter with Christ that the Cursillista carries out into every environment.
- Mental Prayer 07:30 · Daily · Essential
A daily minimum of mental prayer, the inner conversation with Christ that makes a friend before one can bring a friend.
- Spiritual Reading 21:00 · Daily · Essential
The leg of Study — a daily portion of intentional formation, so as to understand the faith well enough to live it and share it.
- Holy Rosary 18:00 · Daily · Ideal
The daily Rosary, or a single decade for beginners — Mary's company on the road of the apostle.
- Visit to the Blessed Sacrament 13:30 · Daily · Ideal
A brief visit to the Blessed Sacrament, the heart returning to its Friend in the midst of the day's work.
- Examination of Conscience 21:30 · Daily · Essential
The night examen, reviewing the day's piety, study, and action — the three legs measured against the tripod.
- Confession 10:00 · Sat · Essential
Frequent confession, keeping the apostle's own conversion fresh so the witness rings true.
- Apostolic action Daily · Essential
The leg of Action — a chosen apostolic act in one's own environment of family, work, and friendship; Cursillo is irreducibly missionary.
- Group Reunion Weekly · Essential
The weekly Friendship Group of three to five, sharing what worked and what didn't on the tripod that week — the communal heart of the rule.
- Ultreya Monthly · Ideal
The larger community gathering of several Friendship Groups — the wider fellowship that keeps the solitary Cursillista from going it alone.
In the Ember app, adopt this tradition as your own plan of life, practice by practice, with times and reminders.