How was your Cursillo experience?

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Pliny

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I made a Cursillo last year.

I was very disappointed with it and somewhat angry because I felt that much of it was a waste of time. I especially did not appreciate being manipulated.

If I had known in advance what was going to happen I would not have gone. But they wouldn’t tell us anything–only that there are some things that are “surprises” and it’s better that we don’t know in advance what they are and that anyway, “you’re going to love it.”

I have no complaints about the people–they were all nice and many of them I already knew from Church, but the methods leave much to be desired.

I’ll make additional and more specific comments after some responses.
 
what is cursillo, how do you feel you were manipulated

who runs cursillo
 
The first day of the retreat began in the late afternoon and began with a meal and the Stations of the Cross. After the Stations, a room was available for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and for the rest of the night until breakfast the next day we were to be in silence. So far so good. Up to this point the only thing I didn’t like was that at the blessing before the meal we formed into a big circle, held hands, and sang a song that went something like, “Bless our food, bless our friends, etc.” to the tune of “Edelweiss.” I didn’t feel comfortable doing that, but then some bozo made it worse by swinging his hands back and fort to the music and soon we were all swinging our hands and singing. I was really hoping that the hand-swinging was just that one time, but it was to be that way for every meal.

More to come…
 
I have never done a cursillo, but I agree, I would have liked everything you mentioned so far other than singing the prayer to the tune of Edelweiss and hand
swinging.
I love the Stations of the Cross and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
 
Is this going to be a trickle down description of events?

Ok so someone at the retreat thought getting warm and fuzzy with handholding and singing was the way to go.

That’s not manipulative though, is it?
 
I’d have gone home at that point.

Thing is, Cursillo is charismatic. From what I understand, this fact is supposed to be kept from the people who attend for the first time. I would not go because I know this. If others wish to be charismatic, that is their thing. Don’t force it on others, don’t bait and switch.
 
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Yeah, I’m not into surprises on retreat. 🛑 :raised_hand:t3: I don’t need to know the schedule in detail down to the millisecond, but being deliberately secretive before I’ve even signed up or evading any questions I might have are deep red flags for me. 🚩
 
SPOILER ALERT

There is so much that I want to say about this experience that I don’t know where to begin, but I’ll eventually get it out over several posts.

For those who feel that they want to experience a Cursillo and prefer to not know about the “surprises” in store for them, then please don’t read any further. I do not feel the slightest bit bound to secrecy, and in fact feel it’s my responsibility to share my experiences so others can make an informed decision whether to go on a Cursillo or not. If I had known in advance what would be going on, I would not have gone and would not have wasted three days and and the cost of the retreat (although the cost was very reasonable–$150). In my opinion, if the surprises make or break the experience, there is something wrong with that.

But the biggest “surprise” was that there would be talk after talk after talk, called “rollos,” which were long and dry. All of them were about basic teachings of the Church, and there was nothing wrong with the content, but there was something wrong with being stuffed with them from morning until evening. I kept waiting for the course to change and when we would get on to the “good stuff,” but that never happened.

I think the overall purpose of these endless discourses was not to inform–that was the excuse–but to wear us down. We were being prepped for our “Mountaintop Experience” to come at the end.

To be continued…
 
What did you expect the “good stuff” to be?

I have never been to a cursillo.

So they were giving you a short teaching on Catholicism and what it means to be
Catholic?
 
Talks from morning to evening, that’s not good. I hope they also provided fresh coffee for the duration.
 
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I know they have people who prepare the food because I used to have to clean the
residence where the cursillo was held and get it ready for them. People would come in with groceries the afternoon of the first night of the cursillo and start preparing food.
 
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