My name is Phil Kiko. I am a member of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington, Virginia. I made Cursillo in 1982 and sat at the table of Tabula Rasa.
Submitting my name as a candidate for Lay Director of Arlington Cursillo is something I have prayed deeply about and have talked about at great length with my wife, family, friends and confidantes. It is a call not to be taken lightly – but instead with immense gravity and excitement.
It is a similar feeling of excitement I had when I was asked to serve on several teams in various capacities including rector. I didn’t personally imagine that I had what it would take to handle any of those spiritual or religious responsibilities – yet I was called nonetheless. I said yes to each of those “asks” after much prayerful consideration and discernment. And it is with even more prayerful consideration and discernment that has brought me here this morning.
Considering the answer to this call allowed me to reflect on the impact my Cursillo has had on my life.
My wife-to-be, along with a long time friend, introduced me to Cursillo and ultimately became my sponsors in 1981. Eventually, the time came for my Cursillo weekend. I was planning to make my Cursillo with a Jesuit priest, Fr. Vincent Tanzola, who was also my housemate, my colleague and – most importantly – my best friend. The day before the Cursillo weekend he had a heart attack in our office and died. I remember calling Clyde Cook the Lay Director. He encouraged me to go on the weekend and, after receiving a commitment from the Jesuit New York Provincial that the funeral would not be over the weekend, I attended. By happenstance, there were 6 or 7 priests who happened to be candidates that weekend and the priest at my table actually knew Fr. Tanzola and was a member of the same Jesuit community at Carroll House.
Obviously, that weekend impacted my life. It affected me not only personally, but it seeped into my professional life as well. This foundation for my life continues to this day in all aspects of my life.
By way of background, I have been actively involved with Arlington Cursillo. I have served on the Team Selection Committee, was the Ultreya coordinator for St. Charles, served on several teams both as Angel and Rector and currently I co-chair the Weekend Committee with my wife, Colleen. I have tried to make Piety, Study and Action a central role of my life and regularly attend group reunion.
Once I got past that initial feeling of complete incompetence to be lay director, I thought and prayed about what I could bring to the table in terms of leadership. I believe I have been given talents and strengths that could be utilized in service to this community. I have effectively led service organizations, such as Scoutmaster of Troop 624, President of the Holy Mackerels Swim Team and Chairman of the Board of Regents at St. Charles School and President of the St. Charles PTO.
A Bible reading that triggered my thought process was when Christ first called his disciples. Matthew 4: Verse 18. “And he (Christ) was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He watched two brothers, Simon (now known as Peter) and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea. They were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” Isn’t that what the Cursillo movement is all about – being fishers of men and women for God?
A few passages later, Christ said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Men do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket. They set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. In the same way your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to our heavenly father.”
The Cursillo weekend experience ignites that light within us – but as a community, Cursillo must shine its light outward for others to see and follow. Which brings me to my vision. With today’s growing societal pressures and sometimes hostility, we have to do more than just shine, we need to turn up the light. It needs to be a floodlight or a strobe light.
So how do we do that? How do we turn up the light? I think my vision can be summed up in two words – Outreach and education.
First, let me explain. We need to aim high. We may not achieve all that we aim for, but by aiming high we will achieve more than we otherwise thought we could.
So, three years from now I would like to see that 9 things have been accomplished:
-
methods of communication that can reach all age groups where they are
-
engagement of the Bishop and every parish;
-
an active ultreya in every parish;
-
a consistent core of open group reunions;
-
an expansion of the School of Leaders and 4th Day programs;
-
an active outreach component;
-
regular, annual events which build community within the community;
-
a consistent and thoughtful plan on accomplishing these visions;
-
6 full weekends a year at minimum.
Let me explain.
As to the Communication function – Our webite and The Banner has been our primary methods of communication which has served us well over the years. The newly updated website is a great start for improved communication. I would like to see us expand thoughtfully and systematically into other avenues of communication, such as social media (facebook, twitter, etc), bulletins, news stories, etc. Communication needs to occur both externally to potential candidates and internally to Cursillistas both in the medium they prefer and where they are.
For example I recently heard a speech given by the Archbishop of the Military Services of the United States. He outlined their aggressive program to communicate with their greatest target population – men and women between the ages of 18 – 28. We should see what this is about. One of our priests has a large twitter following. Let’s investigate and discover its successful elements and duplicate or hitch a ride. Let’s get a road show going and try to speak at the various parishes being cognizant to speak directly to the different populations that attend the various masses.
Engagement of the Bishop and every parish: My goal would be, together with our Spiritual Director to approach the Bishop and discuss the benefits of Cursillo and where it fits into his overall pastoral plan to better serve the Diocese. Then, my goal would be to have a plan to approach each Parish to discuss Cursillo and explain how it can benefit the parish. We also need to engage the newer priests in the Diocese, many may not even know about Cursillo and may have misconceptions about what it is.
There needs to be an active ultreya in each parish throughout the Diocese: Arlington Cursillo has a database of Cursillistas which will continue to be developed and will be the foundation from which parish ultreyas will sprout. Active ultreyas, identifying parish spark plugs and engaging directly with the clergy about the positive role Cursillo can play in their parish will increase candidates. It is especially crucial to more fully integrate all geographical areas into the Secretariat. Every geographical area needs to feel that they are part of a team.
Open group reunions: An obstacle to bringing candidates to weekends can at times be the daunting responsibility to get their candidates into group reunions. If there were open group reunions already established that met regularly, it could be a convenient landing pad for New Cursillistas to immediately experience the group reunion process – without feeling the pressure to join any particular small group right away or threatening a sponsor’s own group reunion of becoming too large and unweildy. This model has been successfully implemented in some parishes. It can be an incubator for spin-offs of more intimate group reunions, if desired and, by lessening the pressure on sponsors. This is not to lessen the responsibility of the sponsor but rather to assist them in their role.
Expanding the School of Leaders and 4th Day programs:A dynamic, interesting program is already the norm and programs are already scheduled for the upcoming year and continue to be well attended. We need to make these programs accessible to more cursillistas, ones who may not be able to attend, perhaps through taped programs, or other video streaming, video conference, webcasts, etc. I could also see us adding to our already strong program some group-specific events, such as young adult conferences or workshops for stay-at-home parents or working parents, etc. Assisting Cursillistas to build community where they are in their lives may bear much fruit by bringing more candidates to the weekends.
Active Outreach function – one way to involve the parish priests in the Cursillo movement is to show them how the Cursillo community can serve as a valuable resource for the priest’s needs around the parish. It could be social justice related, it could be working with the young adult community, RCIA, etc. Whatever the specific outreach, it would be the pastor and the Cursillo community partnering together on an objective that inspired them both, that they shared, and that gave Cursillo a way to be the shining light on the hill.
Regular, annual events which build community within the community: For Cursillo to be a vibrant community, we need to also feed ourselves with activities that bring us together as a community.
Plan to accomplish this vision: My style, whether at work as the Staff Director/General Counsel of two different Congressional Committees or in the many organizations I have led over the years, has always been the same. I believe in casting the ‘fishing net’ wide to receive input and to gather as many views as possible. It is not a “top down” style, but one that recognizes what everyone brings to the table – one of a consensus builder. I like to think of this method as a servant leader – I don’t want to tell people what works – but to identify from others what works and reach consensus toward action. I used this same approach in developing these 9 points in my vision statement and would use this same approach on implementing the vision for lay director. We have a huge pool of smart, committed, spirit-filled and talented Cursillistas who have a lot to bring to the table.
6 full weekends a year: A tangible byproduct of our above efforts should reap the benefit by expanding attendance at our weekends. Currently our two weekends in White Post, Virginia and two in Arlington, Virginia conveniently bring the two geographical ends of the Arlington Diocese together. Additional weekends can readily be added to these locations. Through our outreach efforts, it is also my hope that we throw the net far and wide to reach the yearning hearts of young adults as well as those older age groups who are yearning for a closer relationship with Christ.
We are asked by Christ to be the light of the world. Not a light covered by a bushel basket. Let’s try to remember that while Cursillo must continue to nourish us personally through the weekends, parish ultreyas, diocesan ultreyas, School of Leaders and 4th Day Activities — Christ calls us also to be fishers of men and women and Christianize our environment – one that more and more often resists and loses patience. My vision statement sees all these ideas coming together to best serve as laborers in God’s vineyards. To be that brilliant light, like the city set on a hill – we must move outside of ourselves – out of our comfort zone – reaching out to others to be visible in our surroundings.
I would like to leave you with thoughts from two successors to St. Peter:
In May 28, 1966 in the First World Ultreya in Rome, Pope Paul VI said: “Christ, the Church, the Pope, is counting on you!”
In 1980, Pope John Paul II, addressing the first National Italian Ultreya in Rome, said: “Cursillo devotes itself to drawing forth from Christians a commitment to live lives consistent with their faith whether individually or as a community, and to bring this ferment to the environments where you live . . . Here then is the synthesis of all of Christianity.”
De Colores!