Dear Cursillistas,
on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, the second reading places us squarely before a fundamental truth of our faith: God calls and God sends. As Saint Paul opens his Letter to the Romans, he is not merely introducing himself; he is proclaiming the conviction that shapes his entire life: he has been “called and set apart for the Gospel of God.” This experience is not exclusive to the Apostle. It is the experience of the whole Church, and in a very particular way, of the laity.
Advent is not only a time of waiting for the Lord’s coming; it is a time to rediscover that He comes in order to send us. The God who becomes flesh does not enter history to remain on the sidelines, but to set a mission in motion. That is why Paul says he has received “grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations.” Authentic faith never closes in on itself: it is shared, communicated, lived outwardly.
Here the Word touches the very heart of the Cursillo charism. Because the Cursillo does not end with an intense experience or a moment of spiritual consolation. The Cursillo truly begins when the lay person returns to his or her environment and discovers that it is precisely there that God calls them to be a witness. Not in protected spaces, but in real life, with all its lights and shadows.
Saint Paul addresses the community with these words: “to all God’s beloved… called to be saints.” He is not speaking of an elite or of religious specialists. He is speaking of concrete men and women, fully inserted into the society of their time. The mission of the laity is born from this call: to live the Gospel from within the world, as yeast in the dough, as a discreet yet transforming presence.
This call is profoundly hope-filled. It does not rely on our abilities or our successes, but on the grace we have received. God does not send us because we are perfect, but because He trusts us. And that trust is a source of deep joy. Advent reminds us that God continues to count on lay people to prepare the way, to open hearts, and to proclaim—through their lives—that He is near.
For the Cursillo Movement, this reading is a clear invitation to renew its very reason for being: to awaken the missionary awareness of the laity, helping them to discover that their place is the world, and that their task is to evangelize it from within—through friendship, coherence, and joy.
As Christmas draws near, let us allow this Word to question us personally:
Do I know myself to be called?
Do I live my faith as a mission?
Do I recognize myself as sent to my environments?
May this Advent find us available, grateful, and going forth, convinced that God’s call still resounds today, and that our response can make His presence visible in the midst of the world.
De Colores. 🌈
