The MCC Method
Method of MCC
An identifying characteristic of the Cursillo Movement is its own evangelising method, of which it is said that “in spite of the dependence and subordination of the method to the mentality and purpose of the Movement, its importance is so great that it comes to give “character” to the Movement“1. In reality, the Movement is often identified and known by its method, and more specifically, by a part of its method: the Cursillo. Even so, the method of the Cursillo is basically and fundamentally a means, proper and specific, to evangelise, to make possible the purpose of the Movement: that people encounter the Lord, that they have the possibility of living in a new way and thus give rise to a new society, a new world.
In the method of the Cursillo Movement there are three phases or stages, inseparable and irreplaceable: the Pre-Cursillo, the Cursillo and the Post-Cursillo. All three are equally important and only the proper application of all three makes it possible and guarantees that the purpose of the Movement is achieved2. For this reason, it is important to emphasise that the Cursillo, although it is the most well-known and identifying phase, cannot be conceived on its own and that it is necessarily linked to the Pre-Cursillo and Post-Cursillo.
In addition to the three phases, the MCC method is characterised by a number of essential features, which are present in all the phases and which also identify and define what the Movement is. Thus, it is considered to be a kerygmatic method, i.e. it is centred on the joyful proclamation of Christian fundamentals by witnesses and with a view to conversion. It is therefore a method in which the shared witness of life, the relationship of friendship and prayer are fundamental channels for religious experience. It is also a method in which the personal and community dimensions complement each other: it is based on respect and attention to the reality of each person, while the community experience is promoted and made possible. On the other hand, as the method is always in function of the purpose, it is a method that demands a permanent attention to the reality of man, of the Church and of the world, to the Movement’s own evangelising experience: from this arises a criterion of constant updating and revision of the application of the method3 .
Pre-Cursillo
The Pre-Cursillo is the initial phase of the method of preparation and motivation for the religious experience. Its aim is to awaken the desire to grow and fulfil oneself as a person, and to create a disposition of openness, listening and searching for God. It takes place within the framework of a personal or group relationship, without pre-established times or models.
The Pre-Cursillo aims to seek out and prepare people in the different environments of society, with a preferential option for those who are far away, for their transformation into responsible and authentic Christians, agents of evangelisation and change. To this end, a study and discernment of the different environments and of the people in them is also carried out4.
The preparation of the candidates is an essential element of the Cursillo method. It is indispensable to give the selected candidates an adequate preparation that facilitates the benefit of the Cursillo and the community insertion in the Post-Cursillo. The objectives of this preparation are5:
- To awaken the desire to fulfil oneself as a person and as a Christian.
- To create a willingness to listen, openness, transcendence and meaning.
- Clarify what is the Cursillo to which you are invited.
Cursillo
The Cursillo is the central phase of the method, in which a profound experience of encounter (with oneself, with others and with God) is made possible. It has been considered a wonderful “instrument of Christian renewal”, which takes each individual as he/she is and enables him/her to become the best he/she can be6. It enables a profound experience, on a human and Christian level, which can mark the whole life of the person. It takes the form of living together as a boarding school, in which the Christian fundamentals are made explicit and lived out. It is the phase in which a more defined and structured model is followed.
The three days of the Cursillo are very important; those who live the experience of a Cursillo weekend feel, in general, such a profound experience, that the passage through a Cursillo weekend marks, without a doubt, their whole life.
It could be said that the objectives of the Cursillo are7:
- To enable a personal encounter with Christ, which begins with an encounter with oneself and is completed by an encounter with others.
- To foster the beginning of a process of conscious, growing and shared conversion in community.
- To awaken a sense of community through the experience of friendship.
- Encourage Christian responsibility in one’s own environment.
Post-Cursillo
The Post-Cursillo is the third phase of the method of the Cursillos in Christianity Movement, inseparable from the others and its culmination. It is oriented to promote personal conversion and the fermentation of environments, so that the person becomes a Christian and a member of the Church in the world. And by being Christian and Church in the world, to transform and renew that world from within, building it according to God’s plan8. It articulates the means that make possible the maturing and growth in faith in the environment of a community space, of a Christian group that sustains and promotes Christian action in the environments, always according to the vocation and reality of each person.
The Post-Cursillo aims to renew, accelerate and perfect the personal conversion initiated in the Cursillo, promoting Christian groups in which to share life, faith and commitment and, from them, to promote the evangelical fermentation of the environments, through the actions of the people who are inserted in them. The aim is to make being lay Christians a reality: Church in the world, in a natural and daily way, each one in his or her own reality, in the place where God has given each one of them.
The community spaces proper and specific to the MCC in the Post-Cursillo are the group (the group reunion) and the Ultreya, a meeting of group reunions. In them, the Christian life is shared in friendship, the process of personal conversion and the personal and community commitment to bring the light of the Gospel to the environments are reviewed and projected.
Like the whole method, the Post-Cursillo is developed in communion and ecclesial co-responsibility, inserted in the local Church and open to collaboration and coordination with diocesan pastoral plans and with other ecclesial realities9.
