Clergy Corner 

Hard to believe that we are already a week into Lent.  Lent what an awesome time to pause and reflect.  A time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  I’d like to share a few thoughts on these 3 activities and how they connect to Cursillo, how we think of them in terms of Piety, Study and Action.

Prayer – During our Cursillo weekends we talk a lot about the importance of prayer and of course we do a lot of prayer.  Prayer is a form of Piety, especially when our prayer is about more than asking for our own needs.  When we realize that everything we are and everything we have is by the Grace of God then we can and should pray in the form of praise and thanksgiving.  Giving all glory and honor to God our King.  May we strive to devote time every day to offering prayer to our Savior.  Not only prayer but some form of study, maybe a bible study, a daily devotional, maybe reading a spiritual book, or making a retreat.  Virtually anything that directs part of your day to think about God and his teachings.

Fasting – For a guy who likes to eat this one is rather challenging to me.  But here’s the thing it’s not just about not eating or giving up certain foods.  Rather it involves some sort of sacrifice, certainly it could be food, your favorite candy or snack, but it’s much broader than that.  Fasting is about denying yourself of something you enjoy or consider a priority.  Maybe it’s time, maybe your favorite TV show, maybe your energy in doing something charitable for someone, humbling yourself that another can be first or right.

Almsgiving – The most common thought here is the idea of giving money to your church.  But here again it’s much more than that.   Almsgiving is a form of Action, often described as stewardship.  It’s all about using your God given gifts and talents not only for yourself and in support of your family, but also for the common good.  For the betterment of your Church, those less fortunate, sharing the Gospel messages, lending a helping hand and generally going the extra mile for others.

No doubt each of these are manifested in Piety, Study and Action, but I believe it can all be summed up in one word “PALANCA”!  We have a great opportunity in about a week to enrich our Lenten journey with Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving in the form of Palanca for our Men’s Weekend.  No matter the form your Palanca takes, security, facilities, kitchen, cleanup, team involvement or chapel time it all is critical to the betterment of Christianity and the building up of the KINGDOM.

DeColores!

Deacon Gary

Men's Cursillo Needs Your Help

The next Cursillo will be a men's #1214 March 9-12. 

Please consider signing up to assist with one or more of the many support groups that make the weekend possible. There are still many areas that need lots of help.

Men's Cursillo #1214

March 9 - 12, 2023

Holy Trinity Parish Center, 711 N Main Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

Friday

8:40 AM  IDEAL -------------------------------Marty Heller (Shelly)

10:00 AM  SANCTIFYING GRACE ------------ Fr Doug Henessey

1:00 PM Lunch

2:00 PM  LAYMAN IN THE CHURCH ---------- Stuart Nerby (Robin)

3:20 PM  ACTUAL GRACE ---------------------Dcn Al Lundy (Sharon)

5:10 PM Dinner

6:45 PM  PIETY ---------------------------------Jay Barth (Tara)

Saturday

8:20 AM  STUDY -------------------------------Randy Stine (Angie)

9:55 AM  SACRAMENTAL GRACE -------------Dcn Gary Koerner (Connie)

12:30 PM Lunch

2:30 PM  ACTION -------------------------------Chad Clover (Lisa)

4:00 PM  OBSTACLES TO GRACE --------------Rev. Jack Moody

5:20 PM Dinner

6:10 PM  LEADERS -----------------------------Chris Kornfeld (Kendra)

7:30 – 9:00 PM Apostolic Hour - Holy Trinity Church

Sunday

8:10 AM  ENVIRONMENT -----------------------Adam Ghrist (Tracie)

8:55 AM  LIFE IN GRACE -----------------------Dcn Todd Weber (Kim)

9:40 AM  CCIA ----------------------------------Jan Weyhrich (Andrea)

10:35 PM  TOTAL SECURITY -------------------Bob Freitag (Traci)

11:55 PM  FOURTH DAY ------------------------Steve Trainor (Sue)

12:40 PM Agape Meal

3:00 PM Clausura - Holy Trinity Church

4:30 PM - Dismissal (No Social)

Auxiliaries

Tim Abel (Barb)

Kevin Sanborn (Khrystyna) 

Art Taylor (Camille)

Liam Wheeler

Rector ---------------------Bob Freitag (Traci)

Assistant ----------------- Sean Poston (Robin)

Assistant ----------------- Roy Waltrip (Colleen)

Technical Asst. ----------- Jeff Coughlin (Angie)

Board Advisor ------------ Jeff Furler (Gretchen)

Lay Coordinator ---------- Larry Mester (Mary)