Homily for Bilingual Cursillo Mass : Bishop Edward Lohse

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Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Cursillistas and friends, greetings in the Lord. !De colores!

Today we gather as a diocesan family committed to fostering the Cursillo movement and its fruits, not only in our own lives but in the live of all who call these nine counties their home. 

Nos reunimos como familia diocesana para valorar y promover el Cursillo y sus frutos, en nuestra propia vida y en la vida de quienes viven en estos nueve condados que la conforman. 

In the Gospel today, we encounter an individual who asks Jesus if only a few people will be saved. We don’t the reason for the question. Does this person want many people to be saved, or just a few? We don’t know. 

En el Evangelio, encontramos a alguien que le pregunta a Jesús si solo unos pocos se salvarán. Pero, no sabemos, si esta persona quiere que se salven muchos, o solo unos pocos.

Jesus, of course, could see the person, interpret the body language, pick up on nuances in the person’s tone – and of course he could read hearts as the Son of God. 

His response is rather strong. The entrance to paradise is a narrow gate, he says. This person will be left standing outside and the master of the house will say, “Go away, you evildoer.” 

Jesus’ answer is a kind of rebuke, a scolding. He seems to have understood that this person was hoping to be among an elite few to be saved, to enter paradise while the vast majority were left outside. It is a type of self-righteousness, not caring about the loss of so many others so long as we ourselves are saved.

Jesús parece entender que esta persona esperaba ser parte de unos pocos elegidos que iban a ser salvados, de los pocos que entrarían al paraíso mientras la gran mayoría queda afuera. Es un tipo de autosuficiencia, el no preocuparse por la pérdida de tantos, mientras nosotros mismos seamos salvados.

Contrast this with the prophecy of Isaiah in the first reading. Isaiah tells us that God will raise up a people for himself among the nations, and this people will not be content to be saved while others are lost. Instead, Isaiah prophecies, “they shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the Lord,”

This is astounding! A new people gathered from the nations will come before the Lord to worship, and as their offering they will bring even more disciples, new brothers and sisters who will worship with them.

Imagine if we had this same attitude! Imagine if every time we came to Mass we brought with us new disciples, new people to worship alongside of us. How different we would be from that person in the Gospel who wanted to be among an elite few and keep everyone else outside the gate. We would be true missionary disciples, bring the Good News of Jesus to new people every day. 

Imaginemos que fuéramos como la gente de la primera lectura, y que cada vez que venimos a Misa trajéramos nuevos discípulos, nuevas personas para celebrar juntos. Qué diferentes seríamos de esa persona en el Evangelio que quería estar entre unos pocos y dejar a todos los demás fuera a la puerta. Seríamos verdaderos discípulos misioneros, llevando la Buena Nueva de Jesús a muchas personas cada día.

As cursillistas, you are called to be like the people in the first reading, the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, a people gathered from every walk of life who bring new brothers and sisters to worship with us. You are called to be a people who come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, to recline at table in the kingdom of God. 

This is the ultimate purpose of Cursillo and of the reunion groups, of the ultreyas and the Fourth Day, -in fact, it’s the ultimate purpose of discipleship – not just to become a member of an elite few but to become missionaries constantly bringing the message of Jesus to others, inviting them to become part of us, to join us on this pilgrimage of hope.

Este es el propósito del Cursillo y de la reunión de grupos, de las Ultreyas y del Cuarto Día, no solo para convertirnos en parte de un grupo selecto, sino para ser misioneros que constantemente llevan el mensaje de Jesús a los demás, invitándolos a ser parte de nosotros, a unirse a nosotros en esta peregrinación de esperanza.

As we celebrate this Jubilee year, we remember that Cursillo is a movement, and movements don’t stay in one place … they move. Cursillo is a movement into the heart of Jesus, a spiritual pilgrimage of hope. We are constantly inviting new brothers and sisters to come along with us on this pilgrimage to Christ. The path to heaven is difficult because it requires us to take up our cross, and although the gate is narrow, those to be saved are many. It’s going to be quite crowded at the gate, because we’re going to bring a whole lot of people with us. 

And so, I encourage you to see your reunions and ultreyas as a true source of inspiration for piety, study and action, so that you support and encourage each other precisely to invite others to join us on this wonderful journey to the heart of Jesus. 

Hay un mundo entero allá afuera esperando ser invitado a acompañarnos. ¡Vamos a encontrarlos!

There’s a whole world out there longing to be invited to accompany us. So what are we waiting for? Let’s go out to meet them! ¡De colores!