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Peoria Diocesan Cursillo
A year of Prayer and Palanca

Beginning now in April thru Easter March 23^rd, 2008, Ron Thorne, Diocesan Lay Coordinator, and Deacon Bill Read, Diocesan Spiritual Director announce a year of prayer and palanca to help focus our spiritual power throughout all of the Cursillo centers in the Peoria Diocese. We ask for joint participation from English Cursillos, Cursillos En Espanol, and Prison Cursillos.

After 43 years, Cursillo has much to be grateful for. Nearly 900 weekends, and well over 34,000 Christians who have attended. Now in 2007, it is time to focus our prayer to the Lord in thanksgiving for the Bishops, priests, and laity who have made it all so possible thru the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a time for calling on our Lord to continue to bless our work, provide clergy support, bring us even more candidates, help our centers which are in some cases rebuilding, paying off debts, remodeling, moving, and even looking for a permanent home in some areas. We hope that this year be a time of prayer and palanca to help each of us deepen our faith and to better understand our calls to Apostolic 4^th day action.

Deacon Bill has provided the basic prayers, calling upon the intercession of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. These may be modified by clergy leaders at each center, based upon your particular needs.

We ask each center to designate one or several persons to help promote this year of prayer and palanca, to keep it going strong all year.

The Diocesan Secretariat asks all Cursillistas to make it their daily prayer, at masses, team meetings and preparation, lifting up petitions, asking group reunions to make it their prayer, for newsletters to feature the news, for Ultreyas, Apostolic Hours and Clausuras to mention the year.

This is only the beginning, and the creativeness and apostolic thinking of the leaders at each Cursillo center are invited and encouraged to add their own ideas. We will be announcing this immediately in all centers, and will bring the news of the event to each center when we visit.

We all know from personal experience that our Lord responds to prayer and palanca! Please pray about the event. Pray for its success. Pray during the next year, and add include various forms of palanca as well. Our appreciation for everyone who will join us. Our Lord WILL hear our prayer and petitions. We thank Him in advance for His blessings.

Ron Thorne Bill Read
Diocesan Lay Coordinator Diocesan Spiritual Director

A Year of Prayer for Cursillo

(April 2007 to Easter, March 28, 2008)

Holy and merciful Father, You have called us to this task of serving you and each other in your ministry of Cursillo. Help us to remember that it is not us, but you who accomplishes great things. Help us to trust in your faithfulness and the promise of your great love that you will answer these petitions from your willing servants. As we try to follow the example of your Son, Jesus Christ, give us patience in faith; trust in hope; insight in wisdom; energy in the joy of the Spirit; and love through which all of these flourish.

We ask that you provide for each and all Cursillo centers within the Diocese according to those needs which are common to all and unique to each. We offer these petitions and various sacrifices of palanca in humble supplication.
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For our Bishop, Daniel Jenky, that he will be strengthened and guided in his role as leader of all the Cursillo centers, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

That our clergy and lay leaders will seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to his inspiration, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

For additional committed Priests, deacons, ministers and religious to support our spiritual and sacramental needs, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

That each Cursillo center will find consistent and adequate facilities in which to hold our renewal weekends, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

For the holy men and women needed to perform the tasks for running and supporting our programs, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

That the Holy Spirit will guide generous hearts and capable leaders to assist us in the process of moving, remodeling, building, and debt repayment, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

That cursillistas will be inspired to invite others to experience their Cursillo, and that they may find people with ready hearts prepared to accept your call, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

For hearts filled with gratitude from the many gifts we have received in your loving grace through Cursillo and our brother and sister Cursillistas, we pray: Lord, hear our prayer.

Father, we ask that you continue to bless us, hear our humble petitions, and accept our meager sacrifices in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, and through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, the mother of your Son.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death, Amen

(*) Note: Petitions may be selected from above for Prayers of the Faithful during Mass.