General:
The Cursillo movement is meant to be a means of renewing and revitalizing the Church.  It seeks this renewal by taking Christians who are potential leaders into a 3-day “Course in Christianity,” which impresses the leaders with the need for a closer relationship with god through a life of piety, study, action, and leadership in his/her environment.  A plan for achieving this is presented on the weekend.  Essential to the plan for continued growth toward God is contact with Christ and with other committed Christians for sharing and mutual support.
 
The key role in the movement is that of SPONSOR.  Being a sponsor is committing oneself to establish friendships through personal contact.  This is an absolute necessity.  The only way a sponsor can interest potential candidate to experience Cursillo is through a personal witness of living a conscious and ever-growing life of Grace.  The sponsor must be willing to accompany the friend/candidate/new Cursillista in all phases of the Cursillo:  in the Precursillo by showing his/her Christian love and concern for the candidate through authentic friendship; in the 3-day Cursillo by offering Palanca; and in the  Postcursillo in helping the new Cursillista navigate his/her transition into a new life in the days immediately follow and into their 4^th day.  If sponsors fail in any of these areas, the whole Cursillo movement loses its vitality. 
It is assumed out of necessity then, that the Sponsor is active in his/her 4^th day – living a life of Grace by means of the Cursillo method. (NOTE:  It is recommended that the sponsor has been a Cursillista for at least six (6) months before sponsoring a candidate to attend a Weekend.  You can ask an experienced Cursillista to co-sponsor with you.)
 
Let us consider the areas of sponsor involvement more thoroughly…

The Sponsor’s Attitude
Sponsorship must be viewed as a total commitment, not just a partial act of selection.  Sponsorship means to help someone grow through the Cursillo experience.  Essentially the attitude of a sponsor should be:

• Cursillo may not be for everyone nor is it intended to be exclusive for certain persons. Sponsorship is not a prime apostolate in itself, but an outgrowth of another apostolate (bringing others to Christ).  It is something I can offer a person in my working for the Lord, but not the end result of my working for the Lord.
• Offering the Cursillo to someone comes only after I’m willing to make a commitment to that person.  If I’m not willing to go all the way, I should think twice about sponsorship.
• Have I prayed and asked myself if this is the will of God?  Have I honestly looked at my reasons for sponsoring?
• If I have doubts about sponsoring (my capabilities and/or Candidate capabilities – see below), have I taken counsel with others?
• Do I KNOW the person or do I just know ABOUT the person?  In other words, is friendship the basis of our relationship? 
• Am I open to the Spirit in the situation?  Can I be patient and let God work?
• How do I feel regarding sponsorship of this person’s spouse?

Candidate Selection
Like everything in the Cursillo movement, candidate selection should be done prayerfully and thoughtfully.  Cursillo is a means of providing leaders for the Christian Community and candidates for Cursillo should be capable of “leadership.”  This does not mean only the obvious leaders (parish council members, catechists, high-profile positions) but also those who by their quiet words to friends or by the example of their lives are able to lead people to God. 

Those with serious personal problems/issues – mental, emotional, marital, alcohol/drug abuse – may not be the best candidates for Cursillo.  This doesn’t mean we reject these friends, but our apostolic action must be more than just recruiting people to attend Cursillo – and certainly not as a means to cure/solve issues…listening and talking to them might help some of these persons; others might be steered to professional counseling, to a sympathetic priest, to a mission or retreat or to AA, etc.  In these ways a troubled person might be helped to solve his/her problems, be let to a closer relationship with God, and might later become a candidate for Cursillo.


Candidate Attitudes – helpful

• Does the person demonstrate a seeking attitude in his/her relationship with God?  Is he/she trying to grow?  If you really explore this, it will force you into discussions that will bring out true attitudes of seeking.
• Look for signs in persons or about persons that will lead you to the timing of sponsorship ro the decision to sponsor at all:  i.e., work and family schedules/constraints, serious health or mental problems, addictive habits, etc., These may lead to something else before sponsorship.
• Is this person really seeking to grow in his/her relationship with God or to solve some of his/her problems?  This may be very hard to determine – the sponsor will have to carefully discern to know.
• Is this person interested in a serious commitment or a weekend pick-me-up?  (Cursillo weekends are NOT retreats!)
• Do I see leadership potential in their activity?
• How does the potential candidate’s spouse feel about spiritual growth?  What is his/her attitude?

The Application Process

• As soon as Candidate as agreed to attend a Cursillo Weekend, complete the application and turn into the CICC Applications Coordinator!  If Candidate is not sure about attending or unable to attend the next scheduled Weekend, encourage him/her to complete the application to secure his/her spot on a weekend.  Applications are kept “active” through three successive weekends before an updated application would need to be submitted  
• The CICC Application to attend a Cursillo Weekend has a Candidate portion and Sponsor portion – Both must be completed and turned in together with weekend deposit in order to be considered for the Weekend.
• PLEASE BE TOTALLY HONEST ON THE APPLICATION – review both portions before submitting to CICC Applications coordinator.

 
Weekend Support
Sponsors must support candidate on the weekend by providing transportation to/from the Weekend , praying and sacrificing for the success of the weekend, sending Palanca letter to the Candidate, offering to help the family in the absence of the Candidate, attend Closing.

Fourth Day Support
The sponsor should recognize that he/she has made a commitment to the candidate by inviting and sending him/her to the Cursillo Weekend.  The sponsor must now help him/her live the 4 ^th day as it was taught on the weekend, by inviting him/her to join (or form) a Group Reunion and to attend Ultreyas.  In general, a sponsor must be responsive to the needs of the new Cursillista until he/she is firmly established in the 4 ^th day.

• Encourage new Cursillista to attend the Weekend Reunion Ultreya and make plans to attend with him/her.
• If assistance is needed in finding a Group Reunion, reach out to new Cursillista’s Parish Rep (and/or neighboring Parish Reps)
• Stay up to date with and share what is going on throughout  CICC – a complete calendar of events is listed on the CICC website (www.) where you/they can also sign up for e-blasts and prayer chain.