I hope all is well with you and that your Fourth Day is blessed. Our Spring Men’s and Women’s Cursillo teams are preparing for the upcoming weekends, and they could use your prayers and sacrifices, your palanca, to uplift them as they prepare their rollos and the weekend logistics at the St. Mary Magdalen Center in Warner, NH.
I have a request of all of you and that is why I am writing this letter separately from our other e-blasts. It concerns Palanca-the prayers and sacrifices we offer.
Changes were made a few years ago at the National office that asked the community NOT to send personal palanca notes re: the prayers/sacrifices we are offering to each individual candidate on the weekends, but I think there was a misunderstanding about that request, and it caused some negative responses and a drastic reduction in local palanca notes on the weekends. Matt McSorley attempted to address this issue when he was the Diocesan Coordinator and I am attempting to clarify the request once again since the local palanca notes were still substantially absent during the last few Cursillo weekends and people are asking questions about palanca.
The National Office prefers that general palanca notes re:prayers/sacrifices be sent to the various weekends for the following reasons:
1. When the National/International palanca is received, it is a general note to all on the weekend, not any individual, to offer it for the success of the whole weekend, and not an individual’s experience (although that is also a welcome blessing). They don’t know the people, but they are offering palanca for them. This shows the unity of the whole Movement around the country/world. I know this was one of the things that affected my personal weekend back in 2003 and impressed me that so many people who did not know us were praying and offering sacrifices for us.
This is our goal in the NH Cursillo community, as well, to show local unity, to offer palanca for everyone and not just one or two people we may know. *We thank Christine Hamann, our palanca coordinator, for her weekly diligence to send notes from NH Cursillo nationally and internationally to show our unity with the rest of the country/world. Closings reinforce this unity when the community attends to welcome the new Cursillistas into the Movement. Those local notes become more visually relevant and actualize the prayers and sacrifices that were offered- we see some of the community who are doing them.
2. In contrast, when palanca notes are delivered to individuals, it can cause some dismay if some people receive more personal notes than others, or the contents of the note can affect them in various ways, and this may disturb the overall experience and focus for that person on the weekend in a cloistered environment. Although well intended, this personal palanca does not show the overall unity and purpose to which Cursillo strives.
I hope this helps in understanding the reasoning behind general vs. personal palanca notes. With that in mind, I am asking all of you to continue to perform palanca and to send general notes for each weekend. One note is sufficient to let the whole team and participants know that you are performing palanca for the success of the weekend for all of them. Address it to the Cursillo # of the weekend.
A sponsor is still encouraged to send in a personal note which will be placed in the 4th Day envelope, since sponsors will continue to walk the spiritual journey with their new Cursillista during their Fourth Day. If you feel strongly about sending in a personal note to someone, please feel free to do so, but know it will also be placed in the 4th Day envelope to be read after the conclusion of the weekend.
There are a few ways to guarantee delivery of the palanca notes:
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Sponsors can deliver the notes when dropping off their candidates at check-in. *Requesting palanca be offered and notes be written from other Cursillistas is still a great way to guarantee more local palanca.
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You can drop off personally if you are near the St. Mary Magdalen Center or give it to the team members who live in your area.
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You can email your palanca note to our Palanca Coordinator, Christine Hamann at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . She will print the note and send it along with the National and International notes, but she needs to receive the notes by the Wednesday of the weekend to ensure printing and delivery with the other palanca notes. -
Have a palanca party in your parish and/or Ultreya to write notes, create posters and/or an Ultreya banner before a weekend and have someone deliver all the palanca to the St. Mary Magdalen Center during the weekend. Offer prayers during your gathering, as well.
Our Drop-off format has changed. There are NOT 3 bins anymore to distinguish which day you would prefer the letters be distributed since they should all be general notes. Notes will still be read throughout the weekend as it progresses. You can drop the palanca off in the dining room kitchen (in the main administration building on campus) to not disturb the activities in the St. Joseph Retreat Dorm (where the Rollo room is). The kitchen staff will make sure it gets to the rector(a) when they come to the dining hall for meals. If you are helping in the kitchen, you can bring palanca, as well.
Thanks for reading this whole note. I know it is lengthy, but the Secretariat has been concerned about the importance of this weekend element that has drastically diminished, and the rector(a)s have commented about this in their reports to us. We know that you are performing palanca for everyone, so please let them know this by sending in notes. 😊
We all love Jesus and desire to draw closer to Him through the Cursillo charism of friendship.
Please contact me with any questions or feedback. We value your input.
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