In Cursillo and in the movements similar to Cursillo, like Walk to Emmaus or Via de Cristo, we learn about the importance of a true ideal. We learn that an ideal is the combination of ideas, hopes and preferences which attract a person and propel him/her forward to attain a goal.

We all should have as our ideal to live a life directed to God. We call this life directed to God, AUTHENTIC PIETY. We should seek to direct every aspect of our life towards God. This means that our ideas, our plans, and the goals we set in life should be guided by the thought of furthering our relationship first with God, and then with others through Him.

So what does our movement tell us about how we can accept the call, the challenge to live a life of authentic piety, a life directed to God? We learn that to grow closer in our relationship with God we need an ideal of a life of authentic piety.

We discover in the Piety talk delivered on the Cursillo weekend that authentic piety has four elements. Those four elements are: a life of Grace that is conscious, growing and shared.

What does a life of Grace mean? It means to live a life in Christ. In order to do so, our lives must reflect the love God has for us in our own lives as we strive to improve the world around us in our family, work and social settings.

We are challenged to live a life of Grace that is conscious. In other words, we should live our lives fully aware that we are God's children and that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We need to live our lives aware and accepting God as our Father and Jesus as our Savior.

In order to live a life of Grace that is growing, we must realize that our relationship with God must also always be growing. In life we are either growing or we are slowly dying. To grow in our relationship with God we must learn to die to ourselves and to direct our lives to Him. In Col 3: 17 we read "everything you do or say, then should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus as you give thanks through him to God the Father." We can direct the most mundane activities of life, no matter how ordinary, to the service of God.

Finally, we learn that a life of Grace must be shared. We must allow ourselves to be an instrument of God's love to the world. We should demonstrate and show people that the joy in our lives and our happiness comes from our belief that God loves us! We should strive to dedicate our entire day, from when we get up to when we retire for the day, to shine forth the light of God's love from the Gospel.

As we contemplate the message of directing our entire life to God, let us ask ourselves this question- What would the world be like if everyone dedicated his or her life to God?

In order for us to live in a state of an ever growing relationship with God we must spend time with Him.

• Do I spend dedicated time in prayer everyday?
• Do I allow for ample quiet time in my life so that I can hear God talking to me?
• Do I make time to be with God at church other than just on Sundays?
• Do I meditate on the life of Christ?
• Do I participate fully in the sacramental gifts of God through the Church?
• Do I take time every day to repent from those things in my life that draw me away from God?

Let us rededicate ourselves TODAY to Christ and set forth a plan to grow closer to him daily in prayer. Amen.