Palanca

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Last Updated on Monday, 02 January 2017 09:14
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Palanca

When anyone takes up the work of the conversion and Christian renewal of persons and the evangelization of human groups, it is absolutely indispensable that the entire work be built upon the grace of God.

This is the foundational stone upon which all other human efforts must be based and developed. This grace can be obtained only through the powerful means of trusting, constant and humble prayer.

Today, perhaps more than ever, it is necessary to remind ourselves that without God, we are nothing...and incapable of doing anything. We must reaffirm that before anything else, the most characteristic mark of the Cursillo methodology ties in the whole concept of Palanca prayers, sacrifices and works of mercy. Palanca must be genuine and offered by communities and individuals living in union with Christ and each other if the effectiveness of all other human efforts in the Movement is to be assured. This is to take seriously the promise of Christ: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” (Matt 7:7)
A good yardstick of any local Movement is attitude toward Palanca, its overall focus on it, and how the spirit of it is incorporated in the lives of the Spiritual Advisors and Lay leaders. In this regard, a concern for developing a spirit of prayer and self-denial should be the overriding factor.

Within the movement, we must be vigilant that the term Palanca not be misunderstood and abused so that incidental trimmings overshadow its interior call and meaning. It must be understood that letters are not Palanca. Letters are merely a vehicle in which we convey the actual Palanca being done. Keeping this in mind, we must realize that Palanca can be done for a particular purpose without having to write a letter about it. For instance, Palanca can be done for the efforts of cursillistas in trying to utilize the Cursillo method. All of us need Palanca of this type, but it would be impractical to write letters to thousands of cursillistas.

Sacrifice is part and parcel of the Christian life. Any de-emphasis of it in the Movement would indicate a shift away from Christ-centeredness. In the life of the Church, we are offered seasons such as Lent and Advent to bring us back to the proper spirit. A way to make these seasons even more Christ centered would be to live in a spirit of Palanca each day.

Palanca offerings should not be limited to the three days. The selection of candidates, the study of environments, the growth of Group Reunion, Ultreyas, and especially the work of the Secretariat and the School of Leaders depend mostly on authentic and generous Palanca offered by all, particularly the leaders.   St. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:1, “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him.” This is the true worship we should each offer. Taken from the Leader’s Manual, pages 135 & 136.