My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

A Christian Retreat
One time my friends invited me to attend a Catholic retreat. I
wasn’t always a good, practicing Catholic, but I accepted their
invitation out of curiosity more than anything else. I ended up
enjoying it so much that I was inspired to lead my life as a good
Christian from that point forward. The movement was called
Cursillo (a Catholic Retreat). The first Cursillo was given in
August of 1944 at Cala Figuera, on the Spanish island of
Mallorca. The principle author was Eduardo Bonnin. Today,
hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have
participated in the movement. In this instance, a group of people
were secluded for three days and three nights. There were many
lectures and Bible study classes, and we shared many common
experiences in public confessions shared by all the participants. It
was a fascinating experience.
After I completed the retreat, we had a meeting every Friday that
was called Ultreia, where we all shared our experiences of the past
week and consider what we could have done better. It was a
disciplined way for us to be aware of our actions on a day to day
basis. It made us realize that we all have a mission in life to make
things better for our neighbors and for those who are less fortunate
than ourselves. We enjoyed everyone's company, trust and
friendship. Folk and religious songs were played all the time,
setting the tone for a peaceful atmosphere. One song in particular,
called DeColores, was the theme song for Cursillos, and we all
learned and enjoyed singing it.
As part of our efforts, groups of ten were formed. Each group had
a plan of action. For example, my group concentrated on going to
Mass every Sunday with inmates from the city jail. We also
helped out the families who were very poor. There were always
many children visiting their fathers in the jail. I remember one
prisoner had 12 children and he was serving a 10-year prison
sentence. One Sunday, I happened to see an inmate's wife and
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