The Favor

 Funny how you can hear the same story and come to a different realization.  I heard the story of Eduardo Bonnin and the two prison inmates before.  But only yesterday, when one of my “cloistered brothers” told the story of the beginnings of Cursillo, again, was I impressed with "the favor". I tried “googling” but the story I read is nowhere to be found. I am not surprised, since a prison has a prominent place in the beginnings of Cursillo. 

The setting is Spain, 1949.  For many years, Eduardo Bonnin and some friends were trying to bring people to Jesus.  The War in Spain made things difficult.  Bonnin and his friends were laymen.  They wanted to bring others to Christ.  They had retreats to introduce people to Jesus.  They had faith formation.  But nothing seemed to attract people.

Coincidentally, a prison chaplain was trying to minister to two men on death row.  But they wanted nothing to do with the priest.  The chaplain asked a local parish priest if he knew any lay people who would could try to minister to the condemned men.  

This is where Eduardo Bonnin and friends come in. They wanted to help, but how was a big question. This is what they did.

They met the two inmates and asked them for a favor. You may ask, what kind of favor could two men, soon to be executed in hours, do? 

Since they were about to meet God face to face, all too soon, Bonnin asked them to request of God to grant the Cursillo movement special graces to be effective.

You see the result.  It is now 2024 and Cursillo is still going strong.  Prison inmates love it.