Ja sam Ivan Lastovčić, svećenik u službi Zagrebačke nadbiskupije. Imam 39 godina i dolazim iz župe Krista Kralja, Domaslovec, u blizini Samobora. Moji su hobiji pisanje pjesama, tekstova, čitanje, šetnja, planinarenje i treniranje. Rado odvajam vrijeme za razgovore i susrete s ljudima sa kojima volim otići negdje na kavu i/li posjetiti obitelji, družiti se s njima na izletima i slično.
S pet i pol godina bila mi je dijagnosticirana bronhijalna astma. Imao sam velike napadaje, mnogo poteškoća i ograničenja: puno sam više vremena provodio u bolesničkom krevetu nego bio kod kuće ili s djecom u školi. Bolest je na taj način pokušala definirati moj put i često su govorili da zbog te bolesti neću uspjeti, ali tada bi se u meni javljala motivacija: ,,evo, baš idem uporno ostvariti ono što sam si zacrtao”. U srednjoj sam školi htio pomagati ljudima pa sam upisao Školu za medicinske sestre Vrapče, završio smjer radne terapije i učio znakovni jezik. Kao student radio sam sa gluhoslijepim osobama, osobito s djecom, a kasnije sam stažirao u Varaždinskim toplicama.
Prvi susret s Kursiljom bio je sa mojih osamnaest godina na inicijativu tadašnjeg župnika koji je pozvao velečasnog Andriju da održi prvi Kursiljo susret u mojoj župi povodom njenog osnutka prije dvadesetak godina. Ljudi su bili dotaknuti svjedočanstvima i živom prisutnošću Isusa Krista i od tog trenutka cijela je župna zajednica zaživjela i postala kao jedna velika obitelj. Ljudi su pronašli svoj poziv u različitim službama unutar crkve, bilo da su čitači, pjevači ili pak u službi održavanja crkve i okoliša čistim. I ja sam, bio sam dotaknut istim, te sam znao da želim biti dio Kursilja jer sam posebno osjetio radost i spontanost u slavljenju svetih misa koje su dodirnule moje srce. O sebi sam spoznao da me ne oblikuju tuđa mišljena, već da sam stvoren na sliku Božju i da sam Njegovom ljubavlju uistinu dijete Božje.
Dvadesetak sam godina animator u Kursilju od kojih već devet u ulozi svećenika. Vodio sam različite tečajeve poput krizmaničkih, a na Krapnju sam sudjelovao u svim terminima – od obiteljskog, srednjoškolskog do studentskog. Moje prve teme su bile laičke, dok sam kasnije, kroz bogosloviju, đakonat i kroz svećeništvo pripremao teme karakteristične za svećenike. Kroz pripreme tih tema doživio sam duhovni rast i primio brojne plodove jer su one usko vezane uz Božju riječ koja se odražava u našem konkretnom životu. Tema koju za svaki susret pripremam jest ista no opet drugačija jer je uvijek dodatno obogaćena nekim novim iskustvom, susretima, promišljanjima i razmatranjima. Bude mi iznimno drago kada čujem da se ljudi koji su sudjelovali na tim tečajevima sjećaju određenih citata ili kažu da ih je nešto dotaknulo i promijenilo im život.
Plodovi koje sam dobio kroz služenje u Kursilju bili su radost, sloboda i snaga da svladam određene strahove, da se ohrabrim za svjedočenje Božjeg djelovanja u mome životu te da otkrijem talente koji su mi darovani za služenje drugima kako bi otkrili ljepotu susreta sa živim Bogom. Tu su i mnogobrojni pojedinci i obitelji, ljudi koje sam susreo, prilike za razvijanje otvorenosti, slušanje poticaja Duha Svetoga, gledanje Crkve kao 2 tijela Kristova te učenje kako ljubiti svakog čovjeka, shvaćanje da je svaki život dragocjen, kao i svaki trenutak te kako smo poslani svima. Nismo tu kako bismo stavljali etikete drugima, nego ih skinuli, jer to Gospodin čini svojom milošću u našim životima. Zavolio sam komunicirati s ljudima i pomagati im u otkrivanju njihovih potencijala i darova. Talent kojeg bih istaknuo da sam osvijestio i primio od Boga kroz služenje u Kursilju je oslobođenje od povučenosti i hrabrost da svjedočim i djelujem na slavu Božju.
Predivno iskustvo sudjelovanja u Kursilju obilježeno mi je različitim susretima i tu vidim Božje djelovanje jer se upravo u tim situacijama Gospodin susreće s ljudima kao što se susreo sa Samarijankom ili sa Zakejem. To je veliki blagoslov koji me i dan danas pokreće da, koliko sam god u mogućnosti, što aktivnije djelujem u Kursilju na slavu Božju.
I am Ivan Lastovčić, a priest in the service of the Zagreb Archdiocese. I am 39 years old, and I come from the parish of Christ the King, Domaslovec, near Samobor. My hobbies are writing songs, texts, reading, walking, hiking, and working out. I gladly make time for conversations and meetings with people with whom I like to go somewhere for coffee and/or visit families, hang out with them on trips and the like.
At the age of five and a half, I was diagnosed with bronchial asthma. I had major seizures, many difficulties, and limitations: I spent much more time in the sick bed than at home or with the children at school. In that way, the disease tried to define my path, and they often said that I would not succeed because of this disease, but then the motivation would arise in me: “Here, I am going to persevere in achieving what I have set out for myself”. In high school, I wanted to help people, so I enrolled in the Nursing School Vrapče, completed a major in occupational therapy and studied sign language. As a student, I worked with deaf-blind people, especially with children, and later I did an internship at the Varaždinske toplice.
My first meeting with Cursillo was when I was 18 years old on the initiative of my current parish priest, who invited p. Andrija to hold the first Cursillo in my parish on the occasion of the 20 years anniversary of its founding. The people were touched by the testimonies and the living presence of Jesus Christ, and from that moment the whole parish lived and became one big family. People found their calling in different services within the church, whether as readers, singers, or keeping the church and its surrounding clean. I was also touched by the same thing, and I knew I wanted to be part of Cursillo because I felt the joy and spontaneity in celebrating holy masses which touched my heart. I realized inside myself that I was not shaped by other’s opinions, but that I am created in the image of God and that I was God’s truly beloved child.
I have been an animator in Cursillo for about twenty years, nine of which have been in the role of a priest. I led various courses, such as courses for Confirmation candidates, and at the island of Krapanj I participated in all terms – from family, high school to student ones. My first topics were lay topics, while later, through seminary, diaconate, and priesthood, I prepared topics characteristic for priests. Through the preparation of these topics, I experienced spiritual growth and received numerous fruits because they are closely related to God’s word, which is reflected in our concrete life. The topic that I prepare for each meeting is the same but different because it is always additionally enriched with some new experience, meetings, reflections, and considerations. It makes me extremely happy when I hear that people who participated in these courses remember certain quotes or say that something touched them and changed their life.
The fruits I got through serving in Cursillo were joy, freedom, and strength to overcome certain fears, to encourage myself to witness God’s action in my life and to discover the talents that were given to me to serve others in order to discover the beauty of meeting the living God. There are also numerous individuals and families, people I have met, opportunities for developing openness, listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, seeing the Church as the body of Christ, and learning how to love every person, understanding that every life is precious, like every moment and how we are sent to all. We are not here to put labels on others, but to remove them, because the Lord does this by His grace in our lives. I learnt to love communicating with people and helping them discover their potential and gifts. A talent that I would highlight if I became aware of it and received it from God through serving in Cursillo is liberation from seclusion and the courage to witness and act for the glory of God.
The wonderful experience of participating in Cursillo was marked by different encounters and I see God’s action there, because it is in these situations that the Lord meets people as he met the Samaritan woman or Zacchaeus. It is a great blessing that still motivates me to this day to work as actively as possible in Cursillo for the glory of God.
