Ja sam Marijana Brčić i imam 28 godina. Rodom sam iz Metkovića, a trenutno živim u Zaprešiću. Završila sam engleski jezik i pedagogiju te trenutno radim kao profesor engleskog jezika u srednjoj školi u Zagrebu. Osim Kursilja, jako volim čitati duhovno štivo, duhovno-psihološke knjige i vježbati kako bih bila u formi.
Za Kursiljo sam saznala preko Hrvoja, mog današnjeg muža. Bili smo zajedno na kampovima na Mljetu i na Modravama pa sam odlučila otići i na Krapanj jer je on, koji je dotad bio na skoro svim katoličkim kampovima, posebno bio oduševljen Krapnjom te se tu najviše zadržao. To me zaintrigiralo, i poznavajući njega, jednostavno sam znala da to mora biti nešto dobro i da tu ima još nešto više. Tako je moj prvi susret s Kursiljom bio kad smo se zajedno pojavili na jednom neformalnom sastanku u prostoru zajednice. Bilo mi je neugodno pred svima reći nešto o sebi, no ohrabrila me i oduševila srdačnost i ljubaznost prisutnih.
Već sljedeće ljeto 2020. došla sam na Krapanj kao sudionik. Ujesen sam se priključila animatorima, pohađala škole za animatore te išla na tečajeve i formacije. Trenutno sam preuzela vodstvo kreativnog tima. Iako sam uvijek smatrala kako nisam kreativna i kako nemam strpljenja nešto izrađivati, prošlogodišnje iskustvo izrade suvenira za Krapanj osvijetlilo mi je moje skrivene talente. Kursiljo mi otvara oči u trenucima kada pomislim da nešto ne mogu i usmjerava moj pogled na situaciju kako zaista mogu, samo trebam dati priliku.
Bog je kroz Kursiljo najviše djelovao u mom životu kroz ljude koje sam upoznala i susretala. Prije sam svoju vjeru gledala kao moj odnos s Bogom, samo Bog i ja, kao da nam nitko drugi ne treba. Kroz djelovanje u Kursilju spustila sam svoj pogled na prvog čovjeka do sebe i shvatila sam da Bog jest na misi i u euharistiji, ali da je ponajprije u mom bližnjem. To je promijenilo moj način na koji pristupam ljudima i način na koji se ophodim s njima. Iako i dan danas ponekad znam zaboraviti na bližnjega, aktivnost u Kursilju me uvijek vrati na to da je Bog upravo u tom mom bližnjem te da ga tu najkonkretnije mogu doživjeti i pronaći.
Najveći plod Kursilja u mojem životu je umjesto dotadašnjih zidova prema ljudima, otvorenost prema drugima. Veliki poticaj u tome bila mi je izjava vlč. Andrije: “Sreća je u sresti se’’. Čak i ako susret s ljudima ne donese neki val oduševljenja, uvijek me pozitivno iznenadi i vraća svijest da je svaka osoba Božja, da ju je Bog htio, zamislio i poslao na svijet te da ja sa svakom osobom mogu surađivati.
Kursiljo mi je otvorio oči za radost kršćanstva, na neki način smatram da je on poziv unutar poziva. Kao katolik sam pozvana biti apostol u svijetu, a Kursiljo mi daje smjernice kakvim apostolom trebam i želim biti. Svojim načinom života i svjedočenjem, što Isus čini u mojem životu, potaknuti ljude da promisle i primijete: ,,Aha, ona tu surađuje s Isusom’’. Želim svojim djelovanjem približiti ljude Bogu, a ne stavljati fokus na čisto teoretiziranje, govorenje ljudima što im je dobro, a što loše u životu. No, na kraju bih zapravo rekla da je najveći plod Kursilja radost. Ljudi s posla ili oni koji nisu u vjeri često ističu kako je predivno što sam tako radosna. Ja to na sebi ponekad niti ne primijetim, ali mi je predivno kako se ta radost ne može sakriti i to je zaista prekrasan vidljivi znak Božje prisutnosti koju mogu na jednostavan način podijeliti s drugima.
My name is Marijana Brčić and I am 28 years old. I am from Metković and I currently live in Zaprešić. I graduated in English language and pedagogy and currently work as an English teacher in a high school in Zagreb. In addition to Cursillo, I really like to read Catholic literature, psychological books and exercise to stay in shape.
I found out about Kursiljo through Hrvoje, my current husband. We were together at the camps in Mljet and Modrave, so I decided to go to Krapanj as well. Until then, he had been to almost all the Catholic camps, but he was particularly enthusiastic about Krapanj and found his place there. That intrigued me, I knew it had to be something good and that there was something more to it. So, my first meeting with Cursillo was when we appeared together at an unformal meeting in Slavetićka. I was slightly embarrassed to say something about myself in front of everyone, but I was delighted by the warmth and kindness of those present.
Next summer 2020, I came to Krapanj as a participant. In the fall, I joined the animators, attended schools for animators and went to courses and formations. Currently, I have taken over the leadership of the creative team. Although I always thought that I was not creative and that I did not have the patience to make something with my own two hands, last years’ experience of making souvenirs for Krapanj illuminated my hidden talents. Cursillo opens my eyes in moments when I think I can’t do something and directs my view in a way that I just need to give it a chance.
Through Cursillo, God worked the most in my life when it comes to the people I’ve met and encountered. Before that, I saw my faith as my relationship with God, just God and me, as if we didn’t need anyone else. Through my work in Cursillo, I lowered my gaze to the first person next to me and I realized that God is in the Eucharist, but first He is in my neighbor. It has changed the way I approach people and the way I deal with them. Even today I sometimes forget about my neighbor, the activity in Cursillo always brings me back to the fact that God is precisely in that neighbor of mine and that I can experience and find Him most concretely there.
The greatest fruit of Cursillo in my life is, instead of the previous walls towards people, openness towards others. What helped me a lot was the statement of our priest Andrija: “Happiness is in meeting each other”. Even if meeting people doesn’t bring a wave of enthusiasm, it always positively surprises me and brings back the awareness that every person is God’s, that God wanted, imagined, and sent them into the world, and that I can cooperate with every person.
Cursillo opened my eyes to the joy of Christianity, in a way I consider it to be a call within a call. As a Catholic, I am called to be an apostle in the world, but Cursillo gives me guidance on what kind of apostle I should be. Through my way of life and witnessing what Jesus is doing in my life, to encourage people to think and notice: “Yes, she is cooperating with Jesus”. I want to bring people closer to God through my actions, and not focus on telling people what is good and what is bad for them i. But in the end, I would say that the greatest fruit of Cursillo is joy. People from work or those who are not religious often point out how wonderful it is that I am so joyful. Sometimes I don’t even notice it, but it’s wonderful to me how this joy cannot be hidden and it’s really a wonderful visible sign of God’s presence that I can share with others in a simple way.
