What is Palanca?

Palanca is a Spanish word that means, “lever”. Just as a lever enables a person to move something, which is beyond normal strength, Palanca empowers the accomplishments of things which would not be possible without the Grace of God. 

Today, perhaps more than ever, it is necessary to remind ourselves that without God we are nothing, bereft of value, 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 NAB)


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 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.