Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Readings:
1) Baptism as New Life in Union with Christ, CFC
1599-1600
2) Baptism as Sharing the Divine Life, CFC 1615-
1618
3) Baptism as Incorporation into the Church, CFC
1605-1610
II. Confirmation: Strengthening of Faith
and Witnessing to the World
Through baptism and confirmation, laypeople receive
the Holy Spirit and are consecrated into that royal
priesthood, that holy people, which is Christ’s own.—
Bill Huebsch
Readings:
4) Confirmation as Described by Vatican II, CFC
1626-16-30
5) Effects of Confirmation, CFC 1631-1632
6) Qualities of Christian Witness, CFC 1633
7) Confirmation in Relation to Christ and the Church,
CFC 1638
Readings:
8) Basic Description of the Eucharist, CFC 1676-
1678
9) Eucharist as Thanksgiving Worship, CFC 1680-
1688
10) Eucharist as Communion-Sacrament, CFC 1702-
1720
11) Eucharistic Ecclesiology, Ecc. Pp. 67-70
IV. Church: Membership in the People of
God
The rediscovery of the Church as Mystery of
Communion and Body of Christ led to the affirmation
of the Church as People of God. This rediscovery was
among the two most significant teachings of the
Council together with mission as the responsibility of
all Christians. –Charles Bertille: Empowering Asia’s
Laity“. . . uncover with a sense of faith, acknowledge
with joy and foster with diligence the various humble
and exalted charisms of the laity . . . allowing them
freedom and room for action” --PO 9; LG 37; AA 24
Readings:
12) Nature of the Church, LG 1-18; CFC 1355-1389;
13) Church as Communion: Diversity and
Complementarity, CL 20
14) All are Called to Holiness, LG 39-42; CL 16-17
15) Ministries and Charisms, CL 21-24; Ecc. Pp. 37-41
Readings:
16) Who are the Lay Faithful, LG 30-38; CL 9
17) The Lay Faithful and their Secular Character, LG
30-38; CL15; Ec. 41-45
18) The Particular Church and the Universal Church,
CL 25
19) The Parish, CL 26
20) The Apostolic Commitment in the Parish, CL 27
21) Forms of Participation in the Life of the Church,
CL 28-31
Individual Forms of Participation
Group Forms of Participation
“Criteria of Ecclesiality” for Lay Groups
The Pastors in Service to Communion
Readings:
22) Mission to Communion, CL32
23) Proclaiming the Gospel, CL 33-35
24) To live the Gospel: serving the person and society,
CL 36-44
Readings:
1
I. BAPTISM: SHARING IN THE DIVINE LIFE
3
1600. Importance of Biblical Images. This extended sketch of
the Biblical images of water and Spirit is intended to correct the
unreflected, superficial idea of water in the sacrament of Baptism
that is commonplace today. Most Filipino Catholics are surely not
thinking of Baptismal water as a life-death reality. Nor is Baptism
considered as relating us directly to Christ. Yet such is precisely
the deep meaning revealed in the Biblical narratives of Creation,
the Flood, the Exodus, and Christ’s own Paschal Mystery. A
renewed understanding of Baptism for ordinary Filipino Catholics,
then, depends in great measure on how well they can grasp the
deeper Faith-meaning of the Baptismal symbols. Can water, Spirit,
and Light really bring to mind and heart the depth realities of life,
death, redemption, and grace?
This goal challenges Philippine catechists today. But at least
the true nature of Baptism is now clear. In the “Introduction to the
Rite of Christian Initiation” the Church explains: “When people
are baptized, they share sacramentally in Christ’s death. . . For
baptism recalls and actualizes the Paschal Mystery itself, because
by it men and women pass from the death of sin into life” (RCIA
6).
1615. Sharing the Divine Life. From this new life in Christ
and being united in his Body, the Church, Baptism is the effective
symbol of our sharing in the divine life. We become a “new
creation” (cf. 2 Cor 5:17), sharers in the divine nature (cf. 2 Pt
1:4)not simply creatures any more, but children of God (cf. 1 Jn
3:1), through THE SON, Jesus Christ, (cf. Gal 4:4-7) in the Holy
Spirit, who dwells within us (cf. 1 Cor 6:19). Thus Baptism ushers
us into sharing the very life of the Trinity. “Baptism is heaven-sent
regeneration . . . culminating in the invocation of the Blessed
Trinity. Signed with this name, the baptized are consecrated to the
Blessed Trinity and enter into fellowship with the Father, the Son
4
and the Holy Spirit” (Gen. Introduction to Christian Initiation 5).
This is expressed in the Baptismal formula: “N. . . , I baptize you
in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
The ordinary ministers of baptism are: the Bishop, priest and
deacon. In case of necessity, any person, even someone not
baptized, can baptize if he or she has the intention of doing what
the Church intends to do, and uses the Trinitarian baptismal
formula (cf. CCC 1256).
1616. But the problem for many Filipinos with these lofty
biblical faith-assertions is that they seem so far away from
ordinary daily living, even Christian living. In such a situation, a
general rule is to go directly to the Gospels and see what all this
means in the life of Christ.
We know that John the Baptist’s baptism was not a
sacrament, but a baptism of repentance, ushering in the new age of
the coming of the Messiah. Jesus came to be baptized by John as a
sign that he IS the new age in person. In the Gospel account of
Jesus’ baptism, we can see more concretely what this “sharing the
divine life” really means. First, there is the Spirit appearing as a
dove, recalling the Old Testament accounts of creation and the
Flood. Then Christ’s definitive identity and Messianic mission are
revealed: “You are my beloved Son, on you my favor rests” (Mk
1:11). Finally, with the heavenly voice, the Spirit symbolized in
the dove, and the Incarnate Son emerging from the Jordan, the
Blessed Trinity is revealed to us in action.
5
And we have seen how St. Paul claims that through the Sacrament
of Baptism, we share in Christ’s very life and mission.
1618. But how? How does our ordinary, daily life, actually
share in Christ’s? Briefly, the key is the Holy Spirit, the interior,
indwelling source of our life of grace. PCP II warns that “the laity
must not be deprived of the exercise of their charisms. By this
exercise, they fulfill their baptismal responsibilities” (PCP II 429;
cf. LG 18; AA 24).
What this means is that with God’s Spirit within us, we
actually share the divine life. The Spirit helps us to have faith in
God, hope in God’s fidelity and mercy, and respond to God in
love. In other words, the Spirit helps us to begin to think like
disciples of Christ, overcome problems, and be outgoing in love
rather than turned back on ourselves. This sharing in Christ’s own
life is spelled out more practically in terms of the gifts (cf. Is 11:2-
3) and fruits (cf. Gal 5:22f) of the Spirit. But this is not any
magical formula that automatically “divinizes” us. Rather it is a
life-long process that needs to be confirmed and constantly
strengthened by our free cooperating with God’s grace.
7
The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy
priesthood, that through all their works as Christians they
may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the perfection of
him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous
light (cf. 1 Pt 2:4-10). . . Everywhere on earth they must bear
witness to Christ and give answer to everyone who asks a
reason for their hope of an eternal life which is theirs (LG
10).
1610. PCP II describes how the baptized are called “to live
prophetically as Christ lived, to witness as He did, to the luminous
coming together of Gospel and life. To the world they manifest
and communicate Christ, Christ who loves, Christ who serves,
Christ who saves” (PCP II 424).
8
II. CONFIRMATION: STRENGTHENING OF
FAITH AND WITNESSING TO THE WORLD
Readings:
9
Confirmation as Described by Vatican II
Reading 4: Catechism for Filipino Catholics 1626-1630
III. CONFIRMATION
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus. As Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit
came on them, they began to speak in tongues and to utter
prophecies (Acts 19:5f; cf. 8:14-17).
10
Through the centuries, because the increasing number and
size of dioceses, parishes, and infant baptisms made it a practical
impossibility for the Bishop to confirm all, the anointing and
laying on of hands were separated from water-Baptism to form a
separate sacrament. In the East it is called “Chrismation,”
meaning “anointing with chrism.”
11
1630. The ordinary minister of Confirmation is the Bishop who
is successor of the apostles, with the fullness of the sacrament of
Holy Orders. The Bishop’s administering demonstrates the effect
of Confirmation: to unite the confirmed more closely to the
Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing
witness to Christ. (cf. CCC 1313). However, for grave reasons, the
Bishop may delegate to priests the faculty to administer the
sacrament.
Effects of Confirmation
Reading 5: Catechism for Filipino Catholics 1631-1632
A. Effects of Confirmation
Signed with the oil by the Bishop’s hand, the baptized person
receives the indelible character, the seal of the Lord, together
with the gift of the Spirit, which conforms him more closely
to Christ and gives him the grace of spreading the Lord’s
presence among men(RC 9).
13
Confirmation’s Relation to
Christ and the Church
Reading 7: Catechism for Filipino Catholics 1638
14
III. EUCHARIST: NOURISHING OF
CHRISTIAN LIFE IN CHRIST
Readings
8) Basic Description of the Eucharist, CFC
1676-1678
9) Eucharist as Thanksgiving Worship, CFC
1680-1688
10) Eucharist as Communion-Sacrament, CFC
1702-1722
11) Eucharistic Ecclesiology, Ecc. Pp. 67-70
15
Basic Description of the Eucharist
Reading 8: Catechism for Filipino Catholics 1676-16-78
16
Fourthly, Christ himself is really present in the Eucharistic
celebration in multiple ways, but especially under the sacramental
signs of bread and wine.
Finally, the Eucharist is the eschatologicalpledgeand
foretaste of our future glory.
1680. When Filipinos on the way to Mass say they are “going
to Church,” they are actually expressing a profound truth. For the
Christian community is never more “Church” than in its
celebrating, here and now, the memorial of Christ’s once-and-for-
all sacrificial Death and Resurrection. In the Eucharistic
celebration the Church finds the source of its mission and the
pledge of its future destiny. “Just as the Church ‘makes the
Eucharist,’ so ‘the Eucharist builds up’ the Church” (DC 4).
17
The Eucharistic celebration brings us together as a
community in Christ in whom we have “received the means for
giving worthy worship to God” (SC 5). This community worship
in and through the Risen Christ celebrates most perfectly all the
essential goals of prayer: thanksgiving, praise and adoration of
God, contrition for our sins, petition for His grace, and offering of
all we have, do and are.
A. Trinitarian
18
1683. Thus the Eucharist is essentially an act of thanksgiving
(eucha-ristein) to the Father, a memorial (anamnesis) of Christ’s
Pasch, and an invocation (epiclesis) of the Holy Spirit (cf. CCC
1357-66). Moreover, it is precisely in celebrating the Eucharist
that the Christian community grows in deeper understanding of the
Holy Trinity. For the Eucharistic celebration immerses us within
the direct saving, liberating action of the Triune God: Father, Son,
and Spirit.
19
Eucharist as fraternal meal, as spiritual nourishment and
“fellowship,” is sometimes carried to the extreme of ignoring
Christ’s sacrifice. At times the Mass is reduced to a purely social
gathering among friends. Or again, the Preparation of the Gifts is
sometimes highlighted in such innovative and imaginative ways
that Christ’s central role is obscured or overshadowed. The
community’s “Bless us and our gifts” takes the center of attention
rather than Christ’s giving thanks to the Father.
20
All their [the laity’s] works, prayers and apostolic
undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation
of mind and body, if carried out in the Spirit--even the
hardships of life if patiently borne--all these become spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the
celebration of the Eucharist these are most fittingly offered
to the Father along with the Body of the Lord. And so
worshipping by their holy actions, the laity consecrates the
world itself to God (LG 34).
Eucharist as Communion--Sacrament
Reading 10: Catechism for Filipino Catholics 1701-1720
Christian Memorial
COMMUNION-SACRAMENT
A. Paschal Banquet
1. Sacred Meal
3. Elements of a meal
23
the Scriptural Readings (Liturgy of the Word), and the faithful
respond by their profession of faith (Creed) and the General
Intercessions.
24
B. Human Hungers
25
But more, the Eucharist gives meaning and value to all our
actions, pains and sufferings, because we can offer them together
with Christ’s own Self-offering, as members of his own Body.
Thus, St. Paul wrote: “I find my joy in the suffering I endure for
you. In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of
Christ for the sake of his body, the Church” (Col 1:24).
26
human hands have made.” Both bread and wine thus exemplify the
intrinsic working-together of God and ourselves in everything we
do. In the Old Covenant, bread and wine were offered in sacrifice
among the first fruits of the earth, in acknowledging God as the
Creator of all.
1714. Bread as “staff of human life” was for the Jews a symbol
of the Torah, God’s LAW that shaped their covenant lives. Christ,
God’s Wisdom Incarnate, goes beyond the Law given through
Moses, and offers himself as the “bread from heaven” (cf. Jn 6:25-
34). The unleavened bread used in the Mass follows the Jewish
Passover meal’s use which symbolized the hasty Exodus
(departure) from Egypt, the land of slavery, to freedom. The
Exodus context also recalls the manna in the desert. Like the
Israelites in their Exodus, the Church is a pilgrimpeople, on the
way to the promised heavenly Kingdom.
Unleavened bread was also a symbol of purity and newness.
Thus, St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
1715. Wine was commonly used since Old Testament times “to
gladden men’s hearts” (Ps 104:15) and for medicinal purposes.
But in a larger sense, wine was related to Israel as the vine planted
by Yahweh to yield choice grapes (cf. Is 5:1-7). At the Last
Supper, Christ proclaimed himself as the true Vine (cf. Jn 15:1-8)
whose fruit is experienced in the “wine of the Spirit” which would
be bestowed at Pentecost.
27
then, Jesus is present in his total personal reality, and precisely
as “given-for-us,” “poured out for us.” It is Jesus sacrificed for us,
“obediently accepting even death on a Cross” (Phil 2:8) and raised
from the dead.
When we receive the Eucharist, then, either the consecrated
bread or wine, we receive the whole living Lord. Through the
sacramental signs we enter into intimate communion with our
Risen Savior. And in communing with him in his sacramental
presence, we are actually “proclaim[ing] that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11) in a total covenant
relationship which we experience in the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life
because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have
life because of me. . . Unlike your ancestors who ate and
died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live
forever (Jn 6:57f).
28
26:28; cf. CCC 1393). This communion with the Risen Christ
“gives life through the Holy Spirit” (PO 5), deepening our life of
grace begun in Baptism. As bodily food restores our physical
energies, so the Eucharist is a “remedy to free us from our daily
faults and to preserve us from mortal sin” (Council of Trent, ND
1515; cf. CCC 1395). It strengthens our life of loving service,
weakened by our disordered desires, self-centered attitudes, and
sins.
PCP II states simply that the “Eucharist is the primary source
of renewal and the center of community” (PCP II 457).
3. Reconciliation
29
E. The Eucharist Builds up the Church
Eucharistic Ecclesiology
Reading 11: Morris Pelzel’s Ecclesiology:
The Church as Communion and Mission, pp. 67-70
All of the sacraments, each in its own way, help to make the
Church. Baptism is a fundamental means of helping to make the
Church; through this rite persons explicitly join the community of
faith. So we say that Baptism incorporates persons into the body of
Christ. Confirmation further manifests the gifts of the Spirit in the
members of the Church. Reconciliation and Anointing work to
heal the body and to strengthen it in the face of sin and human
frailty. Matrimony and Holy Orders are “sacraments at the service
of communion and the mission of the faithful” (CCC, #1211).
“The Body of Christ,” you are told, and you answer, “Amen.”
Be members then of the Body of Christ that your amen be true.
Why is this mystery accomplished with bread? We shall say
nothing of our own about it, rather let us hear the Apostle [Paul],
who, speaking of this sacrament says: “We, being many, are one
body, one bread” [1 Corinthians 10:17] . . . . At baptism you were
wetted with water. Then the Holy Spirit came into you like the fire
which bakes the dough. Be then what you see and receive what
you are..
(St. Augustine, Sermons, #272, 234)
Unlike other food that we eat, which becomes part of our physical
body, in the Eucharist we are transformed into that which we eat.
For Augustine, it is as if Christ says to us: “You will not change
me into you, but you will be changed into me” (St. Augustine,
Confessions). Remembering that the ultimate purpose of the
Eucharist is to transform those who are assembled at the table
gives us the proper context for understanding the transformation of
the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
Gathering and sending forth are two poles that must not be
separated or played off against one another. Without the gathering,
the going forth becomes inwardly empty and hollow; but the
gathering without the going forth becomes sterile and ultimately
unconvincing. (Theology and Church, p. 191)
32
Finally, we should recognize that the celebration of the
Eucharist on earth is also a sign and foretaste of the banquet
awaiting us in the life to come. The Church will only fully become
what it is meant to be in the future fulfillment of all things by God
that we refer to as heaven. So even now our Eucharistic Liturgies
anticipate the heavenly banquet, which Jesus likened to a marriage
feast, in which full communion will be experienced. As the
Orthodox theologian John Zizoulas puts it, the Church “is what
she is by becoming again and again what she will be.” This future
banquet, and this future Church, though, is not purely future; it is
already beginning to be realized as often as we eat the bread and
drink the cup of the Lord until he comes again (see 1 Corinthians
11:26).
33
IV. CHURCH: MEMBERSHIP IN THE PEOPLE
OF GOD
Readings:
34
IV. Church: Membership in the
People of God
Nature of the Church
Reading 12: Nature of the Church
35
And, in fact, such secular unity
only makes it all the more urgent
that we should also come to full human unity
in Christ.
Lumen Gentium!
Chapter One
The Mystery of the Church
36
and all who have ever sought goodness.
Salvation!
37
Praying through the hearts of the faithful
and dwelling in us as in a temple,
the Spirit unifies us all in love.
And therefore,
we can say that we, the Church,
are a people united by our common heritage:
created in love by God,
assembled in the name of Jesus,
and bound together in the Holy Spirit.
The same power that mysteriously unites
this threefold divine presence
also binds us together in love.
38
actually live in the Reign of God here and now,
a seed sprouting in them
and growing to its harvest.
Christ’s mission is that we might all have that seed
planted within us
and develop
the inner spiritual energy to let it grow.
The Church now takes up the work of Christ,
guided by the Holy Spirit,
and continues to sow that seed of faith.
39
is the one
where Christ is called our very spouse,
ready to give us radical love,
a love that surpasses everything we know.
7. But for us Catholics and for all people,
the most central and clear message we have
emerges from the metaphor
where we come to understand
that we are family.
We are indeed brothers and sisters,
because of the life and death
that Christ offered on our behalf.
We are, in fact, the very Body of Christ!
But what does this mean,
to call ourselves the “Body of Christ”?
40
with all their various talents and desires.
We would end up in a mess with all this
if we did not have Christ to lead us.
41
Thus, Christ leads the Church as its head,
and the Holy Spirit sustains the Church
as its soul.
We, then, as members of this Body
must be conformed to the image of Christ
and the Holy Spirit of God.
We must be directed by our head, Jesus Christ,
and by our soul, the Holy Spirit.
In this way,
we serve one another unto salvation,
which means that by loving each other
we give each other the opportunity
to be embraced by God
and live with God eternally.
42
Part of the social structure
given this Church by Christ
is the leadership of Peter,
who was commissioned as a shepherd,
along with the other apostles,
whose jobs were to help maintain
this delicate truth
that the Church
is indeed the Body of Christ.
And while this Church,
organized in the world as a society,
is found in the Catholic Church,
many elements of truth and holiness
are also found outside its structures.
These elements outside the Catholic Church
are part of what urges us
to desire greater unity among Christians.
43
as an organized Church
and as its individual members,
we will succeed
in announcing Christ to the world
until all is seen in full light.
Lumen Gentium!
Chapter Two
On the People of God
44
This people, which we call the Church,
has Christ as its head,
as we have said already.
This people has the dignity and freedom
of the sons and daughters of God.
Its law is the commandment to love
as Christ, the great Lover, loves us.
Its end is the Reign of God
begun now here on earth
and set to last for eternity.
Not all people belong to this Church,
yet all people are included in the reach
of its embrace.
The challenges and tasks that face the Church
appear overwhelming at times.
Nonetheless, we are like a seed
that will surely someday
bear the fruit of unity,
hope,
and healing for all.
The Church is constantly moving and searching,
wandering . . .
not unlike the Hebrew experience in the desert.
And even though the Church’s movement
is sometimes filled with trial and tribulation,
nonetheless, it remains faithful overall.
It continues to be a visible sign of unity,
a sacrament of salvation for all people.
Aware of the absolute importance of its mission,
the Church seeks constant renewal.
It never ceases to beg the Holy Spirit
for the grace it needs
to be the Light of the World.
Lumen Gentium!
45
share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ.
In the widest sense, a priest is anyone
who makes the world and its people holy
by sacrificing and praying on its behalf.
In this sense,
every single baptized person is a priest.
As priests, therefore, all the faithful are called
to offer themselves to God
and to offer the hope of God
to one another.
They should, therefore, be faithful in prayer
and live as part of the household of God.
46
celebrate the sacraments
and exercise habits of goodness.
Baptism and confirmation identify Christians
as daughters and sons of God,
willing to give their lives to the Church
that others might experience the friendship
of Christ.
Eucharist provides them with
the deepest source of strength
and the highest moment of spiritual insight.
Reconciliation helps them focus
on the mercy of God.
The sacred anointing of the sick
lightens the load of suffering which they bear.
Those called to holy orders
are appointed to feed
the Church in Christ’s name
with the Word and the grace of God.
And those called to matrimony
live especially close
to the unity and fruitful love
that exists between Christ and the Church.
In fact, those who receive this sacrament,
by reason of their state and rank in life,
have their own special gift
among the People of God.
From their lovemaking comes forth
new citizens of the world,
those who will also ultimately live in the light.
This family setting is its own kind of Church,
a sort of “domestic” Church.
In this household setting,
where relationships are the stuff of daily life,
for better or for worse,
members ought to witness to each other
and teach each other to listen to the Spirit
prompting them in their hearts.
47
12. When this whole Church,
anointed as it is by the Holy Spirit,
believes together,
the truth of the faith
is absolutely undeniable.
It is like a chalice overflowing with so much truth
that even when everyone drinks from it,
it becomes fuller
rather than emptier.
Such belief
is ratified and declared through the leaders,
making everyone able to believe together.
This faith becomes clearer,
more meaningful,
more believable to others
when believers practice it
in every aspect of their daily lives.
This same Spirit
likewise sanctifies the whole world,
which means that through the Spirit
every aspect of the world
will eventually be brought
to goodness and holiness.
This will happen because the Spirit gives gifts
to each person and assists each
in using them well.
The power we need to do this
comes only from God
and leads us insistently to more and more
become exactly who we are created to be.
We call this shared, loving, sacred power
by a name: we call it “grace.”
Grace is, then, “the energy of God in our lives,”
the loving presence of the divine one.
It is given to everyone at every rank of the Church.
It forms us into a community
which also has a name: the People of God!
48
13. All people everywhere and throughout all time
are called to belong to this People of God.
And doesn’t this fit God’s way of doing things?
God did, after all, create us in the divine image
to share human nature together.
Together we share an inescapable sameness.
God even became one of us in Jesus Christ
so that we might be united as human beings,
that we might begin to realize
that this sameness is a wonderful gift.
49
the Church is necessary for salvation,
according to both Scripture and tradition.
We believe that for the Catholic faithful
the Church is necessary for salvation
because it is in the Church
that we encounter Christ,
who is “the Way.”
Any Catholic who knows this
and freely chooses to reject or leave the Church
may ultimately also be choosing
to reject salvation.
Not only that,
being fully part of the Church means that we
embrace all the Church has to offer:
creed,
sacraments,
community,
and authority.
Beyond that, we must also live in love.
The failure to put love into practice,
even if we are faithful to the Church
in all other ways, is a rejection of salvation itself.
This is a sin that is serious enough
to bring about severe judgment.
Those called to be catechumens
are embraced as family
as soon as the Holy Spirit stirs up in them
the desire and will for full participation
in the life of the Church.
50
and even sacraments,
together we hope and work toward full unity.
The Church urges all its members to lives
that are holy and renewed to enable this.
Chapter Three
On the Hierarchical Structure of the Church,
in Particular the Bishops
51
within the Church
for the good of the whole Body.
Among these is the role of bishop,
which flows from the relationship of Jesus
to his closest apostles,
with Peter as their leader.
We believe that Christ wants these leaders
and their successors
to continue in their roles for all time.
And we also want to lay out plainly here
what the role of the bishop is
and how bishops work with each other
and with the pope
to guide and direct
the household of God.
52
3015) and which we will never be able to understand fully because
of the limitation of our intelligence (cf. DS 3016). Such is the case
of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. There are alsocreated
salvific realities which can partly be known by our human
intelligence, but which have also a transcendent dimension which
can be perceived only through faith. These salvific realities are
also called “mysteries” because of their inexhaustible richness. It
is in this sense that we speak of the Church as “mystery.” By this
term, then, we mean not something we cannot know nor
understand, but rather a reality we can never fully grasp because
there is always more to learn (cf. NCDP 200). As mystery, the
Church is a God-given reality we believe in and love--like a friend
or a loved one--not only something we observe and critically
analyze (cf. NCDP 230; CCC 770-73).
To affirm the Church is a mystery simply means, first, that it
is “a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God . . . always
open to new and greater exploration” (Paul VI at the Opening of
the Second Session of Vatican II). Second, it has a unique relation
to God Himself, and therefore also with all of us who are called to
salvation precisely as a people. But what precisely is this “unique
relationship with God?”
53
sleep of death upon the Cross came forth the wondrous sacrament
of the whole Church” (SC 5). Our life in the Church is completely
Christ-centered: “All men are called to this union with Christ who
is the light of the world, from whom we go forth, through whom
we live, and toward whom our whole life leads us” (LG 3).
1359. Like the Incarnate Son, the Church is both visible and
invisible, human and divine. As the Son of God “became flesh” to
save us from our sins, so the spiritual community of the Church
takes on visible social structure to serve its mission (cf. LG 8;
CCC 771-73).
1360. Third, to the Holy Spirit who dwells in the Church and in
the hearts of the faithful as in a temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:16), and bears
witness to their adoptive sonship (cf. Gal 4:6). The Spirit guides
the Church into the fullness of truth (cf. Jn 16:13), gives her a
unity of fellowship and service, and constantly renews and leads
her to perfect union with her Spouse, Christ (cf. CCC 767).
54
‘folk Catholicism’ has been able to consistently engender, is
perhaps its greatest asset” (NCDP 86).
55
For it is in the Church, especially in communal worship at Mass,
when we most often:
• experience God as “our Father” and feel ourselves as
children in His divine hands;
• come to know Christ as our personal Savior, and what it
means to be His disciples in service of others; and
• judge true, authentic experiences of the Holy Spirit, among
our fellow disciples of Christ, and under the guidance and
leadership of Church authorities.
56
sacrament is a material sign which gives grace, effecting what it
symbolizes; it causes grace by symbolizing grace.
So Christ, the eternal Word made flesh, is the visible sign,
the sacrament of God. So too the Church, with her visible,
institutional structure, is for us the sacrament of Christ,
representing him, making him present. The Church signifies in a
visible, historical, and tangible form the presence and redeeming
activity of Christ, offered to all persons of every age, race and
condition.
57
As the Eucharist makes sacramentally present the body
and blood of the Risen Christ, so the Church is the visible
sign of the presence of the Risen Christ in His Spirit.
As the Eucharist’s bread and wine have no meaning
outside of Christ’s words, so the Church cannot be
understood except through Christ’s promise “I am with you
always until the end of the world” (Mt 28:20).
And as Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic bread and wine
is not effected by any human holiness or fidelity, but by the
Risen Christ’s own saving activity in the Spirit, so too is
his inseparable union with the Church effected.
58
C. Scriptural Images of the Church
1374. But since these are images drawn from the specific,
concrete culture and times of the biblical people, they have to be
carefully explained if they are to enlighten the Filipino Catholic of
today on the nature of the Church. Most Filipinos have little or no
contact with shepherds, flocks, vinedressers, and the like. These
images, therefore, must be brought to life by showing how they
manifest basic human values and religious meaning that are
relevant to our own Filipino culture and spirituality.
59
The family is “the Church in the home.” Jesus began his earthly
mission within a family; the family is where faith-life begins, is
nurtured, grows to maturity. It is where Christian conscience is
formed, and Christian prayer and worship is nurtured and
integrated. In fact the family is “a true foundation for Basic
Ecclesial Communities . . . a model of relationships in the Church.
For the plan of God is that all should form one family, and the
Church is the household of God where all call upon and obey the
will of the same Father through the Holy Spirit” (PCP II 21-22).
1. Kingdom of God
60
These can help us see how the Church, on the one hand, is not
simply identified with the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, the
Church does serve the Kingdom as the leaven in the dough of
humanity, in sowing the seed and casting of the net (cf. NCDP
230). As such, the Church includes both the good and the bad fish,
the wheat and the weeds. In brief, the Church represents the
coming of the Kingdom, the Kingdom in process.
2. People of God
61
• its members are “those who believe in Christ, who are reborn
through the Word of the living God, ‘of water and the Spirit’
in baptism” (cf. Jn 3:3,5);
• its condition is that of the dignity and freedom of the
sons/daughters of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit
dwells as in a temple;
• its law is Christ’s new Commandment of love (cf. Jn 13:34),
and the new Law of the Spirit (cf. Rom 8:2);
• its mission is to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world,
its salvation (cf. Mt 5:134-16);
• its destiny is the final Kingdom of God, brought to perfection
at the end of time (cf. LG 9; CCC 782).
62
natural calamities, and the Church celebration of its Second
Plenary Council (PCP II) in 1990, witness to the growing sense of
solidarity among Filipinos, of being “one people.” This deepening
sense of national unity and national identity will help Filipino
Catholics to realize and assume their full stature, dignity and
responsibility as members in the Christian community, the “family
of God.”
3. Body of Christ
63
1386. Christ’s “body,” then, can refer to:
1388. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “You are the temple of
God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Cor 3:16; cf. CCC
797f). Animating the Church as the “Body of Christ” is the Holy
Spirit. Traditional teaching of the Church declares: “As Christ is
64
the Head of the Church, so is the Holy Spirit its soul” (ND 852).
Vatican II describes it thus:
Christ has shared with us his Spirit who, being one and the
same in head and members, gives life to, unifies and moves
the whole body. Consequently, the Spirit’s work could be
compared to the function which the soul, the principle of life,
fulfills in the human body (LG 7).
1389. The Filipino value of close family unity and ties should
help Catholic Filipinos to appreciate the Church as the Body of
Christ. “Body of Christ” actually stresses first, the living unity of
all the faithful among themselves through their union with
Christ. Second, under Christ the Head, the organic relationships
between the members through the grace and charisms of the Spirit.
Third, the Church as Spouse of Christ(cf. Eph 5:27,29; CCC 789-
96).
All three aspects are actualized through Baptism and the
Eucharist. “The body is one and has many members, but all the
members, many though they are, are one body; and so it is with
Christ. It was in one Spirit that all of us . . . were baptized into one
body” (1 Cor 12:12-13). Moreover, “by really sharing in the body
of the Lord in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread, we are taken
up into communion with him and with one another” (LG 7; cf.
PCP II 89-90).
Church as Communion:
Diversity and Complementarity
Reading 13: Christifideles Laici 20
66
as in a temple (cf. 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19). In them he prays and bears
witness that they are adopted sons (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15-16, 26).
Guiding the Church in the way of all truth (cf. Jn 16:13) and
unifying her in communion and in the works of service, he
bestows upon her varied hierarchical and charismatic gifts and
adorns her with the fruits of his grace (cf. Eph 4:11-12; 1 Cor
12:4; Gal 5:22). By the power of the Gospel he makes the Church
grow, perpetually renews her, and leads her to perfect union with
her Spouse. The Spirit and the Bride both say to the Lord Jesus,
'Come!' (cf. Rev 22:17)"(62).
67
Reading 14: All Are Called to Holiness
68
with all your understanding,
with all your strength.
Love one another as Christ loves you.”
These commands in Scripture
are really an invitation to be holy.
By our holy love, we nurture in the world
a way of life that is more gentle,
more beautiful,
more human.
Over and over again,
the Scriptures describe for us
what this holiness will resemble:
a heart of mercy,
humility,
meekness,
patience,
awareness of God’s mercy
when we have sinned,
and a spirit of forgiveness toward others.
69
Married couples and parents
should sustain one another in grace
throughout the entire length of their lives.
Widows and single people likewise
give witness to their holiness
through their labors
in the Church in society.
For those called to them,
the promises of chastity, obedience, and poverty
are also a means to holiness.
Others, particularly those who suffer,
the poor and the ill,
find holiness in their special relationship
with Christ who suffered.
70
Called to Holiness
71
the Church, the lay faithful are called to holiness: "All the faithful
of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of
Christian life and to the perfection of charity"(43). "All of Christ's
followers are invited and bound to pursue holiness and the perfect
fulfillment of their own state of life"(44).
73
15:4-5). It is appropriate to recall here the solemn proclamation of
beatification and canonization of lay men and women which took
place during the month of the Synod. The entire People of God,
and the lay faithful in particular, can find at this moment new
models of holiness and new witnesses of heroic virtue lived in the
ordinary everyday circumstances of human existence. The Synod
Fathers have said: "Particular Churches especially should be
attentive to recognizing among their members the younger men
and women of those Churches who have given witness to holiness
in such conditions (everyday secular conditions and the conjugal
state) and who can be an example for others, so that, if the case
calls for it, they (the Churches) might propose them to be beatified
and canonized"(47).
74
Ministries and Charisms,
Reading 15
The ministries which exist and are at work at this time in the
Church are all, even in their variety of forms, a participation in
Jesus Christ's own ministry as the Good Shepherd who lays down
his life for the sheep (cf. Jn 10:11), the humble servant who gives
himself without reserve for the salvation of all (cf. Mk 10:45). The
Apostle Paul is quite clear in speaking about the ministerial
constitution of the Church in apostolic times. In his First Letter to
the Corinthians he writes: "And God has appointed in the Church
first apostles, second prophets, third teachers..." (1 Cor 12:28). In
his Letter to the Ephesians we read: "But the grace was given to
each of us according to the measure 22 of Christ's gift... And his
gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the
work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:7, 11-13; cf. Rom 12:4-8). These and
75
other New Testament texts indicate the diversity of ministries as
well as of gifts and ecclesial tasks.
The ordained ministries, apart from the persons who receive them,
are a grace for the entire Church. These ministries express and
realize a participation in the priesthood of Jesus Christ that is
different, not simply in degree but in essence, from the
participation given to all the lay faithful through Baptism and
Confirmation. On the other hand, the ministerial priesthood, as the
Second Vatican Council recalls, essentially has the royal
priesthood of all the faithful as its aim and is ordered to it (67). For
this reason, so as to assure and to increase communion in the
Church, particularly in those places where there is a diversity and
complementarity of ministries, Pastors must always acknowledge
that their ministry is fundamentally ordered to the service of the
entire People of God (cf. Heb 5:1). The lay faithful, in turn, must
acknowledge that the ministerial priesthood is totally necessary for
their participation in the mission in the Church (68).
76
The Ministries, Offices
and Roles of the Lay Faithful
23. The Church's mission of salvation in the world is realized not
only by the ministers in virtue of the Sacrament of Orders but also
by all the lay faithful; indeed, because of their Baptismal state and
their specific vocation, in the measure proper to each person, the
lay faithful participate in thepriestly, prophetic and kingly mission
of Christ.
77
The recent Synodal Assembly has provided an extensive and
meaningful overview of the situation in the Church on the
ministries, offices and roles of the baptized. The Fathers have
manifested a deep appreciation for the contribution of the lay
faithful, both women and men, in the work of the apostolate, in
evangelization, sanctification and the Christian animation of
temporal affairs, as well as their generous willingness to supply in
situations of emergency and chronic necessity (72).
78
offices and roles in the Church, which are rooted in the
Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
The various ministries, offices and roles that the lay faithful can
legitimately fulfill in the liturgy, in the transmission of the faith,
and in the pastoral structure of the Church, ought to be exercised
in conformity to their specific lay vocation, which is different from
that of the sacred ministry. In this regard the Exhortation Evangelii
Nuntiandi, that had such a great part in stimulating the varied
collaboration of the lay faithful in the Church's life and mission of
spreading the gospel, recalls that “their own field of evangelizing
activity is the vast and complicated world of politics, society and
economics, as well as the world of culture, of the sciences and the
arts, of international life, of the mass media. It also includes other
realities which are open to evangelization, such as human love, the
family, the education of children and adolescents, professional
work, and suffering. The more Gospel-inspired lay people there
are engaged in these realities, clearly involved in them, competent
to promote them and conscious that they must exercise to the full
their Christian powers which are often repressed and buried, the
more these realities will be at the service of the Kingdom of God
and therefore at the service of salvation in Jesus Christ, without in
any way losing or sacrificing their human content but rather
pointing to a transcendent dimension which is often disregarded"
(76).
79
existed in the Latin Church only as spiritual steps on route to the
ordained ministry, with the motu proprio of Paul VI, Ministeria
Quaedam (15 August1972), they assumed an autonomy and
stability, as well as a possibility of their being given to the lay
faithful, albeit, only to men. This same fact is expressed in the new
Code of Canon Law (77). At this time the Synod Fathers
expressed the desire that "the motu proprio Ministeria Quaedam
be reconsidered, bearing in mind the present practice of local
churches and above all indicating criteria which ought to be used
in choosing those destined for each ministry" (78).
Charisms
24. The Holy Spirit, while bestowing diverse ministries in Church
communion, enriches it still further with particular gifts or
promptings of grace, called charisms. These can take a great
variety of forms, both as a manifestation of the absolute freedom
of the Spirit who abundantly supplies them, and as a response to
the varied needs of the Church in history. The description and the
classification given to these gifts in the New Testament are an
indication of their rich variety. "To each is given the manifestation
80
of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the
Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of
knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another
the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability
to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues,
to another the interpretation of tongues" (1 Cor 12:7-10; cf. 1Cor
12:4-6, 28-31; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Pt 4:10-11).Whether they be
exceptional and great or simple and ordinary, the charisms are
graces of the Holy Spirit that have, directly or indirectly, a
usefulness for the ecclesial community, ordered as they are to the
building up of the Church, to the well-being of humanity and to
the needs of theworld.
The charisms are received in gratitude both on the part of the one
who receives them, and also on the part of the entire Church. They
are in fact a singularly rich source of grace for the vitality of the
81
apostolate and for the holiness of the whole Body of Christ,
provided that they be gifts that come truly from the Spirit and are
exercised in full conformity with the authentic promptings of the
Spirit.
82
The primary tasks to be carried out in the Church after Pentecost
were the proclamation of the Gospel and the founding of new
communities of Christians. Those who performed these activities
were known as apostles. So apostle (“one who is sent”) was a
specific role in which certain persons carried out crucial ecclesial
ministries.
Who were the apostles? The New Testament tells us that the
necessary criteria for being an apostle were (1) witnessing an
appearance of the risen Christ, and (2) receiving from the risen
Christ the commission to preach the Gospel in an authoritative
manner. On this basis apostles founded churches in both Jewish
and Gentile contexts. It should be noted that “the apostles” are not
identical with “the Twelve.” The apostles were a wider group than
the Twelve and included Paul; James the brother of the Lord; and
Barnabas. Apostles, including the Twelve, were themselves
chosen from an already existing community of disciples of Jesus.
It is clear, for example, that when the need arose to replace Judas
Iscariot among the Twelve, a choice was made from among those
who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus
went in and out among us” (Acts 1:21).
83
is the pattern that we find also in the earliest New Testament
churches, especially those founded by the apostle Paul. In the New
Testament churches we see a plurality of ways of organizing
ministries and coordinating tasks and roles. In a relatively short
period of time, though, a more stable and consistent structure of
official positions began to develop within the various churches. In
time this structure came to predominate as a primary way for
organizing ecclesial life.
These offices arise in the Church because of the prior presence and
correspondence of ecclesial tasks and charisms of the Holy Spirit.
There are not two separate classes of persons in the Church, the
84
ordained (the clerical) and the non-ordained (the lay). We do, of
course, distinguish between these groups but only from the
perspective of a prior and more fundamental unity. All are gifted
in the Church; all are called to participate in the mission of Christ
by taking up various activities and ministries. So in his reflections
on the vocation and mission of the laity, Pope John Paul remarks
that
the Spirit of the Lord gives a vast variety of charisms,
inviting people to assume different ministries and
forms of service and reminding them, as he reminds
all people in their relationship in the Church, that
what distinguishes persons is not an increase in
dignity\ but a special and complementary capacity
for service.
(CL, #20, emphasis added)
85
one to the other, are thus bound together among themselves.
They all share in a deeply basic meaning: that of being the
manner of living out the commonly shared Christian dignity
and the universal call to holiness in the perfection of love.
They are different yet complementary, in the sense that each
of them has a basic and unmistakable character which sets
each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in
relation to the other and placed at each other's service.
Thus the lay state of life has its distinctive feature in its
secular character. It fulfills an ecclesial service in bearing
witness and, in its own way recalling for priests, women and
men religious, the significance of the earthly and temporal
realities in the salvific plan of God. In turn, the ministerial
priesthood represents in different times and places, the
permanent guarantee of the sacramental presence of Christ
the Redeemer. The religious state bears witness to the
eschatological character of the Church, that is, the straining
towards the Kingdom of God that is prefigured and in some
way anticipated and experienced even now through the vows
of chastity, poverty and obedience.
86
V. THE LAY FAITHFUL’S PARTICIPATION
IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
Readings:
87
The Lay Faithful’s Participation in the
Life of the Church
Reading 16
89
in his or her everyday work
and to direct that work
according to God.
90
and a living instrument of the mission
of the Church itself.
The laity receive from Christ and from the Church
everything that is necessary
to fulfill their vocation.
35. From Christ,
they receive an authentic sense of faith,
an inner voice
which sounds the call of truth,
and the Word of God
which directs this truth.
91
and with courage,
respect,
and above all, charity.
In the end, laypeople should embrace
as fully as possible
what their pastors decide.
In the end,
the Christian layperson must be to the world
what the soul is to the body.
Chistifidelis Laici, 9
92
Who are the Lay Faithful?
9. The Synod Fathers have rightly pointed to the need for a
definition of the lay faithful's vocation and mission in positive
terms, through an in-depth study of the teachings of the Second
Vatican Council in light of both recent documentation from the
Magisterium and the lived experience of the Church, guided as she
is by the Holy Spirit (13).
In giving a response to the question "Who are the lay faithful", the
Council went beyond previous interpretations which were
predominantly negative. Instead it opened itself to a decidedly
positive vision and displayed a basic intention of asserting the full
belonging of the lay faithful to theChurch and to its mystery.
Pius XII once stated: "The Faithful, more precisely the lay faithful,
find themselves on the frontlines of the Church's life; for them the
Church is the animating principle for human society.
93
under the leadership of the Pope, the head of all, and of the
Bishops in communion with him. These are theChurch ..."(16).
95
bringing “holy order” to the world.
Thus, the laity are entrusted with the important job
of ordering the world’s goods
so that all people are cared for
and no one is overlooked.
There is in Christ
complete equality regardless of race,
nationality,
social condition,
and gender.
96
of a faith in things to be hoped for.
97
and from their pastors.
38. Since they need these spiritual goods
to fulfill their call,
such goods are not only a privilege
but a right as well.
In order to receive what they really need,
they must express their needs and wants openly.
They must be attentive
to the direction of the Church
and play a part in providing leadership.
There are even times
when laypeople have a serious obligation
to express their opinions and insights
about the Church.
Their wisdom and knowledge
often arise from valuable life experience.
Such wisdom is to be prized by church leaders.
When laypeople challenge the Church,
it should be through official channels
and with courage,
respect,
and above all, charity.
In the end, laypeople should embrace
as fully as possible
what their pastors decide.
98
to take initiative in their parishes.
Such authentic trust and cooperation
between the laity and their spiritual leaders
holds great potential for the Church:
Laypeople
will take greater ownership in the Church
and gain renewed enthusiasm
for wholehearted cooperation
with their pastors.
The ordained will likewise be better equipped
to make wise decisions
regarding both spiritual and temporal matters.
In the end,
the Christian layperson must be to the world
what the soul is to the body.
--Christifdeles Laici
But among the lay faithful this one baptismal dignity takes on a
manner of life which sets a person apart, without, however,
bringing about a separation from the ministerial priesthood or from
men and women religious. The Second Vatican Council has
99
described this manner of life as the "secular character": "The
secular character is properly and particularly that of the lay
faithful"(29).
The Church, in fact, lives in the world, even if she is not of the
world (cf. Jn 17:16). She is sent to continue the redemptive work
of Jesus Christ, which "by its very nature concerns the salvation of
humanity, and also involves the renewal of the whole temporal
order"(31).
Certainly all the members of the Church are sharers in this secular
dimension but in different ways. In particular the sharing of the lay
faithful has its own manner of realization and function, which,
according to the Council, is "properly and particularly" theirs.
Such a manner is designated with the expression "secular
character"(32).
100
relationships as friends, professionals, members of society,
cultures, etc. However, the Council considers their condition not
simply an external and environmental framework, but as a reality
destined to find in Jesus Christ the fullness of its meaning (35).
Indeed it leads to the affirmation that "the Word made flesh willed
to share in human fellowship ... He sanctified those human ties,
especially family ones, from which social relationships arise,
willingly submitting himself to the laws of his country. He chose
to lead the life of an ordinary craftsman of his own time and
place"(36).
The "world" thus becomes the place and the means for the lay
faithful to fulfill their Christian vocation, because the world itself
is destined to glorify God the Father in Christ. The Council is able
then to indicate the proper and special sense of the divine vocation
which is directed to the lay faithful. They are not called to abandon
the position that they have in the world. Baptism does not take
them from the world at all, as the apostle Paul points out: "So,
brethren, in whatever state each was called, there let him remain
with God" (1 Cor 7:24). On the contrary, he entrusts a vocation to
them that properly concerns their situation in the world. The lay
faithful, in fact, "are called by God so that they, led by the spirit of
the Gospel, might contribute to the sanctification of the world, as
from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties.
Thus, especially in this way of life, resplendent in faith, hope and
charity they manifest Christ to others"(37).Thus for the lay faithful,
to be present and active in the world is not only an anthropological
and sociological reality, but in a specific way, a theological and
ecclesiological reality as well. In fact, in their situation in the
world God manifests his plan and communicates to them their
particular vocation of "seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging
in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of
God"(38).
Precisely with this in mind the Synod Fathers said: "The secular
character of the lay faithful is not therefore to be defined only in a
sociological sense, but most especially in a theological sense.
101
The term secular must be understood in light of the act of God the
creator and redeemer, who has handed over the world to women
and men, so that they may participate in the work of creation, free
creation from the influence of sin and sanctify themselves in
marriage or the celibate life, in a family, in a profession and in the
various activities of society"(39).
The images taken from the gospel of salt, light and leaven,
although indiscriminately applicable to all Jesus' disciples, are
specifically applied to the lay faithful. They are particularly
meaningful images because they speak not only of the deep
involvement and the full participation of the lay faithful in the
affairs of the earth, the world and the human community, but also
and above all, they tell of the radical newness and unique character
of an involvement and participation which has as its purpose the
spreading of the Gospel that brings salvation.
EC. PP. 41-45
103
secular and the sacred, or between laity and clergy, or between the
world and the Church. All of creation is graced, and God is just as
much present in the ordinary experiences of life as in those that are
explicitly religious. The Church is a sign, a sacrament, that makes
manifest and brings to explicit expression what is implicitly
present in all of creation—Gods gracious offer of communion.
105
which is quite legitimate, is to preserve the distinct character of
ordained ministry. In attempting to do so, however, the text
unfortunately seems to question whether any activity of the non-
ordained can properly be referred to as ministry. What must be
understood is that some activities and offices (e.g., lector,
Eucharistic minister, minister of Baptism), which belong properly
to the ordained only, may be delegated, in case of necessity and
then only temporarily, to the non-ordained, while other activities
and roles, which also belong properly to the ordained only (such
as presiding at Eucharist and serving as parish pastor) cannot be
delegated to the non-ordained. But the non-ordained also carry out
many other activities in the Church and in the world that do not
properly belong to the ordained but that represent a participation
in the mission and ministry of Christ and the Church. And many
such activities we commonly refer to as ministries.
Reading 18
25. The lay faithful participate in the life of the Church not only in
exercising their tasks and charisms, but also in many other ways.
106
Such participation finds its first and necessary expression in the
life and mission of the particular Church, in the diocese in which
"the Church of Christ, one, holy, catholic and apostolic, is truly
present and at work" (84).
107
In this sense, the recent Synod has favored the creation of
Diocesan Pastoral Councils, as a recourse at opportune times. In
fact, on a diocesan level this structure could be the principle form
of collaboration, dialogue, and discernment as well. The
participation of the lay faithful in these Councils can broaden
resources in consultation and the principle of collaboration-and in
certain instances also in decision-making - if applied in a broad
and determined manner (87).
Reading 19
The Parish
26. The ecclesial community, while always having a universal
dimension, finds its most immediate and visible expression in the
parish. It is there that the Church is seen locally. In a certain sense
it is the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and
daughters (90).
109
the people in the accustomed expression of liturgical life; to
conserve and renew the faith in thepeople of today; to serve as the
school for teaching the salvific message of Christ; to put solidarity
in practice and work the humble charity of good and brotherly
works" (98).
The Synod Fathers for their part have given much attention to the
present state of many parishes and have called for a greater effort
in their renewal: "Many parishes, whether established in regions
affected by urban progress or in missionary territory, cannot do
their work effectively because they lack material resources or
ordained men or are too big geographically or because ofthe
particular circumstances of some Christians (e.g. exiles and
migrants). So that all parishes of this kind may be truly
communities of Christians, local ecclesial authorities ought to
foster the following: a) adaptation of parish structures according to
the full flexibility granted by canon law, especially in promoting
participation by the lay faithful in pastoral responsibilities; b)
small, basic or so-called "living" communities, where the faithful
can communicate the Word of God and express it in service and
love to one another; these communities are true expressions of
ecclesial communion and centers of evangelization, in communion
with their pastors"(99). For the renewal of parishes and for a better
assurance of their effectiveness in work, various forms of
cooperation even on the institutional level ought to be fostered
among diverse parishes in the same area.
--Chistifidelis Laici
Reading 20
111
If indeed, the parish is the Church placed in the neighborhoods of
humanity, it lives and is at work through being deeply inserted in
human society and intimately bound up with its aspirations and its
dramatic events. Oftentimes the social context, especially in
certain countries and environments, is violently shaken by
elements of disintegration and de-humanization. The individual is
lost and disoriented, but there always remains in the human heart
the desire to experience and cultivate caring and personal
relationships. The response to such a desire can come from the
parish, when, with the lay faithful's participation, it adheres to its
fundamental vocation and mission, that is, to be a "place" in the
world for the community of believers to gather together as a "sign"
and “instrument" of the vocation of all to communion, in a word,
to be a house of welcome to all and a place of service to all, or, as
Pope John XXIII was fond of saying, to be the "village fountain"
to which all would have recourse in their thirst.
Reading 21
Above all, each member of the lay faithful should always be fully
aware of being a "member of the Church" yet entrusted with a
unique task which cannot be done by another and which is to be
fulfilled for the good of all. From this perspective the Council's
insistence on the absolute necessity of an apostolate exercised by
the individual takes on its full meaning: "The apostolate exercised
by the individual-which flows abundantly from a truly Christian
life (cf. Jn 4: 11)--is the origin and condition of the whole lay
apostolate, even in its organized expression, and admits no
substitute.
113
gospel will be particularly incisive, because in sharing fully in the
unique conditions of the life, work, difficulties and hopes of their
sisters and brothers, the lay faithful will be able to reach the hearts
of their neighbors, friends, and colleagues, opening them to a full
sense of human existence, that is, to communion with God and
with all people.
114
them in the Church's mission of carrying forth the Gospel of Christ,
the source of hope for humanity and the renewal of society.
Beyond this, the profound reason that justifies and demands the
lay faithful's forming of lay groupscomes from a theology based
on ecclesiology, as the Second Vatican Council clearly
acknowledged in referring to the group apostolate as a "sign of
communion and of unity of the Church of Christ" (106).
115
First of all, the freedom for lay people in the Church to form such
groups is to be acknowledged. Such liberty is a true and proper
right that is not derived from any kind of "concession" by
authority, but flows from the Sacrament of Baptism, which calls
the lay faithful to participate actively in the Church's communion
and mission. In this regard the Council is quite clear: "As long as
the proper relationship is kept to Church authority, the lay faithful
have the right to found and run such associations and to join those
already existing"(107). A citation from the recently published
Code of Canon Law affirms it as well: "The Christian faithful are
at liberty to found and govern associations for charitable and
religious purposes or for the promotion of the Christian vocation
in the world; they are free to hold meetings to pursue these
purposes in common"(108).
116
In this sense whatever association of the lay faithful there might be,
it is always called to be more of an instrument leading to holiness
in the Church, through fostering and promoting "a more intimate
unity between the everyday life of its members and their
faith"(111).
From this perspective, every one of the group forms of the lay
faithful is asked to have a missionary zeal which will increase their
effectiveness as participants in a re-evangelization.
117
- A commitment to a presence in human society, which in light of
the Church's social doctrine, places it at the service of the total
dignity of the person.
31. The Pastors of the Church even if faced with possible and
understandable difficulties as aresult of such associations and the
process of employing new forms, cannot renounce the service
provided by their authority, not simply for the well-being of the
Church, but also for the well-being of the lay associations
themselves. In this sense they ought to accompany their work of
discernment with guidance and, above all, encouragement so that
lay associations might grow in Church communion and mission. It
is exceedingly opportune that some new associations and
movements receive official recognition and explicit approval from
competent Church authority to facilitate their growth on both the
118
national and international level. The Council has already spoken in
this regard: "Depending on its various forms and goals, the lay
apostolate provides for different types of relationships with the
hierarchy... Certain forms of the lay apostolate are given explicit
recognition by the hierarchy, though in different ways. Because of
the demands of the common good of the Church, moreover,
ecclesial authority can select and promote in a particular way some
of the apostolic associations and projects which have an
immediately spiritual purpose, thereby assuming in them a special
responsibility" (116).
The Pontifical Council for the Laity has the task of preparing a list
of those associations which have received the official approval of
the Holy See, and, at the same time, of drawing up, together with
the Pontifical Council for the Union of Christians, the basic
conditions on which this approval might be given to ecumenical
associations in which there is a majority of Catholics, and
determining those cases in which such an approval is not possible
(118).
All of us, Pastors and lay faithful, have the duty to promote and
nourish stronger bonds and mutual esteem, cordiality and
collaboration among the various forms of lay associations. Only in
this way can the richness of the gifts and charisms that the Lord
offers us bear their fruitful contribution in building the common
house: "For the sound building of a common house it is necessary,
119
furthermore, that every spirit of antagonism and conflict be put
aside and that the competition be in outdoing one another in
showing honour (cf. Rom 12:10), in attaining a mutual affection, a
will towards collaboration, with patience, far-sightedness, and
readiness to sacrifice which will at times be required"(119).
Thus the life of Church communion will become a sign for all the
world and a compelling force that will lead persons to faith in
Christ: "that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me
and Iin you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may
believe that you have sent me" (Tn17:21). In such a way
communion leads to mission, and mission itself to communion.
120
VI. APOSTLES TO EVANGELIZE THE WORLD
Readings:
121
Mission to Communion
Reading 22: Christifideles Laici 32
32. We return to the biblical image of the vine and the branches,
which immediately and quite appropriately lends itself to a
consideration of fruitfulness and life. Engrafted to the vine and
brought to life, the branches are expected to bear fruit: "He who
abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit" (Jn 15:5).
Bearing fruit is an essential demand of life in Christ and life in the
Church. The person who does not bear fruit does not remain in
communion: "Each branch of mine that bears no fruit, he (my
Father) takes away" (Jn 15: 2).
123
In a very clear and significant passage from the Second Vatican
Council we read: "As sharers in the mission of Christ, priest,
prophet and king, the lay faithful have an active part to play in the
lifeand activity of the Church... Strengthened by their active
participation in the liturgical life of their community, they are
eager to do their share in apostolic works of that community. They
lead to theChurch people who are perhaps far removed from it;
they earnestly cooperate in presenting theWord of God, especially
by means of catechetical instruction; and offer their special skills
to make the care of souls and the administration of the temporal
goods of the Church more efficient" (122).
124
The Hour Has Come for a Re-Evangelization
34. Whole countries and nations where religion and the Christian
life were formerly flourishing and capable of fostering a viable
and working community of faith, are now put to a hard test, and
insome cases, are even undergoing a radical transformation, as a
result of a constant spreading of an indifference to religion, of
secularism and atheism. This particularly concerns countries and
nations of the so-called First World, in which economic well-being
and consumerism, even if coexistent with a tragic situation of
poverty and misery, inspires and sustains a life lived "as if God did
not exist". This indifference to religion and the practice of religion
devoid of true meaning in the face of life's very serious problems,
are not less worrying and upsetting when compared with declared
atheism. Sometimes the Christian faith as well, while maintaining
some of the externals of its tradition and rituals, tends to be
separated from those moments of human existence which have the
most significance, such as, birth, suffering and death. In such cases,
the questions and formidable enigmas posed by these situations, if
remaining without responses, expose contemporary people to an
inconsolable delusion or to the temptation of eliminating the truly
humanizing dimension of life implicit in these problems.
125
At this moment the lay faithful, in virtue of their participation in
the prophetic mission of Christ, are fully part of this work of the
Church. Their responsibility, in particular, is to testify how the
Christian faith constitutes the only fully valid response-
consciously perceived and stated by all in varying degrees-to the
problems and hopes that life poses to every person and society.
This will be possible if the lay faithful will know how to overcome
in themselves the separation of the Gospel from life, to again take
up in their daily activities in family, work and society, an
integrated approach to life that is fully brought about by the
inspiration and strength of the Gospel.
This vital synthesis will be achieved when the lay faithful know
how to put the gospel and their daily duties of life into a most
shining and convincing testimony, where, not fear but the loving
pursuit of Christ and adherence to him will be the factors
determining how a person is to live and grow, and these will lead
to new ways of living more in conformity with human dignity.
126
Humanity is loved by God! This very simple yet profound
proclamation is owed to humanity by the Church. Each Christian's
words and life must make this proclamation resound: God loves
you, Christ came for you, Christ is for you "the Way, the Truth
and the Life!" (Jn 14:6).
The lay faithful have their part to fulfill in the formation of these
ecclesial communities, not only through an active and responsible
participation in the life of the community, in other words, through
a testimony that only they can give, but also through a missionary
zeal and activity towards the many people who still do not believe
and who no longer live the faith received at Baptism.
In the case of coming generations, the lay faithful must offer the
very valuable contribution, more necessary than ever, of a
systematic work in catechesis. The Synod Fathers have gratefully
taken note of the work of catechists, acknowledging that they
"have a task that carries great importance in animating ecclesial
communities" (125). It goes without saying that Christian parents
are the primary and irreplaceable catechists of their children, a task
for which they are given the grace bythe Sacrament of Matrimony.
At the same time, however, we all ought to be aware of the
"rights" that each baptized person has to being instructed, educated
and supported in the faith and the Christian life.
127
Go Into the Whole World
35. While pointing out and experiencing the present urgency for a
re-evangelization, the Church cannot withdraw from her ongoing
mission of bringing the gospel to the multitudes--the millions and
millions of men and women--who as yet do not know Christ the
Redeemer of humanity. In a specific way this is the missionary
work that Jesus entrusted and again entrusts each day to hisChurch.
The activity of the lay faithful, who are always present in these
surroundings, is revealed in these days as increasingly necessary
and valuable. As it stands, the command of the Lord "Go into the
whole world" is continuing to find a generous response from
laypersons who are ready to leave familiar surroundings, their
work, their region or country, at least for a determined time, to go
into mission territory. Even Christian married couples, in imitation
of Aquila and Priscilla (cf. Acts 18; Rom 16:3 ff), are offering a
comforting testimony of impassioned love for Christ and the
Church through their valuable presence in mission lands. A true
missionary presence is exercised even by those who for various
reasons live in countries or surroundings where the Church is not
yet established and bear witness to the faith.
128
The Church today ought to take a giant step forward in her
evangelization effort, and enter into anew stage of history in her
missionary dynamism. In a world where the lessening of distance
makes the world increasingly smaller, the Church community
ought to strengthen the bonds among its members, exchange vital
energies and means, and commit itself as a group to a unique and
common mission of proclaiming and living the Gospel. "So-called
younger Churches have need of the strength of the older Churches
and the older ones need the witness and impulse of theyounger, so
that individual Churches receive the riches of other Churches"
(127).
The Synod Fathers have mentioned that the lay faithful can favour
the relations which ought to be established with followers of
various religions through their example in the situations in which
they live and in their activities: "Throughout the world today the
Church lives among people of various religions... All the Faithful,
especially the lay faithful who live among the people of other
religions, whether living in their native region or in lands as
migrants, ought to be for all a sign of the Lord and his Church, in a
way adapted to the actual living situation of each place. Dialogue
among religions has a preeminent part, for it leads to love and
mutual respect, and takes away, or at least diminishes, prejudices
among the followers of various religions and promotes unity and
friendship among peoples"(129).
What is first needed for the evangelization of the world are those
who will evangelize. In this regard everyone, beginning with the
Christian family, must feel the responsibility to foster the birth and
129
growth of vocations, both priestly and religious as well as in the
lay state, specifically directed to the missions. This should be done
by relying on every appropriate means, but without ever
neglecting the privileged means of prayer, according to the very
words of the Lord Jesus: "The harvest is plentiful, but the
labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send
out labourers into his harvest!" (Mt 9:37, 38).
130
For this reason the person "is the primary route that the Church
must travel in fulfilling her mission: the individual is the primary
and fundamental way for the Church, the way traced out by Christ
himself, the way that leads in variably through the mystery of the
Incarnation and Redemption"(133).
131
Among all other earthly beings, only a man or a woman is a
"person", a conscious and free being and, precisely for this reason,
the "center and summit" of all that exists on the earth (135).
The dignity of the person is manifested in all its radiance when the
person's origin and destiny are considered: created by God in his
image and likeness as well as redeemed by the most precious
blood of Christ, the person is called to be a "child in the Son" and
a living temple of the Spirit, destined for the eternal life of blessed
communion with God. For this reason every violation of the
personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God
and is an offence against the Creator of the individual.
132
not only to the dignity of the individual who is the victim of the
injustice, but still more to the one who commits the injustice.
133
and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with
maximum determination.
The Church has never yielded in the face of all the violations that
the right to life of every human being has received, and continues
to receive, both from individuals and from those in authority.
134
the Church stands for life: in each human life she sees the
splendour of that 'Yes', that 'Amen', which is Christ himself (cf. 2
Cor 1:19; Rev 3:14). To the 'No' which assails and afflicts the
world, she replies with this living 'Yes', this defending of the
human person and the world from all who plot against life" (138).
It is the responsibility of the lay faithful, who more directly
through their vocation or their profession are involved in accepting
life, to make the Church's "Yes" to human life concrete and
efficacious.
135
"challenge" posed by new problems in bioethics. The Synod
Fathers used these words: "Christians ought to exercise their
responsibilities as masters of science and technology, and not
become their slaves... In view of the moral challenges presented by
enormous new technological power, endanger ring not only
fundamental human rights but the very biological essence of the
human species, it is of utmost importance that lay Christians with
the help of the universal Church--take up the task of calling culture
back to the principles of an authentic humanism, giving a dynamic
and sure foundation to the promotion and defence of the rights of
the human being in one's very essence, an essence which the
preaching of the Gospel reveals to all (140).
39. Respect for the dignity of the person, which implies the
defence and promotion of human rights, demands the recognition
of the religious dimension of the individual. This is not simply a
requirement "concerning matters of faith", but a requirement that
finds itself inextricably bound upwith the very reality of the
individual. In fact, the individual's relation to God is a constitutive
element of the very "being" and "existence" of an individual: it is
in God that we "live, move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).
Even if not all believe this truth, the many who are convinced of it
have the right to be respected for their faith and for their life-
choice, individual and communal, that flows from that faith. This
is the right of freedom of conscience and religious freedom, the
effective acknowledgment of which is among the highest goods
and the most serious duties of every people that truly wishes to
136
assure the good of the person and society. "Religious freedom, an
essential requirement of the dignity of every person, is a
cornerstone of the structure of human rights, and for this reason an
irreplaceable factor in the good of individuals and of the whole of
society, as well as of the personal fulfilment of each individual. It
follows that the freedom of individuals and of communities to
profess and practice their religion is an essential element for
peaceful human coexistence ... The civil and social right to
religious freedom, inasmuch as it touches the most intimate sphere
of the spirit, is a point of reference for the other fundamental rights
and in some way becomes a measure of them" (141).
The Synod did not forget the many brothers and sisters that still do
not enjoy such a right and have to face difficulties, marginization,
suffering, persecution, and oftentimes death because of professing
the faith. For the most part, they are brothers and sisters of the
Christian lay faithful.
The whole Church is profoundly grateful for this example and this
gift. These sons and daughters give reason for renewing the pursuit
of a holy and apostolic life. In this sense the Fathers at the Synod
have made it their special duty "to give thanks to those lay people
who, despite their restricted liberty, live as tireless witnesses of
faith in faithful union with the Apostolic See, although they may
be deprived of sacred ministers. They risk everything, even life. In
this way the lay faithful bear witness to an essential property of the
137
Church: God's Church is born of God's grace, which is expressed
in an excellent way in martyrdom"(143).
Without doubt, all that has been said until now on the subject of
respect for personal dignity and the acknowledgment of human
rights concerns the responsibility of each Christian, of each person.
However, we must immediately recognize how such a problem
today has a world dimension: in fact, it is a question which at this
moment affects entire groups, indeed entire peoples, who are
violently being denied their basic rights. Those forms of unequal
development among the so-called different "Worlds" were openly
denounced in the recent Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis.
Respect for the human person goes beyond the demands of
individual morality. Instead, it is a basic criterion, an essential
element, in the very structure of society, since the purpose of the
whole of society itself is geared to the human person.
138
always to be viewed both from its meaning of service to the person
founded on the individual's uniqueness and irrepeatibility as well
as on the meaning of service to all people which is inseparable
from it.
The family is the basic cell of society. It is the cradle of life and
love, the place in which the individual "is born" and "grows".
Therefore a primary concern is reserved for this community,
especially, in those times when human egoism, the anti-birth
campaign, totalitarian politics, situations of poverty, material,
cultural and moral misery, threaten to make these very springs of
life dry up. Furthermore, ideologies and various systems, together
with forms of uninterest and indifference, dare to take over the
role in education proper to the family.
139
It is above all the lay faithful's duty in the apostolate to make the
family aware of its identity as the primary social nucleus, and its
basic role in society, so that it might itself become always a more
active and responsible place for proper growth and proper
participation in social life. In such a way the family can and must
require from all, beginning with public authority, the respect for
those rights which in saving the family, will save society itself.
140
Eucharistic Supper, and thus showed herself to be wholly united
around Christ by the bond of charity. So too, in all ages, she is
recognized by this sign of love, and while she rejoices in the
undertakings of others, she claims works of charity as her own
inalienable duty and right. For this reason, mercy to the poor and
the sick, works of charity and mutual aid intended to relieve
human needs of every kind, are held in special honour in the
Church" (148).
141
Precisely in this context various forms of volunteer work which
express themselves in a multiplicity of services and activities
continue to come about and to spread, particularly in organized
society. If this impartial service be truly given for the good of all
persons, especially the most in need and forgotten by the social
services of society itself, then, volunteer work can be considered
an important expression of the apostolate, in which lay men and
women have a primary role.
42. A charity that loves and serves the person is never able to be
separated from justice. Each in its own way demands the full,
effective acknowledgment of the rights of the individual, to which
society is ordered in all its structures and institutions (149).
142
dedicate themselves to the public good of the state and undertake
the burdens of this task" (150).
Public life on behalf of the person and society finds its basic
standard in the pursuit of the common good, as the good of
everyone and as the good of each person taken as a whole, which
is guaranteed and offered in a fitting manner to people, both as
individuals and in groups, for their free and responsible acceptance.
"The political community"--we read in the Constitution Gaudium
et Spes--"exists for that common good in which the community
finds its full justification and meaning, and from which it derives
its basic, proper and lawful arrangement. The common good
embraces the sum total of all those conditions of social life by
which individuals, families, and organizations can achieve more
thoroughly their own fulfilment" (151). Furthermore, public life on
behalf of the person and society finds its continuous line of action
in the defence and the promotion of justice, understood to be a
"virtue", an understanding which requires education, as well as a
moral "force" that sustains the obligation to foster the rights and
duties of each and everyone, based on the personal dignity of each
human being.
143
vision of the relationship between the political community and the
Church, and to distinguish clearly between the activities of
Christians, acting individually or collectively, in their own name
as citizens guided by the dictates of a Christian conscience, and
their activity in communion with their Pastors in the name of the
Church. The Church by reason of her role and competence, is not
identified with any political community nor bound by ties to any
political system. She is at once the sign and the safeguard of the
transcendental dimension of the human person" (152). At the same
time--and this is felt today as a pressing responsibility--the lay
faithful must bear witness to those human and gospel values that
are intimately connected with political activity itself, such as
liberty and justice, solidarity, faithful and unselfish dedication for
the good of all, a simple life-style, and a preferential love for the
poor and the least. This demands that the lay faithful always be
more animated by a real participation in the life of the Church and
enlightened by her social doctrine. In this they can be supported
and helped by the nearness of the Christian community and their
Pastors (153).
The manner and means for achieving a public life which has true
human development as its goal is solidarity. This concerns the
active and responsible participation of all in public life, from
individual citizens to various groups, from labour unions to
political parties. All of us, each and everyone, are the goal of
public life as well as its leading participants. In this environment,
as I wrote in the Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, solidarity "is
not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the
misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary,
it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the
common good, that is to say, to the good of all and of each
individual because we are all really responsible for all" (154).
144
advancement, is peace. The lay faithful cannot remain indifferent
or be strangers and inactive in the face of all that denies and
compromises peace, namely, violence and war, torture and
terrorism, concentration camps, militarization of public life, the
arms race, and the nuclear threat.
The lay faithful in working together with all those that truly seek
peace and themselves serving in specific organizations as well as
national and international institutions, ought to promote an
extensive work of education intended to defeat the ruling culture
of egoism, hate, the vendetta and hostility, and thereby to develop
the culture of solidarity at every level. Such solidarity, in fact, "is
the way to peace and at the same time to development" (156).
From this perspective the Synod Fathers have invited Christians to
reject as unacceptable all forms of violence, to promote attitudes
of dialogue and peace and to commit themselves to establish a just
international and social order (157).
43. Service to society on the part of the lay faithful finds its
essence in the socio-economic question, which depends on the
organization of work. Recently recalled in the Encyclical
Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, is the seriousness of present problems as
they relate to the subject of development and a proposed solution
according to the social doctrine of the Church. I warmly desire to
again refer its contents to all, in particular, to the lay faithful.
The basis for the social doctrine of the Church is the principle of
the universal destination of goods. According to the plan of God
145
the goods of the earth are offered to all people and to each
individual as a means towards the development of a truly human
life. At the service of this destination of goods is private property,
which--precisely for this purpose--possesses an intrinsic social
function. Concretely the work of man and woman represents the
most common and most immediate instrument for the
development of economic life, an instrument that constitutes at
one and the same time a right and a duty for every individual.
To such an end the lay faithful must accomplish their work with
professional competence, with human honesty, and with a
Christian spirit, and especially as a way of their own sanctification
(159), according to the explicit invitation of the Council: "By work
an individual ordinarily provides for self and family, is joined in
fellowship to others, and renders them service; and is enabled to
exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the work of bringing
146
divine creation to perfection. Moreover, we know that through
work offered to God an individual is associated with the
redemptive work of Jesus Christ, whose labour with his hands at
Nazareth greatly ennobled the dignity of work"(160).
147
"factors which go to the refining and developing of humanity's
diverse spiritual and physical endowments. It means the efforts of
the human family to bring the world under its control through its
knowledge and its labour; to humanize social life both in the
family and in the whole civic community through the
improvement of customs and institutions; to express through its
works the great spiritual experiences and aspirations of all peoples
throughout the ages; finally, to communicate and to preserve them
to be an inspiration for the progress of many, indeed of the whole
human race" (162). In this sense, culture must be held as the
common good of every people, the expression of its dignity,
liberty and creativity, and the testimony of its course through
history. In particular, only from within and through culture does
the Christian faith become a part of history and the creator of
history.
148
faithful in her. "The good news of Christ continually renews the
life and culture of fallen humanity; it combats and removes the
error and evil which flow from the attraction of sin which are a
perpetual threat. She never ceases to purify and to elevate the
morality of peoples... In this way the Church carries out her
mission and in that very act she stimulates and makes her
contribution to human and civic culture. By her action, even in its
liturgical forms, she leads people to interior freedom" (164).
149
demands a recognition of all its values, and demands that It be
sustained by more adequate resource materials, both intellectual
and pastoral.
150
VII. THE FORMATION OF THE LAY FAITHFUL
Readings:
151
I. The Formation of the Lay Faithful
Apostolicam Actuositatem28-32
153
for the training of lay ministers,
including academic and formation institutes,
and we applaud this.
We call for even more
and for centers in which the study of theology
can be expanded to include
anthropology,
psychology,
sociology,
and methodology,
all for the better development
of lay ministry.
Exhortation
57. The gospel image of the vine and the branches reveals to us
another fundamental aspect of the lay faithful's life and mission:
the call to growth and a continual process of maturation, of always
bearing much fruit.
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As a diligent vinedresser, the Father takes care of his vine. God's
solicitude is so ardently called upon by Israel, that she prays:
"Turn again, O God of hosts! / Look down from heaven, and see; /
have regard for this vine, / the stock which your right hand has
planted" (Ps 80:15-16). Jesus himself speaks of the Father's work:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch
of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away. And every branch that
does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit" (Jn 15:1-2).
The vitality of the branches depends on their remaining attached to
the vine, which is Jesus Christ:" He who abides in me and I in him
bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5).
In this dialogue between God who offers his gifts, and the person
who is called to exercise responsibility, there comes the possibility,
indeed the necessity, of a total and ongoing formation of the lay
faithful, as the Synod Fathers have rightly emphasized in much of
their work. After having described Christian formation as "a
continual process in the individual of maturation in faith and a
likening to Christ, according to the will of the Father, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit", they have clearly affirmed that the
formation of the lay faithful must be placed among the priorities of
a diocese. It ought to be so placed within the plan of pastoral
action that the efforts of the whole community (clergy, lay faithful
and religious) converge on this goal" (209).
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Discovering and Living One’s Vocation
and Mission
Reading 26: Christifideles Laici, 58
Therefore, in the life of each member of the lay faithful there are
particularly significant and decisive moments for discerning God's
call and embracing the mission entrusted by Him. Among these
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are the periods of adolescence and young adulthood. No one must
forget that the Lord, as the master of the labourers in the vineyard,
calls at every hour of life so as to make his holy willmore precisely
and explicitly known. Therefore, the fundamental and continuous
attitude of the disciple should be one of vigilance and a conscious
attentiveness to the voice of God.
This, then, is the marvelous yet demanding task awaiting all the
lay faithful and all Christians at every moment: to grow always in
the knowledge of the richness of Baptism and faith as well as to
live it more fully. In referring to birth and growth as two stages in
the Christian life the apostle Peter makes the following exhortation:
"Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it
you may grow up to salvation" (1 Pt 2:2).
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from their being members of the Church and citizens of human
society.
The Second Vatican Council has invited all the lay faithful to this
unity of life by forcefully decrying the grave consequences in
separating faith from life, and the gospel from culture: "The
Council exhorts Christians, as citizens of one city and the other, to
strive to perform their earthly duties faithfully in response to the
spirit of the Gospel. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have
here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they
may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities; for they are
forgetting that by faith itself they are more than ever obliged to
measure up to these duties, each according to one's vocation ...
This split between the faith which many profess and their daily
lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our
age"(212).
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Various Aspects of Formation
61. Where are the lay faithful formed? What are the means of their
formation? Who are the persons and the communities called upon
to assume the task of a totally integrated formation of the lay
faithful?
First of all the Church is a teacher, in which the Pope takes the
"primary" role in the formation of the lay faithful. As successor of
Saint Peter, he has the ministry of "confirming his brothers in the
faith", instructing all believers in the essential content of vocation
and mission in light of the Christian faith and membership in the
Church. Therefore, not simply the words coming directly from him,
but also those transmitted by the various departments of the Holy
See call for a lovingand receptive hearing by the lay faithful.
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The Synod Fathers have said that a post-baptismal catechesis in
the form of a catechumenate can also be helpful by presenting
again some elements from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
with the purpose of allowing a person to grasp and live the
immense, extraordinary richness and responsibility received at
Baptism (218). In the formation that the lay faithful receive from
their diocese and parish, especially concerning communion and
mission, the help that diverse members of the Church can give to
each other is particularly important. This mutual help also aids in
revealing the mystery of the Church as Mother and Teacher.
Priests and religious ought to assist the lay faithful in their
formation. In this regard the Synod Fathers have invited priests
and candidates for Orders to "be prepared carefully so that they are
ready to foster the vocation and mission of the lay faithful"(219).
In turn, the lay faithful themselves can and should help priests and
religious in the course of their spiritual and pastoral journey.
63. Formation is not the privilege of a few, but a right and duty of
all. In this regard the Synod Fathers have said: "Possibilities of
formation should be proposed to all, especially the poor, who can
also be a source of formation for all"; and they added: "Suitable
means to help each person fulfill a full, human and Christian
vocation should be applied to formation" (223).
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According to the explicit invitation of the Synod Fathers special
attention ought to be devoted to the local culture in the work of
formation: "The formation of Christians will take the greatest
account of local human culture, which contributes to formation
itself, and will help to discern the value, whether implanted in
tradition or proposed in modern affairs. Attention should be paid
to diverse cultures which can exist in one and the same people or
nation at the same time. The Church, the mother and teacher of
peoples, should strive to safeguard, where the need exists, the
culture of a less numerous people living in large nations when the
situation exists" (224).
First of all, there is the conviction that one cannot offer a true and
effective formation to others if the individual has not taken on or
developed a personal responsibility for formation: this, in fact, is
essentially a "formation of self".
In addition, there is the conviction that at one and the same time
each of us is the goal and principle of formation: the more we are
formed and the more we feel the need to pursue and deepen our
formation, still more will we be formed and be rendered capable of
forming others.
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