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 HE
Decree On The Apostolate Of Lay People gives a
deep impression of the high regard and expectations of the
Second Vatican Council Fathers for the laity of our Church.
If anything, we might be a little surprised at the Council's
expectations of the 'person in the pew'. This is especially
evident in the article dealing with "The Spirituality Of Lay
People" (#4).
 This
section of the Decree first offered instruction for living a
holy Christian life, reminding the faithful that the life we
have is hidden with Christ in
God. (Col 3:3) We are therefore to rid ourselves of
all spite, deceit, hypocrisy, envy,
and carping criticism. (1 Pet 2:4) We are exhorted to
do good to all, especially to our brothers in the faith.
(Gal 6:10)
Lay
spirituality will be determined by the lay person's state of
life (married, single lay, religious, or priest), state of
health, and from our professional and social activity.
Regardless of our circumstances, we must cultivate the
talents (personal gifts of the Holy Spirit) God has given
us. We "should also hold in high esteem professional
competence, family and civic sense, and the virtues related
to social behaviour such as honesty, sense of justice,
sincerity, courtesy, and moral courage; without them there
is no true Christian life." The Council directs us to make
our own the spirituality of the Church-approved associations
to which we belong. We are not to ignore the spiritual life
of these bodies but "adopt" it as much as possible for
ourselves.
The
Decree cited some very strong sayings of our Lord; passages
that the laity were not used to hearing quoted in their
regard. The laity are to "strive... to please God rather
than men, always ready to abandon everything for Christ."
The Council Bishops asked us to read Luke 14:26:
If anyone comes to me without turning
his back on his father and mother, his wife and his
children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he
cannot be my follower. We are to endure persecution
in the cause of right (Mt 5:10) and to remember Jesus's
saying, If any man wants to come my
way let him renounce self and take up his cross and follow
me. (Mt 16:24)
St. Paul's View of the Laity
The
Council was simply following the earliest traditions of the
Church in the Decree. St. Paul, for example, understood the
demands of the Gospel upon the people of God. He made this
statement to the Corinthians. People
should think of us as Christ's servants, stewards entrusted
with the mysteries of God. In such a matter, what is
expected of stewards is that each one would be found
trustworthy. (1 Cor 4:1-2 NJB) St. Paul was reminding
a dissenting faction of the Corinthian Church that he was
indeed an apostle entrusted with the mysteries of God.
Repeatedly, St. Paul used himself as a model of Christian
maturity, a true image of the good steward. St. Paul's
reference to trustworthiness alluded to an Old Testament
proverb (20:6), Many describe
themselves as people of faithful love, but who can find
someone really to be trusted? Some of the
Corinthians certainly viewed themselves as people of
faithful love. Paul asked them to produce some evidence of
it. He could produce evidence; he contrasted in detail his
constant sufferings with their comfortable lives. (see 1 Cor
4:10-13; 9:19) Here was a witness to give even the harshest
critic pause for reflection. In all his sufferings, Paul
proved unwavering and reliable - completely trustworthy.
In
a subsequent letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul explained
the reason for his constancy in suffering. Jesus's own life
could flow unobstructed and unobscured through such a
vessel.
We
hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the
immensity of the power is God's and not our own.... Always
we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the
life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body. Indeed,
while we are still alive, we are continually being handed
over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh. In us, then,
death is at work; in you, life. (2 Cor 4:7-12)
What Are the Conditions For Trustworthy
Stewardship?
We
need hearts of love, purity, obedience, and zeal.
And as Christ's truth is in me, this
boast of mine is not going to be silenced in the regions of
Achaia. Why should it be? Because I do not love you? God
knows that I do.... There is one thing that we are proud of,
namely our conscientious conviction that we have always
behaved towards everyone, and especially towards you, with
that unalloyed holiness that comes from God.... I have
worked with unsparing energy, for many nights without
sleep.... (2 Cor 1:12; 11:10,11,27)
In fact, preaching the gospel gives me
nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion and I should
be in trouble if I failed to do it. If I did it on my own
initiative I would deserve a reward; but if I do it under
compulsion I am simply accepting a task entrusted to
me. (1 Cor 9:16,17) Especially noteworthy is the fact
that St. Paul expected the Corinthians to live the same
level of dedication to Christ as he did.
Take me as your pattern, just as I
take Christ as mine. (1 Cor 11:1) Could he be
serious?
Very
serious, indeed. He in fact complained to the Corinthians
that he still needed to feed them milk instead of solid
food. We must remember that it had been only about six years
since he first preached the Gospel in Corinth, and he
already expected them to be living mature Christian lives!
Do our expectations for spiritual growth more resemble the
Corinthians' than Paul's? Could it be that spiritual
leadership will elude us until we undergo the same
initiation that St. Paul endured? If we desire to dispense
mysteries as Paul did - and all members of Christ's mystical
body have this call (see Eph 1:9) - we must be just as
reliable in the work. Such by God's
mercy is our ministry, and therefore we do not
waver.... (2 Cor 3:17-4:1)
Toward the Twenty-First Century
Our
Holy Father, John Paul II, calls for a great preparation as
the Jubilee Year 2000 draws near. His call is as much a
prophecy as an appeal: the Church will be set on fire in
the Third Millennium. There is no time for indifference
during the few years left in this century. Now is the time
to become good stewards of the mysteries. St. Paul
considered five years more than enough time to complete our
initiation.
The Laity and Our Lady
The
Council Fathers ended Article #4 of the Decree in the same
way that marks many of John Paul II's encyclicals, by
reminding us that the "perfect model of this apostolic
spiritual life is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of
Apostles." Her life on earth was like any other; "always,
however, she remained intimately united to her Son and
cooperated in an entirely unique way in the Saviour's
work.... Everyone should have a genuine devotion to her and
entrust his life to her motherly care." By including the
life and ministry of the laity in the life and work of our
Blessed Mother, the Council expresses with finality the
fundamental place, dignity, and purpose of the laity in the
Church and in the world.
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