Lineamenta on the Laity

Synod Lineamenta on the Laity

EMPOWERING THE LAY FAITHFUL

God’s call to the fullness of life is for all. This call to holiness is addressed to the entire people of God. “Thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ in whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”(LG, 40) Every Christian has to strive for this fullness of life “according to his gifts and according to his situation.”(AA, 4) Arguably, all members of the Church share in the common priesthood entrusted to the Church. We are all priests, because we all belong to the people of God which is established in the sacraments of initiation, baptism and confirmation. “Through these sacraments they are made a royal priesthood and a holy people, who can offer everything they do as an act of love for God.”(AA,3) The implication of this common priesthood is the common responsibility of lay people, not only of priests and religious, for the fulfillment of the mission of the Church. This is the common call to the total mission of the Church. “The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on every disciple of Christ according to his ability.”(LG, 17) This obligation is not to make lay faithful act and live like ordained priests and religious in consecrated life thereby losing the distinct character of being lay people. It is to empower the lay faithful to a special form of evangelization and spirituality where their way of life can truly manifest an authentic witness to Christian faith.
The special form of evangelization entrusted to the laity is not primarily to develop the ecclesial community in a particular sense reserved to ordained ministers. It is “to put to use every Christian and evangelical possibility latent but already present and active in the affairs of the world.”(EN, 20) The lay faithful bears witness to God and promotes salvation of the people in accordance with their state of life which is deeply lived within the world. Living in the midst of the world, they are “called by God to burn with the spirit of Christ and to exercise their apostolate in the world as a kind of leaven.” (AA,2) This apostolate can be effectively exercised if the laity had gone through a diversified and thorough formation in the parish through the efforts of the parish priest which the lay people have the right to demand. (AA, 28; LG, 37) The priests, especially the parish priests, are expected to recognize this and to promote the dignity and responsibility of the lay persons in the Church. (LG, 37). The parish pastors have to bear in mind that lay involvement in the apostolate presupposes a well-rounded and in-depth spiritual formation and solid doctrinal formation in theology and philosophy attuned to the laity’s needs and “adjusted to differences of ages, status and natural talents.” (AA, 29) Properly prepared in the apostolate through that formation and well-informed about the contemporary world, the lay person would be active in his own basic Christian community and should gradually learn how to see, judge and act in the light of faith even as he continue to develop himself along with others through active involvement in integral evangelization.

Questions for small group discussions:
1. What do you think are the role, tasks and functions of the lay people in the parish?
2. In concrete sense and in the context of the parish, what is meant by lay empowerment?
3. How can we involve the unchurched and the inactive parishioners in apostolate and mission of the Church?
Synod Lineamenta on the Laity

EMPOWERING THE LAY FAITHFUL

God’s call to the fullness of life is for all. This call to holiness is addressed to the entire people of God. “Thus it is evident to everyone that all the faithful of Christ in whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”(LG, 40) Every Christian has to strive for this fullness of life “according to his gifts and according to his situation.”(AA, 4) Arguably, all members of the Church share in the common priesthood entrusted to the Church. We are all priests, because we all belong to the people of God which is established in the sacraments of initiation, baptism and confirmation. “Through these sacraments they are made a royal priesthood and a holy people, who can offer everything they do as an act of love for God.”(AA,3) The implication of this common priesthood is the common responsibility of lay people, not only of priests and religious, for the fulfillment of the mission of the Church. This is the common call to the total mission of the Church. “The obligation of spreading the faith is imposed on every disciple of Christ according to his ability.”(LG, 17) This obligation is not to make lay faithful act and live like ordained priests and religious in consecrated life thereby losing the distinct character of being lay people. It is to empower the lay faithful to a special form of evangelization and spirituality where their way of life can truly manifest an authentic witness to Christian faith.
The special form of evangelization entrusted to the laity is not primarily to develop the ecclesial community in a particular sense reserved to ordained ministers. It is “to put to use every Christian and evangelical possibility latent but already present and active in the affairs of the world.”(EN, 20) The lay faithful bears witness to God and promotes salvation of the people in accordance with their state of life which is deeply lived within the world. Living in the midst of the world, they are “called by God to burn with the spirit of Christ and to exercise their apostolate in the world as a kind of leaven.” (AA,2) This apostolate can be effectively exercised if the laity had gone through a diversified and thorough formation in the parish through the efforts of the parish priest which the lay people have the right to demand. (AA, 28; LG, 37) The priests, especially the parish priests, are expected to recognize this and to promote the dignity and responsibility of the lay persons in the Church. (LG, 37). The parish pastors have to bear in mind that lay involvement in the apostolate presupposes a well-rounded and in-depth spiritual formation and solid doctrinal formation in theology and philosophy attuned to the laity’s needs and “adjusted to differences of ages, status and natural talents.” (AA, 29) Properly prepared in the apostolate through that formation and well-informed about the contemporary world, the lay person would be active in his own basic Christian community and should gradually learn how to see, judge and act in the light of faith even as he continue to develop himself along with others through active involvement in integral evangelization.

Questions for small group discussions:
1. What do you think are the role, tasks and functions of the lay people in the parish?
2. In concrete sense and in the context of the parish, what is meant by lay empowerment?
3. How can we involve the unchurched and the inactive parishioners in apostolate and mission of the Church?