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Voice of Renewal Working Group
Excerpts from Scripture, Canon Law,
Documents of Vatican II, the New Catholic Encyclopedia '01,
and St. Augustine
Compiled by the Voice of Renewal Working Group
of Voice of the Faithful
(with special thanks to Eleanor McLellan, RSCJ, and Sally Gould)
The following citations were researched by the VOTF Voice
of Renewal/Education Working Group. This group meets every Tuesday evening
(at St. John the Evangelist parish, Wellesley) and is open to everyone
interested in educating ourselves from the perspectives called for in
Vatican II. For more information, please contact Donna Doucette at dbdoucette@yahoo.com.
In the Context of the New Testament
Clearly then, the fruitfulness of the apostolate of lay people depends
on their living union with Christ; as the Lord said himself: "Whoever
dwells in me and I in him bears much fruit, for separated from me you
can do nothing." (John 15, 5)
This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is maintained by
the spiritual helps common to all the faithful, chiefly by active participation
in the liturgy. Only the light of faith and meditation on the Word of
God can enable us to find everywhere and always the God "in whom we live
and exist." (Acts of the Apostles, 17:28)
From Canon Law
Lay members of the Christian faithful can cooperate in the exercise of
this power (of governance) in accord with the norm of the law. (Canon
129 #2)
From the Vatican II Document, "Lumen Gentium"
It is the noble duty of pastors to recognize the services and charismatic
gifts of the laity. Pastors were not meant by Christ to shoulder alone
the entire saving mission of the Church toward the world. ("Lumen Gentium"
#30)
These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted
among the People of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the
priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ: and they carry
out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the
Church and in the world. ("Lumen Gentium" #31)
Throughout this chapter, pains are taken to dispel the common misconception
that the laity are in all respects subject to and dependent upon their
pastors. On the contrary, the Constitution teaches that there is a mutual
relationship of support and dependence between laity and clergy. ("Lumen
Gentium" #32, footnote)
Besides this apostolate which certainly pertains to all Christians, the
laity can also be called in various ways to a more direct form of cooperation
in the apostolate of the Hierarchy (3*). This was the way certain men
and women assisted Paul the Apostle in the Gospel, laboring much in the
Lord. (198) Further, they have the capacity to assume from the Hierarchy
certain ecclesiastical functions, which are to be performed for a spiritual
purpose. ("Lumen Gentium" #33)
Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend
the divine plan of salvation to all men of each epoch and in every land.
Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to
their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate
in the saving work of the Church. ("Lumen Gentium" #33)
Let sacred pastors recognize and promote the dignity as well as the responsibility
of the lay-person in the Church. Let them willingly make use of his/her
prudent advice. Let them confidently assign duties to him/her in the service
of the Church, allowing him/her freedom and room for action. Further,
let them encourage the lay-person so that he/she may undertake tasks on
his/her own initiative. Attentively, in Christ, let them consider with
fatherly love the projects, suggestions and desires proposed by the laity...
A great many benefits are to be hoped for from this familiar dialogue
between the laity and their pastors; in the laity, a strengthened sense
of personal responsibility, a renewed enthusiasm, a more ready application
of their talents to the projects of their pastors. The latter, for their
part, aided by the experience of the laity, can more clearly and more
suitably come to decisions regarding spiritual and temporal matters. In
this way, the whole Church, strengthened by each one of its members, can
more effectively fulfill its mission for the life of the world. ("Lumen
Gentium" #37, inclusive language added)
From the Vatican Document, "Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity"
…the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office
of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole
people of God in the Church and in the world. ("Apostolate of the Laity"
#2)
The apostolate is carried on through the faith, hope and love which the
Holy Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church... From
the reception of these charisms or gifts, including those which are less
dramatic, there arise for each believer the right and duty to use them
in the Church and in the world for the good of humankind and for the upbuilding
of the Church. In doing so, believers need to enjoy the freedom of the
Holy Spirit who "breathes where she wills." (John 3:8) ("Apostolate/Laity"
#3)
The perfect model of this apostolic spiritual life is the Blessed Virgin
Mary, Queen of Apostles... She remained intimately united to her Son and
cooperated in an entirely unique way in the Savior's work. ("Apostolate/Laity"
#4)
The apostolate of the Church aims primarily at announcing to the world
by word and action the message of Christ and communicating to it the grace
of Christ. The principal means of bringing this about is the ministry
of the word and the sacraments. Committed in a special way to the clergy,
it leaves room however for a highly important part for the laity, the
part namely "of helping on the cause of truth" (3 Jn. 8) ("Apostolate/Laity"
#6)
As citizens (lay persons) among citizens they must bring to their cooperation
with others their own special competence, and act of their own responsibility;
everywhere and always they have to seek the justice of the kingdom of
God. ("Apostolate/Laity" #7)
The laity should therefore highly esteem and support as far as they can,
private or public works of charity and social assistance movements, including
international schemes. ("Apostolate/Laity" #8)
As sharers in the role of Christ as priest, prophet, and king, the laity
have their work cut out for them in the life and activity of the Church.
Their activity is so necessary within the Church communities that without
it the apostolate of the pastors is often unable to achieve its full effectiveness.
In the manner of the men and women who helped Paul in spreading the Gospel
(cf. Acts 18:18, 26; Rom. 16:3) the laity with the right apostolic attitude
supply what is lacking to their brethren and refresh the spirit of pastors
and of the rest of the faithful (cf. 1 Cor. 16:17-18). ("Apostolate/Laity"
#10)
The mission of being the primary vital cell of the society has been given
to the family by God himself.... To attain the ends of their apostolate
more easily it can be to the advantage of families to organize themselves
into groups. ("Apostolate/Laity" #11)
Young people exert a very important influence in modern society... The
growth of their social importance demands from them a corresponding apostolic
activity; and indeed their natural character inclines them in this direction...the
young should become the first apostles of the young, in direct contact
with them, exercising the apostolate by themselves, among themselves,
taking account of their social environment. ("Apostolate/Laity" #12)
The apostolate in one's social environment endeavors to infuse the Christian
spirit into the mentality and behavior, laws and structures, of the community
in which one lives. ("Apostolate/Laity #13)
On the national and international planes the field of the apostolate
is vast; and it is there that the laity more than others are the channels
of Christian wisdom. (Apostolate/Laity #13)
Catholics should try to cooperate with all men and women of good will
to promote whatever is true, whatever just, whatever holy, whatever lovable
(cf. Phil. 4:8). They should hold discussions with them, excel them in
prudence and courtesy, and initiate research on social and public practices
which should be improved in line with the spirit of the Gospel. (Apostolate/Laity
#15)
Every lay person, whatever his/her condition, is called to it (individual
apostolate), is obliged to it even if he/she has not the opportunity or
possibility of collaborating in associations…. A special form of the individual
apostolate is the witness of a whole lay life issuing from faith, hope,
and charity; it is a sign very much in keeping with our times. ("Apostolate/Laity"
#16)
The individual apostolate has a special field in regions where Catholics
are few and scattered…. By affording mutual spiritual aid, by friendship
and the exchange of personal experiences, they get the courage to surmount
the difficulties of too isolated a life and activity and can increase
the yield of their apostolate. ("Apostolate/Laity" #17)
The group apostolate is very important also for another reason; often,
either in ecclesial communities or in various other environments, the
apostolate calls for concerted action. Organizations created for group
apostolate afford support to their members, train them for the apostolate,
carefully assign and direct their apostolic activities; and as a result
a much richer harvest can be hoped for from them than if each one were
to act on their own. ("Apostolate/Laity" #18)
The laity can engage in their apostolic activity either as individuals
or together as members of various groups or associations. ("Apostolate/Laity"
#18)
There is a great variety of associations in the apostolate. [4] Some
set before themselves the broad apostolic purpose of the Church; others
aim to evangelize and sanctify in a special way. Some purpose to infuse
a Christian spirit into the temporal order; others bear witness to Christ
in a special way through works of mercy and charity. ("Apostolate/Laity"
# 19)
First among these associations to be given consideration should be those
which favor and promote a more intimate unity between the faith of the
members and their everyday lives...while preserving intact the necessary
link with ecclesial authority, the laity have the right to establish and
direct associations and to join existing ones. ("Apostolate/Laity" #19)
Catholic Action is constituted by the combination of the following:
a) The evangelization and sanctification of men/women and the formation
of their consciences...
b) The laity, cooperating in their own particular way with the hierarchy,
contribute their experience and assume responsibility in the direction
of these organizations.
c) The laity act in unison...
d) The laity act under the superior direction of the hierarchy. ("Apostolate/Laity"
#20)
Proper esteem is to be shown to all associations of the apostolate; those,
however, which the hierarchy has praised, commended... should be valued
most by priests, religious and lay people... ("Apostolate/Laity" #21)
Pastors are to welcome these lay persons with joy and gratitude.... They
should, too, be provided with the necessary training and with spiritual
comfort and encouragement. ("Apostolate/Laity" #22)
The laity must exercise their apostolate both in the Church and in the
world in both the spiritual and temporal orders. ("Apostolate/Laity" #25)
Bishops, pastors of parishes, and other priests of both branches of the
clergy should keep in mind that the right and duty to exercise this apostolate
is common to all the faithful, both clergy and laity, and that the laity
also have their own roles in building up the Church. [3] For this reason
they should work fraternally with the laity in and for the Church and
take special care of the lay persons in these apostolic works. ("Apostolate/Laity"
#25)
The lay apostolate, however, is a participation in the saving mission
of the Church itself. Through their baptism and confirmation, all are
commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord Himself. Moreover, through
the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, there is communicated and
nourished that charity toward God and humankind which is the soul of the
entire apostolate. Now, the laity are called in a special way to make
the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where
only through them can she become the salt of the earth. Thus every lay-person,
by virtue of the very gifts bestowed upon them, is at the same time a
witness and a living instrument of the mission of the Church herself,
"according to the measure of Christ's bestowal." [Eph. 4:7] ("Apostolate/Laity"
#33)
Besides this apostolate which pertains to absolutely every Christian,
the laity can also be called in various ways to a more direct form of
cooperation in the apostolate of the hierarchy.... Consequently, let every
opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the
needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work
of the Church. ("Apostolate/Laity" #33)
From Other Vatican II Documents In the depths of his (her) conscience,
"man" detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds
him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and to avoid evil,
the voice of conscience can when necessary speak to his heart more specifically:
do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by God. To
obey it is the very dignity of man: according to it he will be judged.
[Romans 2:15-16] ("On the Dignity of the Moral Conscience" #16)
The Church has not been truly established, and is not yet fully alive,
nor is it a perfect sign of Christ (in the world) unless there exists
a laity worthy of the name working along with the hierarchy. ("Decree
on the Church's Missionary Activity" #21)
Priests listen to parishioners willingly, recognizing their experience
and competence in different areas of human activity. ("Decree on the Ministry
and Life of Priests" #9)
From an Email Sent to VOTF on 3/18/02 by Svea Fraser, M.Div. All
Councils (the gathering of the bishops of the world) promulgate documents
that are based on Scripture, Patristics (writings of the Church "fathers"),
Tradition and prior documents: Doctrine develops.
The documents of Vatican II (and all church councils) are written in
Latin (the "official" language of the church, but not until after the
conversion of Constantine in 312 AD. Prior to that time it was Greek)
and are named by the initial words in the text. Therefore, the Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church is called "Lumen Gentium" (Light of All Nations).
The Pastoral Constitution is called "Gaudium et Spes" (Joys and Hopes).
Each document is numbered by paragraph. In "Lumen Gentium," authority
is viewed in terms of service rather than domination: 32. Therefore, the
chosen People of God is one: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Ephesians
4:5) As members, they share a common dignity from their rebirth in Christ….
Hence, there is in Christ and in the Church no inequality on the basis
of race or nationality, social condition or sex, because "there is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman; there is neither male
nor female. For you are all 'one' in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
From the Decree On the Bishops' Pastoral Office In the Church:
16.e. (The Bishop) should manifest concern for all.... In exercising this
pastoral care, he should preserve for his faithful the share proper to
them in Church affairs: he should also recognize their duty and right
to collaborate actively in the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ.
17. The forms of the apostolate should be properly adapted to current
needs not only in terms of spiritual and moral conditions, but also of
social, demographic, and economic ones...
From an Email Sent to VOTF on 9/9/02 by Jim Donovan: For those
interested in reading "Lumen Gentium," Vatican II, on the laity, a great
website is found at www.shc.edu/theolibrary/, which is a Web site at the
Jesuit College in Mobile, AL. Just go to the link on "Laity"....
From the New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2001, by Rev. Richard P. McBrien
What one can safely predict is that the hopes of Vatican II will never
be fulfilled without the direct and meaningful involvement of laity in
the life and mission of the Catholic Church.
- Vol. 3, p. 157 - "the mission of the church is not the exclusive preserve
of the laity or hierarchy alone" (Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum)
- Vol. 3, p. 157 - "the laity had particular significance in sessions
that dealt specifically with their vocation and mission." (Seventh General
Assembly, Oct. 1987)
- Vol. 3, p. 158 - "It is proper that lay Christians take an active part
in the interior life of the ecclesial community."
- Vol. 3, p. 263 - "American Catholic Lay Congress last met in Sept. 1893...
Emphasized the interdependence of the clergy and laity within the Church's
structure"
- "Social action (because it) promotes the supreme good of society, the
Kingdom of Jesus Christ" (Pius XI - Stated Phil 4, 3 Laity)
On Laity and Bishop
"What I am for you terrifies me; what I am with you consoles me.
For you I am a bishop; but with you I am a Christian.
The former is a title of duty; the latter, one of grace.
The former is a danger; the latter, salvation."
- St. Augustine
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