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30. Having set forth the functions of the hierarchy, the Sacred
Council gladly turns its attention. to the state of those faithful
called the laity. Everything that has been said above concerning the
People of God is intended for the laity, religious and clergy alike.
But there are certain things which pertain in a special way to the
laity, both men and women, by reason of their condition and mission.
Due to the special circumstances of our time the foundations of this
doctrine must be more thoroughly examined. For their pastors know how
much the laity contribute to the welfare of the entire Church. They
also know that they were not ordained by Christ to take upon themselves
alone the entire salvific mission of the Church toward the world. On
the contrary they understand that it is their noble duty to shepherd the
faithful and to recognize their miniseries and charisms, so that all
according to their proper roles may cooperate in this common undertaking
with one mind. For we must all "practice the truth in love, and so
grow up in all things in Him who is head, Christ. For from Him the
whole body, being closely joined and knit together through every joint
of the system, according to the functioning in due measure of each
single part, derives its increase to the building up of itself in
love".[298]
31. The term laity is here understood to mean all the faithful
except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life
specially approved by the Church. 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.
What specifically characterizes the laity is their secular nature. It
is true that those in holy orders can at times be engaged in secular
activities, and even have a secular profession. But they are by
reason of their particular vocation especially and professedly ordained
to the sacred ministry. Similarly, by their state in life, religious
give splendid and striking testimony that the world cannot be
transformed and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitudes.
But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by
engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan
of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the
secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary
circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of
their existence is woven. They are called there by God that by
exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel
they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a
leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially
by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity.
Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal
affairs it is their special task to order and to throw light upon these
affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then continually
increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the
Redeemer.
32. By divine institution Holy Church is ordered and governed with
a wonderful diversity. "For just as in one body we have many
members, yet all the members have not the same function, so we, the
many, are one body in Christ, but severally members one of
another".[299] Therefore, the chosen People of God is one:
"one Lord, one faith, one baptism"[300]; sharing a common
dignity as members from their regeneration in Christ, having the same
filial grace and the same vocation to perfection; possessing in common
one salvation, one hope and one undivided charity. There is,
therefore, 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 bond nor free: there is
neither male nor female. For you are all 'one' in Christ
Jesus".[301]
If therefore in the Church everyone does not proceed by the same
path, nevertheless all are called to sanctity and have received an
equal privilege of faith through the justice of God.[302] And if
by the will of Christ some are made teachers, pastors and dispensers
of mysteries on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with
regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for
the building up of the Body of Christ. For the distinction which the
Lord made between sacred ministers and the rest of the People of God
bears within it a certain union, since pastors and the other faithful
are bound to each other by a mutual need. Pastors of the Church,
following the example of the Lord, should minister to one another and
to the other faithful. These in their turn should enthusiastically
lend their joint assistance to their pastors and teachers. Thus in
their diversity all bear witness to the wonderful unity in the Body of
Christ. This very diversity of graces, ministries and works gathers
the children of God into one, because "all these things are the work
of one and the same Spirit".[303]
Therefore, from divine choice the laity have Christ for their
brothers who though He is the Lord of all, came not to be served but
to serve.[304] They also have for their brothers those in the
sacred ministry who by teaching, by sanctifying and by ruling with the
authority of Christ feed the family of God so that the new commandment
of charity may be fulfilled by all. St. Augustine puts this very
beautifully when he says: "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 duty; the latter a grace. The former is
a danger; the latter, salvation" [305].
33. The laity are gathered together in the People of God and make
up the Body of Christ under one head. Whoever they are they are
called upon, as living members, to expend all their energy for the
growth of the Church and its continuous sanctification, since this
very energy is a gift of the Creator and a blessing of the Redeemer.
The lay apostolate, however, is a participation in the salvific
mission of the Church itself. Through their baptism and confirmation
all are commissioned to that apostolate by the Lord Himself.
Moreover, by the sacraments, especially holy Eucharist, that
charity toward God and man which is the soul of the apostolate is
communicated and nourished. 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 it become the salt of the
earth [306]. Thus every layman, in virtue of the very gifts
bestowed upon him, is at the same time a witness and a living
instrument of the mission of the Church itself "according to the
measure of Christ's bestowal".[307]
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 [308]. This was the
way certain men and women assisted Paul the Apostle in the Gospel,
laboring much in the Lord.[309] Further, they have the capacity
to assume from the Hierarchy certain ecclesiastical functions, which
are to be performed for a spiritual purpose.
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.
34. The supreme and eternal Priest, Christ Jesus, since he
wills to continue his witness and service also through the laity,
vivifies them in this Spirit and increasingly urges them on to every
good and perfect work.
For besides intimately linking them to His life and His mission, He
also gives them a sharing in His priestly function of offering
spiritual worship for the glory of God and the salvation of men. For
this reason the laity, dedicated to Christ and anointed by the Holy
Spirit, are marvelously called and wonderfully prepared so that ever
more abundant fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all
their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married
and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental
relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of
life, if patiently borne-all these become "spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ".[310] Together with
the offering of the Lord's body, they are most fittingly offered in
the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who
adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God.
35. Christ, the great Prophet, who proclaimed the Kingdom of
His Father both by the testimony of His life and the power of His
words, continually fulfills His prophetic office until the complete
manifestation of glory. He does this not only through the hierarchy
who teach in His name and with His authority, but also through the
laity whom He made His witnesses and to whom He gave understanding of
the faith (sensu fidei) and an attractiveness in speech[311] so
that the power of the Gospel might shine forth in their daily social
and family life. They conduct themselves as children of the promise,
and thus strong in faith and in hope they make the most of the
present,[312] and with patience await the glory that is to
come.[313] Let them not, then, hide this hope in the depths of
their hearts, but even in the program of their secular life let them
express it by a continual conversion and by wrestling "against the
world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of
wickedness.[314]
Just as the sacraments of the New Law, by which the life and the
apostolate of the faithful are nourished, prefigure a new heaven and a
new earth,[315] so too the laity go forth as powerful proclaimers
of a faith in things to be hoped for,[316] when they courageously
join to their profession of faith a life springing from faith. This
evangelization, that is, this announcing of Christ by a living
testimony as well as by the spoken word, takes on a specific quality
and a special force in that it is carried out in the ordinary
surroundings of the world.
In connection with the prophetic function, that state of life which is
sanctified by a special sacrament obviously of great importance,
namely, married and family life. For where Christianity pervades the
entire mode of family life, ala gradually transforms it, one will find
there both the practice and an excellent school of the lay apostolate.
In such a home husbands and wives find their proper vocation in being
witnesses of the faith and love of Christ to one another and to their
children. The Christian family loudly proclaims both the present
virtues of the Kingdom of God and the hope of a blessed life to come.
Thus by its example and its witness it accuses the world of sin and
enlightens those who seek the truth.
Consequently, even when preoccupied with temporal cares, the laity
can and must perform a work of great value for the evangelization of the
world. For even if some of them have to fulfill their religious duties
on their own, when there are no sacred ministers or in times of
persecution; and even if many of them devote all their energies to
apostolic work; still it remains for each one of them to cooperate in
the external spread and the dynamic growth of the Kingdom of Christ in
the world. Therefore, let the laity devotedly strive to acquire a
more profound grasp of revealed truth, and let them insistently beg of
God the gift of wisdom.
36. Christ, becoming obedient even unto death and because of this
exalted by the Father,[317] entered into the glory of His
kingdom. To Him all things are made subject until He subjects
Himself and all created things to the Father that God may be all in
all.[318] Now Christ has communicated this royal power to His
disciples that they might be constituted in royal freedom and that by
true penance and a holy life they might conquer the reign of sin in
themselves.[319] Further, He has shared this power so that
serving Christ in their fellow men they might by humility and patience
lead their brethren to that King for whom to serve is to reign. But
the Lord wishes to spread His kingdom also by means of the laity,
namely, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace,
a kingdom of justice, love and peace [320]. In this kingdom
creation itself will be delivered from its slavery to corruption into
the freedom of the glory of the sons of God.[321] Clearly then a
great promise and a great trust is committed to the disciples: "All
things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is
God's"[322]
The faithful, therefore, must learn the deepest meaning and the value
of all creation, as well as its role in the harmonious praise of God.
They must assist each other to live holier lives even in their daily
occupations. In this way the world may be permeated by the spirit of
Christ and it may more effectively fulfill its purpose in justice,
charity and peace. The laity have the principal role in the overall
fulfillment of this duty. Therefore, by their competence in secular
training and by their activity, elevated from within by the grace of
Christ, let them vigorously contribute their effort, so that created
goods may be perfected by human labor, technical skill and civic
culture for the benefit of all men according to the design of the
Creator and the light of His Word. May the goods of this world be
more equitably distributed among all men, and may they in their own way
be conducive to universal progress in human and Christian freedom. In
this manner, through the members of the Church, will Christ
progressively illumine the whole of human society with His saving
light.
Moreover, let the laity also by their combined efforts remedy the
customs and conditions of the world, if they are an inducement to sin,
so that they all may be conformed to the norms of justice and may favor
the practice of virtue rather than hinder it. By so doing they will
imbue culture and human activity with genuine moral values; they will
better prepare the field of the world for the seed of the Word of
God; and at the same time they will open wider the doors of the
Church by which the message of peace may enter the world.
Because of the very economy of salvation the faithful should learn how
to distinguish carefully between those rights and duties which are
theirs as members of the Church, and those which they have as members
of human society. Let them strive to reconcile the two, remembering
that in every temporal affair they must be guided by a Christian
conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity
which can be withdrawn from God's dominion. In our own time,
however, it is most urgent that this distinction and also this harmony
should shine forth more clearly than ever in the lives of the faithful,
so that the mission of the Church may correspond more fully to the
special conditions of the world today. For it must be admitted that
the temporal sphere is governed by its own principles, since it is
rightly concerned with the interests of this world. But that ominous
doctrine which attempts to build a society with no regard whatever for
religion, and which attacks and destroys the religious liberty of its
citizens, is rightly to be rejected [323].
37. The laity have the right, as do all Christians, to receive in
abundance from their spiritual shepherds the spiritual goods of the
Church, especially the assistance of the word of God and of the
sacraments [324]. They should openly reveal to them their needs and
desires with that freedom and confidence which is fitting for children
of God and brothers in Christ. They are, by un of tho knowledge,
competence or outstanding ability which they may enjoy, permitted and
sometimes even obliged to express their opinion on those things which
concern the good of the Church [325]. When occasions arise, let
this be done through the organs erected by the Church for this
purpose. Let it always be done in truth, in courage and in prudence,
with reverence and charity toward those who by reason of their sacred
office represent the person of Christ.
The laity should, as all Christians, promptly accept in Christian
obedience decisions of their spiritual shepherds, since they are
representatives of Christ as well as teachers and rulers in the
Church. Let them follow the example of Christ, who by His
obedience even unto death, opened to all men the blessed way of the
liberty of the children of God. Nor should they omit to pray for
those placed over them, for they keep watch as having to render an
account of their souls, so that they may do this with joy and not with
grief.[326]
Let the spiritual shepherds recognize and promote the dignity as well
as the responsibility of the laity in the Church. Let them willingly
employ their prudent advice. Let them confidently assign duties to
them in the service of the Church, allowing them freedom and room for
action. Further, let them encourage lay people so that they may
undertake tasks on their own initiative. Attentively in Christ, let
them consider with fatherly love the projects, suggestions and desires
proposed by the laity.[327] However, let the shepherds
respectfully acknowledge that just freedom which belongs to everyone in
this earthly city
A great many wonderful things are to be hoped for from this familiar
dialogue between the laity and their spiritual leaders: in the laity a
strengthened sense of personal responsibility; a renewed enthusiasm; a
more ready application of their talents to the projects of their
spiritual leaders. The latter, on the other hand, aided by the
experience of the laity, can more clearly and more incisively come to
decisions regarding both spiritual and temporal matters. In this way,
the whole Church, strengthened by each one of its members, may more
effectively fulfill is mission for the life of the world.
38. Each individual layman must stand before the world as a witness
to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus and a symbol of the
living God. All the laity as a community and each one according to
his ability must nourish the world with spiritual fruits.[328]
They must diffuse in the world that spirit which animates the poor,
the meek, the peace makers-whom the Lord in the Gospel proclaimed as
blessed.[329] In a word, "Christians must be to the world what
the soul is to the body."[330]
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