Catechetical Corner – The Role and Mission of the Laity

The Apostolate of the Laity

We have seen that the laity, have been gifted by the Holy Spirit with “special gifts” for their participation in the Mission of the Church, but just where do they fit in and what are they supposed to do? The role of the laity is to: “…exercise the apostolate…by their activity directed to the evangelization and sanctification of men and to the penetrating and perfecting of the temporal order through the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, their temporal activity openly bears witness to Christ and promotes the salvation of men. Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ”. (AA 2) What that means is that the laity are called to bring Christian values to every aspect of the world so as to ’Christian-ise’ the world. To ‘penetrate and perfect’ the world. In other words, whatever we do, whatever we work at, where ever we socialise; in every aspect of our lives we are to be as ‘leaven’ in the world. We do not leave our Catholicism at the door of our workplaces. ”[The laity have] only a single conscience, a Christian conscience, it is by this that [they] must be guided continually…” (AA 5) So the role of the laity is not to be a mere spectator or to help father, or to put it more cynically: ‘to pay or pray’, the laity are to be active collaborators in carrying on the mission of the Church and making the Kingdom of GOD a reality in the everyday circumstances of life. But how are they to accomplish such a task? Well “the success of the lay apostolate depends upon the laity’s living union with Christ…This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is nourished by…active participation in the sacred liturgy”. (AA 4) “For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit – indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born – all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord…” (CCC 901). It is in this way that the laity share in the Priestly nature of Christ and thus are rightly called ‘Kingdom Priests’, offering acceptable sacrifices to GOD.

* AA is the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People of the Second Vatican Council