We are going to cover three areas what it means to be a Christian as common person or is a more fancier the "laity".
- Apostleship
- Vocation
- Action in the secular world
Apostleship can refer to
different meanings such as an holding a position but for most part
refers to “one sent”. What are we sent to do? According to
“Apostolicam Actuositatem” from Second Vatican Council, its the
duty of teaching, sanctifying and mission. Of course the successors
of the Apostles which are the bishops and through his ordained
priests and other clergy do have a primary role in this but laity are
not excluded.
Before we can “be sent” we need to
have that relationship and understanding of who are being sent from
and that is discipleship or first being a disciple. A disciple is a
key mandate from Jesus. The Greek word for disciple is “mathetes”
which came from “manthanein” meaning to learn. The English word
comes from latin word “discipulus” which is defined that learning
is a process. So with both of these meanings combined and if we are
true followers of Christ, we are committed to a lifelong process of
learning more about God.
Once we are committed to this process
of learning more, it is then we can serve our Lord Jesus Kingdom
which is the Holy Catholic Church; that is to be sent and go out to
share what we continue to learn more about God. Keep in mind we are
not just talking about theology or brainy stuff, we are talking about
also relationship, as stated from Second Vatican:
“Since
Christ, sent by the Father, is the source and origin of the whole
apostolate of the Church, the success of the lay apostolate depends
upon the laity's living union with Christ, in keeping with the Lord's
words, "He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for
without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). This life of
intimate union with Christ in the Church is nourished by spiritual
aids which are common to all the faithful, especially active
participation in the sacred liturgy.(5) These are to be used by the
laity in such a way that while correctly fulfilling their secular
duties in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate union
with Christ from their life but rather performing their work
according to God's will they grow in that union. In this way the
laity must make progress in holiness in a happy and ready spirit,
trying prudently and patiently to overcome difficulties.(6) Neither
family concerns nor other secular affairs should be irrelevant to
their spiritual life, in keeping with the words of the Apostle,
"What-ever you do in word or work, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him"
(Col. 3:17). “
So in other
words, “talk the talk...walk the walk”. It is important that our
relationship with God is through prayer and keeping up with “faith,
hope and charity”. It is then we can truly practice apostleship in
a glorified way and for God's will , and not for our glory or our
will. So through the church, there are many apostleship activities
and Legion of Mary is one of these ways where we go out to evangelize
and conservation of saving souls through door to door, bible studies,
leading in prayer, faith formation, and youth groups, etc.
Vocation
also can mean different things but basically it's utilizing our gifts
or talents that is given to each of us so to lead us to a specific
purpose in life. That purpose links to the two greatest commandments
Jesus reminded and taught us “Love our God with all my heart, soul
and mind and love my neighbor as myself”. So in following these
commandments we strive for holiness and mission to others in this
world.
The Second
Vatican also states: For
the Christian vocation by its very nature is also a vocation to the
apostolate. No part of the structure of a living body is merely
passive but has a share in the functions as well as life of the body:
so, too, in the body of Christ, which is the Church, "the whole
body . . . in keeping with the proper activity of each part, derives
its increase from its own internal development" (Eph. 4:16).
So for us what does this means. As St. Paul noted in 1 Corithians
12:5-7”There
are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;there
are different forms of service but the same Lord;there are different
workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.
To
each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some
benefit. “ .
So vocations
can be different for everyone and also be layered but the same goal,
love and serve God. For example a person can follow the vocation of
marriage by keeping the marriage bond and within that marriage their
vocation is having a large family, raise children as disciples of God
and good citizens as a “domestic church” or their could be a
married couple unable to have children but utilize their love and
service to the church and others with more charity as their vocation.
Same is with a single person deciding to be a priest or nun but
within their vocation of celibacy they can serve a parish, serve the
poor, teach or be a missionary as their sub vocation. All act
differently in some way but have the same nature, similar to how the
Trinity is.
Action in the
secular is fairly simple, it's just simply “doing” or
“fulfilling” what was noted earlier in terms of apostleship and
vocation. However, it's doing it in a environment that is outside
our box. It's one thing and fulfilling your apostleship and vocation
with a parish, it's another to do say in your work place, school,
grocery store, and other secular public events. It's a challenge and
takes grace, which is why we can't do it alone and why we need to go
to mass weekly on Sunday, where we are feed with the Word of God and
the Eucharist, and then follow the priest or deacons words end of the
mass “go forth or go and announce the Gospel of the Lord”.
Actually all of
these points are documented in detail and fairly clear to understand
from Second Vatican Council document, just google “Apostolicam
Actuositatem” which is “Decree of Apostolate of the Laity” .
Keep in mind Frank Duff was one of the few laity to be an observer in
Second Vatican Council.
