May 9 Tue
 “The basic characteristic of the development of the laity is new awareness of the dignity of the Christian vocation. God’s call, the character conferred by Baptism, and grace, mean that every Christian can and should be a living expression of the faith. Every Christian should be ‘another Christ, Christ himself,’ present among men.” [St Josemaría]

St. Josemaría’s message entails a deep understanding of Baptism as a personal call from God, that is, as a vocational path. This focus makes it easier to understand the vocation proper to the lay faithful, as a specific way of contributing to the Church’s holiness and apostolate. Thus, the specific vocation to Opus Dei brings with it a commitment to respond personally to the call to holiness in ordinary life, and to spread the awareness of this universal call. Incorporation in Opus Dei requires a divine vocation; it is not simply an association resulting from the will of the person involved.

Understanding this specific vocation in the Church requires appreciating the vocation and mission of the laity, which “brings with it a deeper awareness of the Church as a community made up of all the faithful, where all share in one and the same mission, which each should fulfill according to their personal circumstances.” To foster awareness of the lay vocation, a new pastoral approach is needed, “aimed at discovering the presence in the midst of the People of God of the charism of holiness and apostolate, in the infinitely varied forms in which God bestows it.” This, in turn, requires the organic cooperation of the lay faithful with priestly ministers.

This renewed program, is needed, “calling for the supernatural gift of discernment of spirits, for sensitivity towards the things of God, and for the humility of not imposing personal preference upon others, and of seconding the inspirations which God arouses in souls. In a word: it means loving the rightful freedom of the sons of God who find Christ, and become bearers of Christ, while following paths which are very diverse but which are all equally divine.”