Aug 26 Sat
Role of the Laity in the Church
Before the Second Vatican Council, some thought that the term “the Church” referred to “the priests.” Some laypeople could also be a part of her, but mostly as second fiddles, organizing the choir, removing the dust from the images, and similar tasks.
When Saint Josemaría preached that all were called to sanctity, precisely in the midst of common activities, he was often misjudged. Soon after, the universal call to sanctity became one of the brightest reminders of the Council.
With the universal Church as the means of salvation established by God, all the faithful are called, each according to his or her particular condition, to exercise the mission which God entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world. [CIC, 204; cf. CCC, 871–873]
Because of this radical unity of God’s people, ALL the faithful share in Christ’s priesthood: the BAPTISMAL (common, or royal) priesthood of all the faithful. And baptism is equal to all (no class A, B, or platinum).
“The laity are … the faithful who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ; …in their personal manner carry on the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.…”
“By reason of their special vocation, it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will. They live in the world, that is, they are engaged in each and every work and business of the earth and in the ordinary circumstances of social and family life, which, as it were, constitute their very existence.” [Vat II, Lumen Gentium, 31; cf. LG, 30–38].
Moreover, Christ wanted for the Church to have a HIERARCHY –to teach, rule, and sanctify–with the power and mission to teach doctrine, guard the deposit of the faith, govern the life of the Church, and administer the sacraments. This is the MINISTERIAL or hierarchical priesthood of those who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood to develop the baptismal grace of all Christians.
Thus, in the Church, there is both a radical equality of dignity (a unity of mission), and a diversity of function among the faithful. Priests and laity are both equally “Christian.” The lay people are not simply “assistants” of the priests; rather, both, priests and lay people, are called to serve Christ and the Church.
The mission of the entire Church and that of the hierarchy are not identical, just as the words Church and hierarchy are not synonymous.
The Church’s mission falls squarely on the shoulders of all her members, while the mission of the hierarchy –a particular aspect of the mission of the Church– is carried out by the members of the hierarchy.
The mission of the laity is not merely a participation in the mission of the hierarchy, but it is a specific participation in the mission of the Church.
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