The Lay Person and his Christian Vocation in the Teaching of Pope John Paul II (original) (raw)
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contemplation or the works of the apostolate, for Societies of Apostolic Life, for Secular Institutes and for other groups of consecrated persons as well as for all those individuals who, in their inmost hearts, dedicate themselves to God by a special consecration. The Synod was a tangible sign of the universal extension of the consecrated life present in the local Churches throughout the world. The consecrated life inspires and accompanies the spread of evangelization in the different parts of the world, where Institutes from abroad are gratefully welcomed and new ones are being founded in a great variety of forms and expressions. Consequently, although in some parts of the world Institutes of Consecrated Life seem to be experiencing a period of difficulty, in other places they are prospering with remarkable vitality. This shows that the choice of total self-giving to God in Christ is in no way incompatible with any human culture or historical situation. Nor is the consecrated life flourishing within the Catholic Church alone. In fact it is particularly vibrant in the monasticism of the Orthodox Churches, where it is an essential feature of their life. It is also taking root or reemerging in the Churches and Ecclesial Communities which originated in the Reformation and is the sign of a grace shared by all of Christ's disciples. This fact is an incentive to ecumenism, which fosters the desire for an ever fuller communion between Christians "that the world may believe" (Jn. 17:21). The consecrated life: a gift to the Church 3. Its universal presence and the evangelical nature of its witness are clear evidence-if any were needed-that the consecrated life , but a reality which affects the whole Church. The Bishops at the Synod frequently reaffirmed this: "" ("this is something which concerns us all").[1] In effect, as a decisive element for her mission, since it "manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling"[2] and the striving of the whole Church as Bride toward union with her one Spouse.[3] At the Synod it Digital Printed in Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Province, OP VITA CONSECRATA 4 was stated on several occasions that the consecrated life has not only proved a help and support for the Church in the past, but is also a precious and necessary gift for the present and future of the People of God, since it is an intimate part of her life, her holiness and her mission.[4] The present difficulties which a number of Institutes are encountering in some parts of the world must not lead to a questioning of the fact that the profession of the evangelical counsels is <an integral part of the Church's life> and a muchneeded incentive toward ever greater fidelity to the Gospel[5] The consecrated life may experience further changes in its historical forms, but there will be no change in the substance of a choice which finds expression in a radical gift of self for love of the Lord Jesus and, in him, of every member of the human family. , which has inspired countless individuals in the course of the centuries, , for they know that they can draw from the contribution of these generous souls powerful support on their journey toward the heavenly home. Gathering fruits of the Synod 4. In response to the desire expressed by the ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops which met to discuss the theme "The Consecrated Life and Its Mission in the Church and in the World," I intend to set forth in this Apostolic Exhortation the results of the Synod process[6] and to point out to all the faithful-Bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and laity, and to any others who might be interested-the wondrous things which today too the Lord wishes to accomplish through the consecrated life. This Synod, coming after the ones dedicated to the lay faithful and to priests, completes the treatment of the distinctive features of the states of life willed by the Lord Jesus for his Church. Whereas the Second Vatican Council emphasized the profound reality of ecclesial communion, in which all gifts converge for the building up of the Body of Christ and for the Church's mission in the world, in values of monastic life>,[10] which appeared at the dawn of Christianity and which still flourishes in their territories, especially in the Orthodox Churches. From the first centuries of the Church, men and women have felt called to imitate the Incarnate Word, who took on the condition of a servant. They have sought to follow him by living in a particularly radical way, through monastic profession, the demands flowing from baptismal participation in the Paschal Mystery of his Death and Resurrection. In this way, by becoming bearers of the Cross (), they have striven to become bearers of the Spirit (), authentically spiritual men and women capable of endowing history with hidden fruitfulness by unceasing praise and intercession, by spiritual counsels and works of charity. In its desire to transfigure the world and life itself in expectation of the definitive vision of God's countenance, Eastern monasticism gives pride of place to conversion, self-renunciation and compunction of heart, the quest for , or interior peace, ceaseless prayer, fasting and vigils, spiritual combat and silence, Paschal joy in the presence of the Lord and the expectation of his definitive coming, and the oblation of self and personal possessions, lived in the holy communion of the monastery or in the solitude of the hermitage.[11] The West too from the first centuries of the Church has practiced the monastic life and has experienced a great variety of expressions of it, both cenobitic and eremetical. In its present form, inspired above all by St. Benedict, Western monasticism is the heir of the great number of men and women who, leaving behind life in the world, sought God and dedicated themselves to him, "preferring nothing to the love of Christ."[12] The monks of today likewise strive to in the evangelical commitment to conversion of life, obedience and stability, and in persevering dedication to meditation on God's word (), the celebration of the Liturgy and prayer. In the heart of the Church and the world, monasteries have been and continue to be eloquent signs of communion, welcoming abodes for those seeking God and the things of the spirit, schools of Digital Printed in Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Province, OP VITA CONSECRATA 7 faith and true places of study, dialogue and culture for the building up of the life of the Church and of the earthly city itself in expectation of the heavenly city. The Order of Virgins; hermits and widows 7. It is a source of joy and hope to witness in our time a new flowering of , known in Christian communities ever since apostolic times.[13] Consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, these women acquire a particular link with the Church, which they are committed to serve while remaining in the world. Either alone or in association with others, they constitute when the Church will at last fully live her love for Christ the Bridegroom. , belonging to ancient orders or new Institutes or being directly dependent on the Bishop, bear witness to the passing nature of the present age by their inward and outward separation from the world. By fasting and penance, they show that man does not live by bread alone but by the word of G o d ( c f . M t . 4 : 4 ) . S u c h a l i f e " i n t h e d e s e r t " i s a n i n v i t a t i o n t o t h e i r contemporaries and to the ecclesial community itself , which is to be always with the Lord. Again being practiced today is the consecration of ,[14] known since apostolic times (cf. 1 Tm. 5:5, 9-10; 1 Cor. 7:8), as well as the consecration of widowers. These women and men, through a vow of perpetual chastity as a sign of the Kingdom of God, consecrate their state of life in order to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the Church. Institutes completely devoted to contemplation 8. Institutes completely devoted to contemplation, composed of either women or men, are for the Church a reason for pride and a source of heavenly graces. By their lives and mission, the members of these Institutes imitate Christ in his Digital Printed in Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Province, OP VITA CONSECRATA 8 prayer on the mountain, bear witness to God's lordship over history and anticipate the glory which is to come. In solitude and silence, by listening to the word of God, participating in divine worship, personal asceticism, prayer, mortification and the communion of fraternal love, they direct the whole of their lives and all their activities to the contemplation of God. In this way they offer the ecclesial community a singular testimony of the Church's love for her Lord, and they contribute, with hidden apostolic fruitfulness, to the growth of the People of God.[15] Thus there is good reason to hope that the different forms of contemplative life will experience as an evident sign that the Gospel has taken firm root, especially in those areas of the world where other religions predominate. This will make it possible to bear witness to the vitality of the traditions of Christian asceticism and mysticism, and will contribute to interreligious dialogue.[16] Apostolic Religious Life 9. The West has also known down the centuries a variety of other expressions of religious life in which countless persons, renouncing the world, have consecrated themselves to God through the public profession of the evangelical...
Illustrating the theme of laity today, more than fifty years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, after the constitution Lumen Gentium, the decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, Paul VI's exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, John Paul II's Christifideles laici and Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium, is a significant opportunity. Already some theologians of the Nouvelle Théologie such as Congar , lay people such as Guitton , other theologians such as Philips , and the pontifical magisterium itself with Pius XI , had drawn attention to the need on the part of pastors to help the lay Christian faithful to grow and mature in their awareness of their vocation and mission. The teaching of John Paul II in Christifideles Laici, made a synthesis by identifying in the binomial vocation - mission, the key to retaining the decisive factors proper to the historical development of the theology of the laity .
E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 2020
The nature and the missionary role of the laity in the church is one of the issues currently vital to the church and theologians. From the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) perspective, the word laity is technically understood to mean all the faithful except those in holy orders and those in the state of religious life specially approved by the Catholic Church (LG31). These faithful are by baptism made one with Christ and constitute the People of God; they are sharers in the priestly, prophetic 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. However, the distinction between the ordained and the lay is a real one. A great deal of attention has been paid to the ordained ministry of the Church, its nature, its authority and its functions. The laity tends, by way of contrast, to be taken very much for granted, as though in their case no special problems arise. This study discusses the nature...
Declared on December 30, 1988, post-synodal apostolic exhortation of Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici proclaims the vocation and mission entrusted to the lay faithful through emphasizing their duties which they received at Baptism. In this paper, it will be analyzed how this exhortation considers these responsibilities and especially the role and status of the lay women faithful in the fulfillment of the mission in the Church. In the first part, it will be introduced dignity, communion and mission, and secular character of the life of the lay faithful in tandem with each other. In the second part, it will be mentioned the duties which are expected to be performed by whole of the lay faithful. In the third part, it will be examined thoroughly how the perception of women and the particular role and status given to the lay women are in terms of their participation into the vocation.
THE SPIRITUALITY OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II
The path to personal union with God is unique for each person, the result not only of spiritual formation but also of the experiences of one’s individual life and the culture in which one was formed. In an attempt to better understand who John Paul II was as a person and what made him a saint, this article examines those things that had the greatest impact on the formation of the inner life of the soul of Saint John Paul II: the trauma of World War II, the unique and intensely lived Catholic culture in which he grew up, the roots of his Marian spirituality and the spiritual writers who had the greatest impact on his spiritual formation, only to name a few. Its intent is not to address his teachings and philosophy but rather will illuminate the inner spirituality that underpinned and influenced his later teachings as pope.
Performing Christ: The Theological Vocation of Lay People
Ecclesiology, 2013
The development of secular institutions has led to the widespread assumption, even among Christians, that the Church is itself one more institution. There is to this a corresponding privatisation of piety and a depoliticization of the church and of the theologian. The church, however, is not primarily an institution. It is first of all the primordial fellowship of the body of Christ. Seen this way, a renewed emphasis is placed on the full distribution of ministries, in which every lay member bears a part. The church is ‘made to appear’ through the exercise of these roles within the body of Christ. This ‘labour’ is nothing less than the performance of Christ within the other social bodies to which Christians belong. This performance makes every Christian a theologian. The lay Christian is particularly well placed to exemplify a theology that is worked out in action and behaviour as well as words.
The Universal Work of the Holy Spirit in the Missiology of Pope John Paul II
Irish Theological Quarterly, 2012
This article examines John Paul II's understanding of the universal work of the Holy Spirit and the possible salvific role of other religions. It examines various critiques of his thought on these questions and concludes that, for him, the work of the Holy Spirit is never separated from the work of Christ. It maintains that, for John Paul II, there is no salvation apart from Christ, the Holy Spirit is working in every human heart, there are spiritual riches in other religions through which God can influence people, these 'seeds of the Word' are preparations for the fullness of the Gospel, and the Church plays a necessary role in mediating salvation to all. Dialogue with other religions and respect for their spiritual riches are not opposed to evangelization; rather, such dialogue and respect are expressions of evangelization.
The Catechist in the Community of the Church — a Witness of Faith and a Mistagogue
Roczniki Teologiczne
English translation. The original article can be found here While establishing the lay ministry of the catechist, Pope Francis expressed his hope that, as was the case in Christian antiquity, the catechist—because of the tasks entrusted to him—would be simultaneously a witness of faith, a master and a mystagogue, a companion and an educator who teaches on behalf of the Church. The aim of this article is to highlight the mystagogical dimension of the education of catechists preparing to enter the ministry in parish communities, and to present the related directions of pastoral activities carried out in the Church of Katowice as part of the Archdiocesan Centre for Pastoral Formation. The main research problem concerns the nature of the formation of catechists serving in parish communities and their specific competences. The study uses the methods of analysis and synthesis. The analysis of catechetical documents, carried out in the light of chronologically (sequentially) complementary ...
Priests, Prophets, and Kings: The Mission of the Church According to John Paul II
Irish Theological Quarterly, 2012
Pope John Paul II understood the mission of the Church to be a participation in the priestly, prophetic, and royal mission of Christ. This essay follows the development of this understanding from his time as Archbishop of Cracow though to Evangelium vitae. It examines, in particular, evangelization and its relationship to the threefold mission. It traces its development through his integration of the teaching of Lumen gentium on the threefold office of Christians and the teaching on evangelization in Evangelii nuntiandi. Noting that the Lineamenta of the Synod on New Evangelization makes little reference to the threefold office, it, finally, offers some ideas as to how we might develop our understanding of the threefold mission and apply it to 'new evangelization.'