Reflections on the Church - Leonard Iragaba - 11038

Reflection on Role of the Laity in the Church according to Lumen Gentium

Iragaba Leonard Ronald 11038T

“The term ‘laity’ is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious state approved by the Church.” (LG 31) Through their baptism they are incorporated into Christ and belong to the people of God. They share in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Jesus Christ and thus are bears of his mission in the Church and the world (LG 31).

The sanctification of temporal affairs belongs particularly to the laity. Vatican Council II teaches that “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 to God’s will” (LG 31). The council further teaches that the laity “are called by God that, being led by the Spirit of the Gospel they contribute to the sanctification of the world by fulfilling their particular duties (LG 31). Therefore, through the fulfillment of their ordinary duties within their life situation the laity contribute to the establishment of the reign of God.

All the people of God have the same dignity regardless of their state of life and activity. They all share in the common task of building up the body of Christ. The pastors of the Church and the laity are called to practice collaborative ministry. (Cf. LG 32) Through the reception of the sacraments of full Christian initiation all the faithful are endowed with the capacity and duty to give witness to their faith. “The laity, however, are given this special vocation: to make the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it only through them she can become the salt of the Earth” (LG 33). The laity are called upon to work diligently towards equitable sharing of the earth’s resources in accordance with God’s plan and developing just social institutions (Cf. LG 36).

The laity also have a role to play in the ordering of the affairs of the Church. “By reason of the knowledge, competence, or pre-eminence which they have the laity are empowered-indeed sometimes obliged-to manifest their opinion to those things which pertain to the good of the Church” (LG 37). For example those who have knowledge in finance and accounting can help their pastors know how to invest well the resources of the institutions of the Church. However, the faithful should fulfill these duties with prudence and charity towards their pastor and they called upon to obey their pastors (Cf. LG 37).

The laity form a big mass of the people of God and are a valuable force in furthering the kingdom of God. The laity, through cooperation in with their pastors have the capacity to transform the world and order it in accordance with God’s intentionality.  This can be attained if the laity carry out their duties diligently imbued by the spirit of Jesus Christ, and give witness to the world by their lives of faith and hard work.

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THE CALL TO HOLINESS

Iragaba Leonard Ronald

The Church is holy. This holiness is rooted in the fact that “Jesus loved the Church as his bride, giving himself up for her to sanctify her (Cf. Eph 5:25-26); he joined her to himself as his body and endowed with her the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God” (LG 39). All the people of God are called to holiness. “This holiness of the Church is constantly shown forth in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful” (LG 39). As the Spirit acts differently in each individual, the holiness “is expressed in many ways by the individuals who, each in his own state of life, tend to perfection of love, thus sanctifying others” (LG 39). This holiness is manifested in a unique way in those whom the Holy Spirit inspires to practice evangelical counsels (Cf. LG 39).

All the people of God all called to strive to holiness in their situation of life. They are to sanctify their lives through appropriation of the spiritual gifts given to them and through faithful fulfillment of the duties proper to their state of life. The bishops, due their duty as shepherds of the faithful are the primary exemplars of holiness to the faithful (Cf. LG 41). “Called to the fullness of priesthood, they are endowed with sacramental grace, so that by prayer, sacrifice and preaching and through every form of episcopal care and service, they may fulfil the perfect duty of pastoral love” (LG 41). The priests who share in the grace of office of the bishops grow in holiness through the faithful performance of their sacerdotal duties, prayer, keeping the bond of fellowship with other priests, and faithfully cooperating with their bishops. Furthermore, those in other ranks of ministry from the deacons to laymen in full apostolic works should strive to live exemplary lives. The married people are also called to holiness through their love to each other and the performance of their duties towards the education of their children in the faith. Also the widows, single people and those who undertake different secular works are called to holiness through their ordinary situations (Cf. LG 41).

To grow in genuine holiness all the faithful have to grow in the love of God and neighbor. “This is because love […] governs, gives meaning to, and perfects all the means to sanctification” (LG 42). This love is cultivated through listening to the word of God and carrying it out with the help of God’s grace, partaking in the sacraments especially the Eucharist, participating in the liturgy of the Church, constant prayer, self denial, service to neighbor and living a virtuous life (Cf. LG 42). Love is supremely shown by martyrdom. This is a gift given to a few of the faithful (Cf. LG 42). However, all the faithful “must prepare to confess Christ before men and follow him along the way of the cross amidst the persecution which the Church never lacks” (LG 42).

God who is love itself (Cf. Jn. 4:8) is the source of love and holiness. All people are called to grow in love of him and the love of neighbor and consequently grow in holiness. The perfection in holiness is the goal of Christian life and the Church. Life in pursuit of holiness has a bearing on the way one orders his or her life in the world. If all people strive on the way of holiness many evils in the world will be overcome. The religious are to stand as exemplars of holiness in the world.

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Reflection on Religious life in the Light of Lumen Gentium

The goal of the Church is holiness. This Holiness has its source and origin in the Trinity (Cf. LG 47). The quest for holiness of the Church is manifested in special way by some members of the Christian faithful who by grace of God are called to consecrated life. They profess publically the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience in the midst of the Church. According to Lumen Gentium the evangelical counsels have their foundation in the teaching and example of Christ (Cf. LG 43). Indeed the evangelical counsels are “a gift of God which the Church has received from her Lord and which by his grace she always safeguards” (LG 43).

Religious life is marked by the practice of evangelical counsels. “Different religious families have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the progress in holiness of their members and for the good of the entire body of Christ. Members of these families enjoy many helps towards holiness of life” (LG 43). In fact there is need to appreciate assistance we receive in our religious communities. For instance we have ministers to celebrate for us the Eucharist daily, regular recollections and retreats are scheduled in our program, and we have people concerned about our spiritual growth.

Religious life “has its own place in relation to the divine and hierarchical Church” (LG 43). It is a form of life to which some members of the people of God (both lay and clerics) are called to embrace so as to further the mission of the Church (Cf. LG 43). A religious professes the counsels “in order to be set free from hindrances that could hold him back from loving God ardently and worshipping him perfectly, and secondly, in order to consecrate him in a more thoroughgoing way to the service of God” (LG 44).

The religious provide an example to the rest of the faithful. They inspire them to live their Christian life to the full. Religious life shows forth the transience of earthly goods, and imitates Jesus’ earthly life (Cf. LG 44). “Finally this state of life manifests in a special way the transcendence of the kingdom of God and its requirements over earthly things” (LG 44).

The religious are mandated to “see well to it the Church shows forth Christ through them with ever-increasing clarity to believers and unbelievers alike” (LG 46). The light of Christ should shine forth from them attracting all people to Christ. The religious have this capacity of being the light of the world.  Embracing the counsels aids their true development because they contribute greatly to the purification of heart and to spiritual freedom (Cf. LG 46). Furthermore, the religious spiritually cooperate with other people in building the human society focusing this development to Christ as its foundation and goal (Cf. LG 46).

The witness of religious life is needed in the Church. It manifests and contributes to the Church’s goal of perfection in the Lord. All the religious men and women need to realize their novel status and duty in the mission of the Church. They are to show forth a foretaste of the life in union with Christ. I end this article calling upon all the faithful to pray for vocations in religious life.

        

Reflection on the People of God according to Lumen Gentium

Jesus Christ through his paschal mystery instituted the new people of God (LG 9). They are also called a messianic people with Christ as the head, called to love as Christ loved and look forward to the final completion of the kingdom of God inaugurated by God himself (LG 9). The messianic people is missionary in nature, it is “the instrument of salvation of all […] it is sent forth into the whole world” (LG 9).

Through baptism and the anointment with the Holy Spirit, the People of God are a constituted as a priestly people, they share in the priesthood of Christ (Cf. LG 10). “The sacred nature and the organic structure of the priestly community is brought into operation through the sacraments and the exercise of virtues.” (LG 10)

The people of God also participate in the prophetic ministry of Jesus Christ. As prophets they are able to discern God’s will and apply it to themselves and proclaim it to others. “The whole body of the faithful who have an anointing that comes from the holy one (cf. 1Jn. 2:20 and 27) cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown by the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people” (LG 12). Thus through the power of the Holy Spirit the whole people of God always have a force of renewal. They are always guided to uphold the right teaching and praxis.

The people of God also share in the Kingly office of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit “distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church” (LG 12). The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to the faithful for service, not for individual appropriation. Thus Church leader are called upon to discern the genuineness of these gifts and ensure the proper use (Cf. LG 12).

Christians belong to the people of God in varying degrees and non Christians are related to the people of God. “Fully incorporated into the Church are those who, possessing the spirit of Christ and accept all the means of salvation given by the Church together with her entire organization” (LG 14). They are joined bonds of “the profession of the faith, the sacraments and ecclesiastical government and communion” (LG 14). Through the bond of baptism other Christians belong to the people of God though they are not fully incorporated into the Church because of either not professing the Catholic faith in its entirety or not being in communion with the successor of Peter (Cf. LG 15).

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The Mystery of the Church according to Lumen Gentium

IRAGABA LEONARD RONALD 11038T

The Church as a mystery belongs to the reality of divine revelation. That is the revelation of God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.  The Church is prefigured in the history of the relationship of God with the people of Israel and was manifested on the day of the Pentecost day when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’ disciples (Cf. LG 2). Our understanding of the reality of the Church continues to grow through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

“The Church in Christ is in the nature of sacrament – a sign and instrument, that is of communion with God and of unity among all men” (LG 1). The represents the union with God and unity among all people and the same time it is her mission to bring the message of Christ to all people to effect this union.

The Church is bound to the kingdom of heaven which was inaugurated by Jesus Christ. The Church is the germ of the kingdom of God: “she is on earth, the seed and beginning of that kingdom” (LG 5). She is also charged with the “mission of proclaiming and establishing among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God” (LG 5). However, the Church is not identical with the kingdom of Christ and of God because the final completion of the kingdom of God is her goal (Cf. LG 5).

The Church originates fundamentally in Jesus Christ. Through his paschal mystery he redeemed humanity and “by communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every nation” (LG 7). In this body which has Christ as its head, the members are formed into his likeness and enter into communion with him and with each other through sharing in the spiritual gifts and the life of sacraments (Cf. LG 7).

The one Church has both a visible element and an invisible element. The Church is at once, “the visible society and the spiritual community, the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches” (LG 8). “This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless elements of sanctification and truth exist outside its visible confines.” (LG 8) Additionally this Church of Christ is “at once holy and always in need of purification” (LG 8).

The Church as a mystery has divine origin and is sustained in being by God. The Spirit of God and of Jesus Christ guides the Church in the world. The human element of the Church works for the divine. Therefore, while acknowledging the need for the Christians to strive towards building the body of Christ through faith and good works, essentially the Lord is the builder of his body, the Church. The Church will stand the test of time. The history of the Church attests to this reality. The Church has always risen to provide an answer to the needs of the time. Even in the periods where it experience serious internal abuses, the Lord lifted up spirit filled men and women to renew it. Even in the current days as we await the election of a new pope we should live with confidence knowing that the Lord is control of his Church. This is the Church I believe in, cherish, and love.