Pope Paul VI
Chapter Two
What Is Our Purpose?
Lay Catholics of a certain age grew up thinking their purpose in the Church, and perhaps in life, was to “pray, pay, and obey.” However, Jesus had a much larger role in mind for us. So did many of our Church leaders down through the ages. We might not have heard about their vision for us in childhood catechism classes because it concerns how we function as adults. But since we are now adults, we should consider it.
At Vatican II, the council fathers addressed this issue as soon as they addressed the meaning of baptism. Quoting 1 Peter 2:9, they wrote that baptism makes us part of Jesus’ own body and consecrates us “into a kingly priesthood and a holy nation” where we are called to “witness to Christ all the world over.”4 Makes us sound important, doesn’t it? But perhaps it also sounds a little too idealistic to fit the reality of our everyday lives. Elsewhere in the documents of Vatican II, the council fathers offered a more down-to-earth description of the role of all baptized persons:
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. There they are called by God that, being led by the spirit to the Gospel, they may contribute to the sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties. Thus, especially by the witness of their life, resplendent in faith, hope and charity they must manifest Christ to others. It pertains to them in a special way so to illuminate and order all temporal things with which they are so closely associated that these may be effected and grow according to Christ and may be to the glory of the Creator and Redeemer.5
Here we are presented with a clear call to lead like Jesus in our everyday lives at home, at work, and in our communities. To summarize:
• What are the laity called by Christ to do? To work for the “sanctification of the world.”
• How are we to do it? By “the witness of [our] life, resplendent in faith, hope and charity.” (Clearly, it is much more a matter of what we do than what we say.)
A few years after the Second Vatican Council ended, Pope Paul VI added a note of urgency regarding the laity’s special mission in the world. He issued an “insistent call to action” for us to “infuse a Christian spirit” into the world around us — noting that we should not wait passively “for orders and directives.”6
What Is Sanctification?
If the vocation of every baptized Catholic is to “sanctify the world,” it’s only fair to ask: What is sanctification? Perhaps the best definition is found in Vatican II’s call “to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and behavior, laws and structures of the community in which one lives.”7 This isn’t the only time we’ve been told that it’s our job. Pope John Paul II said basically the same thing to lay people when he visited the United States in 1987:
As lay men and women actively engaged in this temporal order, you are being called by Christ to sanctify the world and to transform it. This is true of all work, however exalted or humble, but it is especially urgent for those whom circumstances and special talent have placed in positions of leadership or influence: men and women in public service, education, business, science, social communications, and the arts.8
Notice that the pope said that the call “to sanctify the world and to transform it” applies to “all work, however exalted or humble.”
A Warning About Preaching
“Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.”
St. Charles Borromeo
But obviously, he was also aware of what had happened to American Catholics as a people since the end of World War II. Thanks to the GI Bill and a booming economy, in one generation Catholicism in the United States moved from a church of the urban working poor to a church of suburban, upper-middle-class leaders and managers. So the pope said that the work of sanctifying and transforming the world is “especially urgent for those whom circumstances and special talent have placed in positions of leadership or influence.”
Clearly, all of us who are baptized share a calling to “sanctify the world.” It’s “especially urgent” that those of us with leadership positions in the world respond to that calling. But if we conclude that this calling is limited only to our roles in the work world, we miss the point entirely. A poster that was popular a few decades ago got it exactly right: “Bloom where you are planted.” As Church leaders have consistently made clear over the ages, our vocation to sanctify the world involves all our roles — and most especially those of spouse, parent, and citizen.
In his remarks to some U.S. bishops on their ad limina visits to Rome on May 28, 2004, Pope John Paul II put it this way:
Now is above all the hour of the lay faithful, who, by their specific vocation to shape the secular world in accordance with the Gospel, are called to carry forward the Church’s prophetic mission by evangelizing the various spheres of family, social, professional and cultural life.
Did He Say “Evangelizing”?
Many lay Catholics are not used to hearing the words “evangelizing” and “evangelization.” Even less are we accustomed to hearing that our role is to “evangelize” anyone. But the pope whom many call Pope John Paul the Great said that the laity’s responsibility includes “evangelizing.” Like it or not, he deserves a fair hearing.
Many of us associate “evangelizing” with something freelance preachers once did on street corners and under tents, but now do on television and radio. If evangelizing is preaching, most Catholics are pretty sure they want nothing to do with it. We’re relieved to learn that preaching is a job that’s reserved for bishops, priests, and deacons, and we’re only too happy to let them do it — unless, of course, they drone on for very long.
But if we aren’t expected to preach, how can we be expected to evangelize? When Pope John Paul II, his predecessors, and his successor talk about evangelization, they have in mind something much broader — and frankly, with more lasting impact — than standing on a street corner, in a pulpit, or on a stage preaching. Instead, their perspective recalls the advice of St. Francis of Assisi, who told his followers, “Go and preach the Gospel, and if you must, use words.”
IN THE FAMILY
Prove It to Yourself in Just a Minute
To confirm that actions speak louder than words, try a little experiment. It takes just a minute. During this minute you should close your eyes, sit back, and relax. But first, read the next paragraph.