The Church's Vision for the Laity and Jesus Youth Movement (BJMM013)
The
Vision of the Church for the Laity and Jesus Youth Movement - Quotes from Church Documents
Dr.
Edward A. Edezhath
The post-conciliar phase of the Catholic Church has been characterized by a conscious dialogue with modernity. The growing importance of the laity in the life and
reflection of the Church has become a natural need and outcome of this
openness to the contemporary world and culture. Jesus Youth movement emerged in
this context and, as a result, its distinct nature and style of functioning
were shaped by these steadily growing trends in the Church. In the movement, there is an eagerness to come to an awareness and to conform to the vision of the
Church regarding the call and mission of the laity in contemporary society.
What are some
of the favorite reference points for Jesus Youth vision? Dogmatic Constitution
of the Church Lumen Gentium (LG) set
out the parameters of the identity and the singular mission of laity in
the Church and the world. The conciliar Decree on the Apostolate of Laity,
Apostolicam Actuositatem (AA), charted a new and adventurous path for laity
to rediscover their identity, self-esteem, and renewed mission. The pontificate
of His Holiness John Paul II was a great fillip to the lay initiatives in the
Catholic Church, especially with 1987 Bishop’s synod on the laity’s "Vocation and Mission in the Church and in the World
Twenty Years after the Second Vatican Council" and the historic
Apostolic Exhortation ‘Christifideles Laici’ (CL) that came out in Dec 1988. For the Jesus Youth movement, with its steady emphasis on responding to the apostolic
call and focus on imparting relevant missionary formation, other documents like
Evangelii Nuntianti and Redemptoris Missio have also become
powerful formative sources. Finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has become a constant reference point for individuals and cells for study, reflection, and action.
1.
Movements have a place in the Church
“I call to mind, as a new
development occurring in many Churches in recent times, the rapid growth of
“ecclesial movements” filled with missionary dynamism. When these movements
humbly seek to become part of the life of local Churches and are welcomed by
Bishops and priests within diocesan and parish structures, they represent a
true gift of God both for new evangelization and for missionary activity
properly so-called. I therefore
recommend that they be spread, and that they be used to give fresh energy,
especially among young people, to the Christian life and to evangelization,
within a pluralistic view of the ways in which Christians can associate and
express themselves.” John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, 72.
2.
A Youth Ministry with a youth focus and evangelistic zeal
Circumstances invite us
to make special mention of the young. Their increasing number and growing
presence in society and likewise the problems assailing them should awaken in
everyone the desire to offer them with zeal and intelligence the Gospel ideal
as something to be known and lived. And on the other hand, young people who are
well trained in faith and prayer must become more and more the apostles of
youth. The Church counts greatly on their contribution, and we ourselves have
often manifested our full confidence in them. (Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi,
72).
Young people exert a very
important influence in modern society. The circumstances of their life, their
habits of thought, their relations with their families, have been completely
transformed. […] The growth of their social importance demands from them a
corresponding apostolic activity; and indeed their natural character inclines
them in this direction. (AA, 12).
3.
The Laity is rediscovering the Church, and the Church, the Laity
The apostolate of the laity derives from their
Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it. …Our own times
require of the laity no less zeal: in fact, modern conditions demand that their
apostolate be broadened and intensified…. An indication of this manifold and
pressing need is the unmistakable work being done today by the Holy Spirit in making
the laity ever more conscious of their own responsibility and encouraging them
to serve Christ and the Church in all circumstances. (AA, 1)
The laity derive the right and duty to the apostolate
from their union with Christ the head; incorporated into Christ's Mystical Body
through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through
Confirmation, they are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself. They are
consecrated for the royal priesthood and the holy people (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-10) not
only that they may offer spiritual sacrifices in everything they do but also
that they may witness to Christ throughout the world. The sacraments, however,
especially the most holy Eucharist, communicate and nourish that charity which
is the soul of the entire apostolate. (AA, 3)
4.
The identity of the laity
But
by reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the
5.
The dual existence of the laity, in the Church and the Word
This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to
discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel
spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but
seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly
responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are
more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his
proper vocation. Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who
think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of
certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into
earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced
from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and
their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our
age. . .The Christian who neglects his
temporal duties, neglects his duties toward his neighbor and even God, and
jeopardizes his eternal salvation. (Gaudium et Spes, 43)
At the same time, the Synod has pointed out that the post-conciliar path
of the lay faithful has not been without its difficulties and dangers. In particular,
two temptations can be cited which they have not always known how to avoid: the
temptation of being so strongly interested in Church services and tasks that
some fail to become actively engaged in their responsibilities in the
professional, social, cultural and political world; and the temptation of
legitimizing the unwarranted separation of faith from life, that is, a
separation of the Gospel's acceptance from the actual living of the Gospel in
various situations in the world. (CL 2)
6.
Centrality of Baptism in the missionary life
It is no exaggeration to say that the entire existence of the lay
faithful has as its purpose to lead a person to a knowledge of the radical
newness of the Christian life that comes from Baptism, the sacrament of faith,
so that this knowledge can help that person live the responsibilities which
arise from that vocation received from God. In arriving at a basic description
of the lay faithful we now more explicitly and directly consider among others
the following three fundamental aspects: Baptism regenerates us in the life of
the Son of God; unites us to Christ and to his Body, the Church; and anoints us
in the Holy Spirit, making us spiritual temples. (CL 10)
7.
Active partners in the Church’s mission of evangelisation
All activity of the Mystical Body directed to the attainment of this
goal is called the apostolate, which the Church carries on in various ways
through all her members. For the Christian vocation by its very nature is also
a vocation to the apostolate. (AA, 2).
The laity derive the right and duty to the apostolate from their union
with Christ the head; incorporated into Christ's Mystical Body through Baptism
and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, they are
assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself. They are consecrated for the
royal priesthood and the holy people (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-10) not only that they
may offer spiritual sacrifices in everything they do but also that they may
witness to Christ throughout the world. (AA, 3)
8.
To live and work in the world today and transform it
God's plan for the world is that men should work together to renew and
constantly perfect the temporal order. …All those things which make up the
temporal order, namely, the good things of life and the prosperity of the
family, culture, economic matters, the arts and professions, the laws of the
political community, international relations, and other matters of this kind,
as well as their development and progress, not only aid in the attainment of
man's ultimate goal but also possess their own intrinsic value. …(AA, 7)
The laity must take up the renewal of the temporal order as their own
special obligation. Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church
and motivated by Christian charity. they must act directly and in a definite
way in the temporal sphere. (AA, 7)
9.
Need for relevant spirituality
The plan for
the spiritual life of the laity should take its particular character from their
married or family state or their single or widowed state, from their state of
health, and from their professional and social activity. They should not cease
to develop earnestly the qualities and talents bestowed on them in accord with
these conditions of life, and they should make use of the gifts which they have
received from the Holy Spirit. … They should also hold in high esteem
professional skill, family and civic spirit, and the virtues relating to social
customs, namely, honesty, justice, sincerity, kindness, and courage, without
which no true Christian life can exist. (AA, 4)
10. Need for ongoing formation – Search for a new spirituality
Since the laity
share in their own way in the mission of the Church, their apostolic formation
is specially characterized by the distinctively secular and particular quality
of the lay state and by its own form of the spiritual life. …The formation for
the apostolate presupposes a certain human and well-rounded formation adapted
to the natural abilities and conditions of each lay person. Well-informed about
the modern world, the lay person should be a member of his own community and
adjusted to its culture. (AA, 29)
The various lay
groups and associations dedicated to the apostolate or to any other
supernatural end should look after this education to the apostolate with care
and constancy, in ways consistent with their objectives and limits. Frequently
they are the ordinary channel of adequate apostolic training; doctrinal,
spiritual and practical. The members gathered in small groups with their
companions or friends, evaluate the methods and results of their apostolic
action, and measure their everyday behaviour by the Gospel.( AA, 30).
11.
The itinerary of holiness
We come to a full sense of the dignity of the lay faithful if we
consider the prime and fundamental vocation that the Father assigns to each of
them in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit: the vocation to holiness, that
is, the perfection of charity. Holiness is the greatest testimony of the
dignity conferred on a disciple of Christ. The Second Vatican Council has
significantly spoken on the universal call to holiness. It is possible to say
that this call to holiness is precisely the basic charge entrusted to all the
sons and daughters of the Church by a Council which intended to bring a renewal
of Christian life based on the gospel. (CL 16)
Every community, if it is to be Christian, must be founded on Christ and
live in Him, as it listens to the word of God, focuses in prayer on the
Eucharist, lives in a communion marked by oneness of heart and soul, and shares
according to the needs of its members (cf. Acts 2:42-47). As Pope Paul VI
recalled, every community must live in union with the particular and the
universal Church, in heartfelt communion with the Church’s Pastors and the
Magisterium, with a commitment to missionary outreach and without yielding to
isolationism or ideological exploitation. (John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio,
51)
12.
Possibility of a Variety of Ministries
Great variety is to be found in apostolic associations. Some look to the
general apostolic end of the Church; others aim specifically at evangelization
and sanctification; others work for the permeation of the temporal order by the
Christian spirit; and others engage in works of mercy and of charity as their
special way of bearing witness to Christ. First among these associations to be
given consideration should be those which favour and promote a more intimate
unity between the faith of the members and their everyday life. (AA, 19).
13.
Sprit of volunteering, placements
Worthy of special respect
and praise in the Church are the laity, single or married, who, in a definitive
way or for a period, put their person and their professional competence at the
service of institutions and their activities. It is a great joy to the Church
to see growing day by day the number of people who are offering their personal
service to associations and works of the apostolate, whether within the
confines of their own country, or in the international field, or above all, in
the Catholic communities of the missions and of the young Churches. (AA, 21).
14.
Migration, Travel, International Networking
On the national and
international planes the field of the apostolate is vast; and it is there that
the laity more than others are the channels of Christian wisdom. […] Everyone
who works in foreign nations or brings men aid must remember that relations
among peoples should be a real fraternal interchange in which both parties give
and at the same time receive. Those who travel abroad, for international
activities, on business or on holiday, should keep in mind that no matter where
they may be they are the travelling messengers of Christ, and should bear
themselves really as such. ( AA 14).
15.
Participation in the works for the needy
Therefore, the laity should hold
in high esteem and, according to their ability, aid the works of charity and
projects for social assistance, whether public or private, including
international programs whereby effective help is given to needy individuals and
peoples. In so doing, they should cooperate with all men of good will (AA, 8).
At the present time, with the development of more rapid facilities for
communication, with the barrier of distance separating men greatly reduced,
with the inhabitants of the entire globe becoming one great family, these
charitable activities and works have become more urgent and universal. These
charitable enterprises can and should reach out to all persons and all needs.
(AA, 8)
16.
Community life and formation in small groups and cells
“A rapidly growing
phenomenon in the young Churches - one sometimes fostered by the Bishops and
their Conferences as a pastoral priority - is that of “ecclesial basic
communities” (also known by other names) which are proving to be good centres
for Christian formation and missionary outreach. These are groups of Christians
who, at the level of the family or in a similarly restricted setting, come
together for prayer, Scripture reading, catechesis, and discussion on human and
ecclesial problems with a view to a common commitment. These communities are a
sign of vitality within the Church, an instrument of formation and
evangelization and a solid starting point for a new society based on a
‘civilization of love’.” (Redemptoris Missio, 51).
17.
Need as well as the right to build an international net work of the movement
As a consequence
of the progress of institutions and the rapid evolution of modern society, the
universal nature of the Church’s mission requires that the apostolic
initiations of Catholics should more and more perfect the various types of
international organizations. Catholic international organizations will the more
surely gain their object, the more intimately the groups that compose them, as
well as their members, are united to them. While preserving intact the necessary
link with ecclesiastical authority, the laity have the right to establish and
direct associations, and to join existing ones. Dissipation of forces must,
however, be avoided; this would happen if new associations and works were
created without sufficient reason, if old ones now grown useless were held on
to, if out-of-date methods continued to be employed. It will not always be wise
procedure, either, to transfer indiscriminately into some particular country
forms that have arisen in another. (AA, 19).
18. Role of priests and animators
A careful choice
will be made of priests with the ability and appropriate training for helping
special forms of the lay apostolate. Those who take part in this ministry in
virtue of a mission received from the hierarchy represent the hierarchy in this
pastoral action of theirs. Ever faithfully attached to the spirit and teaching
of the Church they will promote good relations between laity and hierarchy,
they will devote their energies to fostering the spiritual life and apostolic
sense of the Catholic associations confided to them; their wise advice will be
there to help these along in their apostolic labours; their encouragement will
be given to their enterprises. In constant dialogue with the laity they will
make painstaking search for methods capable of making apostolic action more
fruitful; they will develop the spirit of unity within the association, and
between it and others. (AA, 25).
Adults should be anxious
to enter into friendly dialogue with the young, where, despite the difference
in age, they could get to know one another and share with one another their own
personal riches. It is by example first of all and, on occasion, by sound
advice and practical help that adults should persuade the young to undertake
the apostolate. The young, on their side, will treat their elders with respect
and confidence; and though by nature inclined to favour what is new, they will
have due esteem for praiseworthy traditions. (AA12).
19. Lay Associations must be given due respect
Bishops, pastors of
parishes, and other priests of both branches of the clergy should keep in mind
that the right and duty to exercise this apostolate is common to all the
faithful, both clergy and laity, and that the laity also have their own roles
in building up the Church. For this reason they should work fraternally with
the laity in and for the Church and take special care of the lay persons in
these apostolic works.(AA, 21)
All associations of the
apostolate must be given due appreciation. Those, however, which the hierarchy
have praised or recommended as responsive to the needs of time and place, or
have ordered to be established as particularly urgent, must be held in highest
esteem by priests, Religious, and laity and promoted according to each one's
ability. Among these associations, , moreover, international associations or
groups of Catholics must be specially appreciated at the present time. (AA, 21)
20. Movements destined for the wider world beyond parish, diocese
The parish offers
an obvious example of the apostolate on the community level inasmuch as it
brings together the many human differences within its boundaries and merges
them into the universality of the Church.…. Indeed, to fulfill the needs of
cities and rural areas, they should not limit their cooperation to the
parochial or diocesan boundaries but strive to extend it to interparochial,
interdiocesan, national, and international fields. This is constantly becoming
all the more necessary because the daily increase in mobility of populations, reciprocal
relationships, and means of communication no longer allow any sector of society
to remain closed in upon itself. Thus they should be concerned about the needs
of the people of God dispersed throughout the world. (AA, 10)
In
Conclusion
Jesus Youth grew up as a
blossom of the newfound synodal, participative culture in the Catholic Church. While it
has helped numerous laity, both young and not so young, to love the Divine
Master and His Church dearly, it has, in turn, helped many in the Church to
discover youth and lay enthusiasm for the Lord and his mission in a novel
manner. Pope John Paul II spoke of a new phase of enlivened participation of
the laity in the Church today: “The many positive elements found in the local
churches, frequently highlighted in the (Asian) Synod, strengthen our
expectation of a “new springtime of Christian life” One solid cause of hope is
the increasing number of better trained, enthusiastic and Spirit-filled lay
people, who are more and more aware of their specific vocation within the
ecclesial community. … The apostolic and charismatic movements too are a gift
of the Spirit, bringing new life and vigour to the formation of lay men and
women, families and young.” (Ecclesia in
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