As we are encouraged by Pope Leo XIV to reread the Documents from the Second Vatican Council, I will most often be looking at the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. But I think we should begin by remembering the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church from Nov. 21, 1964, because it tells us some very important things about our role as lay people in the Church.
In Latin it is called Lumen Gentium which means Light of the Nations and begins by telling us that Christ is the Light of the Nations. Let us look at paragraph 31 of the document.
“But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God.” Temporal affairs is a Church term for handling the everyday matters of the Church rather than spiritual concerns.
The laity “live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven.” When the Church talks about the laity, they are talking about everyone who is not ordained. They are talking about our normal, regular lives.
The laity “are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven.” But still we are called to work on sanctifying the world in the manner that yeast make the dough rise into bread. It is not only ordained people who are called to make the world holy.
“In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity.” Our lives are to be resplendent – shining brilliantly for all the world to see – as we exhibit the qualities of faith, hope, and charity. Yes, lay people are called to holiness because we have been baptized as disciples of Christ.
This Sunday’s Gospel (Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time) tells us the same thing: “You are the light of the world. . . your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
For reflection: In what ways has Christ spread light in my life and on the world today? Who helps me be aware of the light around me? In what ways do I spread the light of Christ to others?