Pope John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation “Christifideles Laici,” “The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful,” published Dec. 30, 1988, on the feast of the Holy Family presents for us the image of what the world could be like if every baptized Catholic accepted the challenge to share the faith with every other person and to live out the call to holiness wherever he or she might be — in the midst of the family, at work in the public sector — wherever we live and work and experience God’s grace.

Dignity of the lay faithful

Chapter 1, “The dignity of the lay faithful in the church as mystery,” provides the foundation for our understanding of the role of the laity in the life and mission of the church. Here, the pope writes that “the voice of the Lord clearly resounds in the depths of each of Christ’s followers who, through faith and the sacraments of Christian initiation, is made like to Jesus Christ, is incorporated as a living member in the church and has an active part in her mission of salvation” (3.5).

Baptism gives each believer an apostolic vocation. “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt. 28:19-20). Spreading the kingdom of God everywhere for the glory of God the Father is a task that derives both its mandate, energy and grace from baptism.

The task of proclaiming and spreading the faith is particularly challenging today because we live in an age of aggressive secularism. Thus, we may be tempted at times to view it as an impossible mission. Yet, in his exhortation the pope points out that Jesus never promised that our work would be easy. He highlights that we live in a highly secular world where many cry out for religion. Like Jesus he warns us that not everyone would have ears to hear the good news. On the other hand, we know that we have the power of God’s Spirit to enable us to meet the challenges of the day.

Christ at work in the world today

As Chapter 1 unfolds, the Holy Father holds out for us a beautiful vision of Christ present and at work in the world today. Just as the glorified body of Christ sits now at the right hand of the Father, so his new body is present in our world today — his church. Every person who is baptized into new life becomes a member of the body of Christ. In all of the gifts and talents, all of the abilities and graces that abound among the lay women and lay men who make up the church, there is found all that is needed to advance the building of the kingdom of God.

In every baptism we recall that three actions take place. In the pouring of the water, the action and words of the sacrament, there is symbolized and realized the washing away of original sin, the outpouring of new life and the incorporation of the individual into the body of Christ — his church.

“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” (10). We are not baptized solely for our own salvation. Incorporation into the body of Christ is not an action of personal piety. Rather, we are engaged in a new life of the Spirit so that working in and through us the Spirit might transform the whole world. This is no small gift. In fact, “baptism regenerates us in the life of the Son of God; unites us to Christ and to his body, the church; anoints us in the Holy Spirit, making us spiritual temples” (10).

The church as communion

With this as a foundation, our Holy Father moves into the second chapter and describes the participation of the lay faithful in the life of the church as communion. He begins with the scriptural image of the branches and the vine: “I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. … Remain in me, as I remain in you” (Jn. 15:1, 4). Here we learn that precisely as an important part of the church each individual lay person is called to carry out the mission and work of the whole church.

The Holy Father completes the image of the church by reminding us that we make our journey as a family and that God’s family has shepherds to lead it. Out of the vast body of those baptized into new life in Christ, Jesus chooses some and configures them to himself through the sacrament of holy orders so there is leadership for the whole body. Every baptized person is configured to Christ as a member of his body and every ordained priest and bishop is configured to Christ as head of that body. Together they bring the new body of Christ to fullness as it makes its way through time and history.

Unity of the church

In Chapter 3, the pope reflects on the scriptural text that tells us “it is always the one and the same Spirit who calls together and unifies the church and sends her to preach the Gospel ‘to the end of the earth’” (32.4). “Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit” (Jn. 15:5). It is Jesus who appoints us to go forth and bear fruit but always in communion with the church so that what we bear witness to is authenticated by its continuity with Jesus.

To witness is to manifest before another the truth of some specific reality. Witness in this sense related to the faith means to make known to others what the church proclaims. Christ, the Eternal Word of the Father, is, of course, the only witness to the Father. All other witnesses must somehow share in the one eternal testimony offered by Christ. “I know where I came from and where I am going” (Jn. 8:14). The Son “does only what he sees the Father doing: What the Father does the Son does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all his works. I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me” (Jn. 8:28).

The Son is the one who has to dispense life to all and does so as a living witness to the Father. His witness is the light and that light as the knowledge or revelation of the Father is our new life. Therefore, to accept Christ is at both one and the same time to know him and to live a fuller life in him. This depends on the function of the witness.

It is to the church that the full office of testifying to all the works of God has been given. In this sense, the church is the only witness to Christ. A person’s individual witness can claim to be authentic only to the extent that it reflects the witness of the church.

Witness essentially relies on continuity between the fact witnessed and the testimony to it. Continuity is absolutely essential to authentic, credible witness. All the authenticity of a witness depends on the witness’ relationship to the church. Thus, the Holy Father reminds us of the challenge we have to proclaim God’s word and to do it in full continuity, in full communion with the whole body of Christ.

Laborers in the Lord’s vineyard

Not everyone has the same responsibility in the vineyard. In Chapter 4, the pope outlines for us the various responsibilities of the “laborers” in the Lord’s vineyard. Young and old, men and women, religious, laity and ordained are all laborers in the vineyard, each according to his or her state of life and vocation.

In our land where increasingly we see the arrogant claim of secularism to be the only true expression of our national ideals and goals, all the more is the voice of committed Catholic lay women and lay men necessary. It is the task of each lay person to speak and live the faith today.

Finally, the Holy Father calls our attention to the formation of the lay faithful in the fifth and final chapter before concluding this apostolic exhortation. Here, we are reminded that formation is not just a practical experience but also a spiritual one. Learning about the faith takes place on many levels, both cognitive and affective. Thus, the pope brings this chapter to a conclusion with the reminder that we must develop our prayer life so that we are open to the gift of the Spirit, present to the urgings of God’s grace and alive in our new life in Christ.