GIFTS GOD GIVES IN BAPTISM
The lay vocation comes from the Sacrament of Baptism where we are immersed (baptizein in Greek means immersion) in the Most Holy Trinity and communion with him. Therefore a single lay person is called first and foremost to “be” instead of do, to be present to the Lord.
A Baptized person is called:
-To become a saint! To “be holy as God is holy” (1 Peter 1:16) The call to sanctity is also a call to sanity. Here there are two dimensions that are in constant tension: humanity and divinity. Sanctity means imitation of Christ (imitatio Christi) and the following of Jesus Christ (sequitur Christi), true God and true man. Therefore we need to become divinized in his divinity and humanized in his humanity. Some use the call to holiness as an excuse to be off-balanced or extreme, yet we know that the perfection of the natural or moral virtues means a certain moderation. The expression, virtus in medio stat, (virtue lies in the middle) clarifies this. We have to come to a certain integrity in our humanity, living a healthy life of rest, recreation, and social interaction. Our age is very dehumanizing. We need to humanize it by allowing the Gospel to leaven and form us in a very full human existence with the development of art, science, culture and leisure, the development of our personalities, a healthy and appropriate sense of humour, of sorrow, and of empathy. There needs to a be a serious approach to the intellectual life, understanding the value of study, a view of social and political life that is something to contend with, tha our contemporaries may find embedded Gospel values to lift up society.
On the other hand, in charity there is no middle, no moderation, no limit, and since charity animates all the other virtues, we must be careful that we do not allow ourselves a kind of spiritual excuse for mediocrity. Balance does not mean luke-warmness. Authentic sanctity will always form our humanity and call it to something higher. To become divinized the Catholic spiritual patrimony suggests the following:
-Frequent reception of the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Penance
-Devout meditation on the Word of God, or lectio divina
-Marian devotion, that is not only practiced in a practical way through the Rosary, Scapular, or other form of devotion but also one that is interior, tenderly trustful, constant, holy, disinterested. For a particular potency in this regard turn to St Louis De Montfort’s book, True Devotion to Mary to read about Consecration to Jesus through Mary
-Close accompaniment of the Magisterium of the Church, the Holy Father’s writings and directives
-Graced Friendships with others who are trying to become holy
-Service of the poor, sick, elderly, and others in works of mercy
-Ascesis and custody of the senses through mortification & fasting
-Spiritual direction, retreats or pilgrimages, and other things in keeping with the spiritual patrimony of the Church
The best teachers of this are the doctors of the Church: St Thérèse of Lisieux, St Teresa of Avila, and St John of the Cross, probably best in that order. They have insights into life of prayer to go a route that is more secure, easier, and quicker because they have cleared the path before us.
-To be a missionary, sent into the Vineyard of the Lord. “You go too. The call is a concern not only of Pastors, clergy, and men and women religious. The call is addressed to everyone: lay people as well are personally called by the Lord, from whom they receive a mission on behalf of the Church and the world.” (Christifidelis Laici - Bl Pope John Paul II’s document on the Laity)
Our mission flows from the Word of God:
-Proclaimed in the Sacred Liturgy, it always gives us a weekly and daily mission. It is there that we come to understand what God is asking of us in this moment.
-From the Sacred Magisterium and Bishops in union with him
-In the providential happenings, the life events, of the day and in the news events
The lay vocation has as its proper focus, the sanctification of the temporal order, to bring about the reign of Jesus Christ “on earth as it is in heaven.” Today, there are more fruitful mission fields, or arenas upon which we will have a very fruitful harvest:
Conscience- We must live the teaching of the Second Vatican Council to end the dictatorship of relativism that sits upon the throne of many consciences like a tyrant, destroying the potency of the Catholic faith, and making many people who sit in the pews, unbeknownst to themselves, worshipers of relativism. The teach of Dignitatis Humanae, the Declaration on Human Freedom is:
"This one true religion subsists in the Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which the Lord Jesus committed the duty of spreading it abroad among all men...
"On their part, all men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and His Church, and to embrace the truth they come to know, and to hold fast to it...
"Government is to assume the safeguard [NOT VIOLATOR] of the religious freedom of all its citizens, in an effective manner, by just laws and by other appropriate means...
"The disciple is bound by a grave obligation toward Christ, his Master, ever more fully to understand the truth received from Him, faithfully to proclaim it, and vigorously to defend it.
To sum up: we owe each conscience He for whom it was made - CHRIST! We are bound in conscience to proclaim Christ as the Truth for which all men are created and bound to follow once they see it, especially in the proclamation of the lives of the disciples. N.B. THIS is the real teaching of the Second Vatican Council. No one can say in the name of conscience to be a relativist catholic, worshiping the idol of self in place of the only King who should sit on the throne of man's inmost sanctuary, Jesus Christ the Lord.
The violation of the conscience which the Obama administration attempts in its HHS healthcare, in which it seeks to force Catholic institutions to go against the natural law in providing abortions, contraceptives, and sterilizations is not fighting the Catholic Church. Let's be clear: Obama fights God. Bring it! We know who is going to win.
The UK attempting to redefine marriage between same sex partners is ludicrous and the first consultation showed this. 70% said no and 78% said it's not a priority. However, the government has discarded the first consultation for redefining same-sex marriages and made up a new three month long one, or they need to "redefine consultations before they redefine marriage." Clearly this is so they can try to shake the tree until the fruit they want will fall from it. Not going to happen. Time for Catholics to sign the petition to stop this madness and write their MP's. Please do this now if you are reading this. It is so easy. Just a single email with a few lines. Click here for a directory.
There has to be a very clear proclamation from every Catholic Church and the life of every Catholic about the culture of death and the lies of contraception, abortion, sterilization, in vitro fertilization, same-sex unions, cohabitation, and everything that attempts to present itself as a legitimate form of family life that is really the seed of destruction of human civilization.
Digital Arena- You can watch live the Holy Father on a digital device. You can know the teachings of the Church in a few clicks. You now have no excuse to not know the Church's teachings. You are not alone. There is so much help for you and so much encouragement online to preach the Gospel. The Holy Father said in his Message for World Communications Day a few years ago that especially priests, but all need
"to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis. Using new communication technologies, priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ."
Social Teachings of the Church - The teachings of Christ about economics, politics, and civic life need to be lived and shared by Catholic to the world that is in desperate need of reordering. The collapse of the economic order is because it is now based on materialism and greed, when it needs to be based on charity and solidarity. There is an excellent online resource, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Read it!
-The Call to Communion - Now more than ever the Church needs to move in the way of communion precisely because it is the very witness that our world needs the most. In a time of broken relationships we are called to be men and women of communion, of friendship and solidarity. It has been said that the first Christian millennium lived out the words of Christ, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37), for this was the rise of all the monastic orders which focussed on the holiness of the person. The second Christian millennium witnessed the words, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31), and this was when the works of charity of the Church blossomed such as schools, hospitals, orphanages, and so on. In the third Christian millennium, it is clear there is a call to see holiness no longer as merely personal, or merely the perfection of charity to neighbor, but a matter of loving one another well in the words of Christ, “love one another; even as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
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