“I cannot remember that day. Nor can those of my generation. We had just been born or were too young. Only now do we realize that November 21, 1964, the day on which Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Church, saw the light, […] served for us as a kind of road sign. It pointed in the direction our lives as laypeople would take from childhood, then as young people, and finally as adults.” Thus begins Notebook 21 of the Council Notebooks (commissioned by Pope Francis in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee), written by Mimmo Muolo, Vatican correspondent and deputy editor-in-chief of the Roman editorial office of the daily newspaper “Avvenire.”
Following the thread of his personal memories, he introduces us to one of the perhaps most innovative chapters of Lumen Gentium, Chapter IV, which discusses the role of the laity in the Church, recognizing them as an integral and active part of this pilgrim people of God that is the Church.
Who are the laity?
This question concerns many of us, because the laity “are us, baptized men and women. We are the ones who live in the world, have a family, bring children into the world, and work in the various economic sectors of life. Ultimately, we are all those called to make the Gospel and the Church present in the settings of human existence. And we do this by virtue of our Baptism,” the author recalls.
If today this truth may seem “normal” to us - and almost self-evident - we must not overlook the fact that this was not so during the years of the Second Vatican Council. In any case, although we are now children of an “outgoing Church,” as Pope Francis put it, we recognize the value and relevance of rediscovering the role of the laity in the Church in the face of a spirit of secularization that is gaining ever more ground in the West: the crisis of priestly and religious vocations is a litmus test in this regard.
It is in this context that laypeople, today and especially today, are called to act in the Church and for the Church.
Being a layperson is a vocation
One of the great truths taught by Lumen Gentium is that the vocation of laypeople is also a vocation: laypeople are called (just like priests or religious men and women) to bring the Gospel into their daily lives: home, work, family… In this context, they can be seen as the “leaven” that sanctifies the world, especially through faith, hope and charity (cf. Lumen Gentium, 31), the three virtues that should shine in every Christian.
Called to “care for”: from the Council to Pope Francis
All the Pontiffs have followed up on what is stated in this chapter of Lumen Gentium and, in particular, Pope Francis has repeatedly reminded us that we are all called to “care for” «not only the Church, but also the family, creation and, in general, all our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged. Ultimately, to care for the human family as a whole and the common home we inhabit».
Ultimately, the strongest message of Chapter IV of Lumen Gentium is that holiness concerns us all: we are all called to be saints, to live in the world with our gaze turned toward heaven and our brothers and sisters, experiencing complete happiness. Let us therefore feel fully involved in this journey of the entire Church, the people of God.
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