To Representatives of the Lay Apostolate (15 June 1984)

On Friday, 15 June 1984, at Einsiedeln, the Holy Father addressed representatives of the lay apostolate. He said, “The current historical moment is undoubtedly marked by strong and widespread secularizing and materialistic tendencies, which unfortunately have pervaded the mentality, the concepts, the behaviors of contemporary man.… The only authentic and valid response to this challenge is faith, lived with clarity, with coherence, with courage by all believers in Christ.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

1. "Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!" ( Rom 1:7). Filled with gratitude and joy, I greet you, the representatives of active lay people in the service of the local churches in Switzerland. My greeting goes to the lay theologians and catechists who have been called by the diocesan bishops to the full-time and part-time service of pastoral care and the proclamation of the Christian message. I greet the representatives of the various councils who work in church communities and parishes. I greet the representatives of the many Catholic clubs and associations who do such great work and support pastoral care in various ways. Likewise, all those who, following the spirit of Christ, ignite and promote life in the Church in "spiritual movements". Finally, I address my special greeting to all those who, in the spirit of Christ and in fidelity to the Church, discreetly carry out their daily duties in the family and at work.

As Bishop of Rome, who, in succession to St. Peter, has been entrusted with the supreme pastoral care of the Church, I would like to strengthen you in your faith: as lay people, you form the people of God, you are members of the body of Christ together with the bishops and priests. We are all accepted together through faith and baptism into the mystery of Christ, as the many branches connected to the true vine, Jesus Christ, who continually gives us new life force ( John 15:1-8). Therefore, our first concern must always be to remain faithful to this center of life and this foundation of the entire Church, Christ. Now in him the Church becomes our home; in him it unites everyone in a community of faith, hope and love.

The Pentecostal spirit, which once united people across all linguistic and cultural boundaries - contrary to the Babylonian confusion, contrary to all the selfish tendencies of sin - also animates the Church of our day. This spirit of the crucified and risen Lord lives in us. Therefore, open your hearts and minds to him! Talk to one another and work hand in hand in this spirit: the laity with the priests and the priests with the laity. "Each of us received grace as Christ gave it to him" ( Eph 4:7).

Therefore, learn to understand one another in the various ministries that all aim at the same goal. Stand up for one another as Christ stands up for all of you. Be one another's homes; give one another willingly what you have all received freely from God: the grace of salvation and love.

The Church of Christ, dear brothers and sisters, has been able to weather many storms in its long history thanks to the foundation that Christ is and thanks to the guidance of his Spirit. Modern thinking and feeling, the development of new human possibilities have presented the Church with new difficult questions. The number of believers who feel completely connected to the Church and who are committed to the Church has decreased in some places. But even if severe storms pass over the Church, it will never perish. Efforts that seek to marginalize God and encourage doubt about everything must not lead us to resignation, nor is it the nature of a disciple of Christ to condemn the world. Rather, as a Church we must face the challenge and the call of the times. We believe that there is no time and there will never be one from which the message of the coming Kingdom of God can be withheld. Christ sends to all the world and to all generations with the promise: "I am with you always, until the end of the world" ( Matthew 28:20). It is precisely to those who lose sight of the ultimate meaning of life and the goal of history that we must bring the Christian Good News in word and living witness. Indeed, the Church has every reason to confidently continue on the path of its courageous witness of faith. For the Pentecostal spirit strengthens it and continually awakens new strengths in it.

2. Dear lay Christians, committed to the service of evangelization!

There is no need to dwell on the considerable needs of this contemporary evangelization. You know very well that the number of young people and adults, overwhelmed by questions and often by suffering caused by the socio-cultural changes of our time, is growing. You know that the vital sectors of life in society, such as the family, the vast domains of culture, education, the world of work, the applications of science, economic and political realities, require enlightened guides, capable of helping their brothers and sisters to decipher these numerous and complex questions, and to live them by gradually finding their path of human growth and Christian perfection. The continuous march of history constantly requires new apostles, who proclaim the Gospel and live it within temporal realities, like leaven in dough. These new apostles will be fervent disciples of Jesus Christ, completely in touch with their times and their various environments. At the same time, they will be Christians who are very involved in the apostolic movement most suited to their socio-professional integration and who are always concerned with living in a situation of complementarity with other associations. The apostolate is all the more credible and effective when the movements accept each other as diverse and contribute to the same goal of evangelization, in fraternal collaboration: then they represent a wealth for the unity of the Church in a state of mission.

Young people and adults of the movements, increasingly take your place in the communities of your parishes and your dioceses, very united among yourselves, with your priests and your bishops! Without dwelling on the aims and methods of each movement, I would like to encourage you very strongly to draw daily from the sources of Christian life. On this level, the experience of the Lord Jesus is impressive, exemplary! In the middle of his mission, he interrupts his activities to speak expressly with his Father, to tell him his desire to conform to his designs, to integrate into this entirely filial relationship the joys and failures of his proclamation of the Good News. Following the example of their Master, the first Apostles - and Saint Paul in particular - clearly demonstrate this continual interweaving of action and contemplation. Ultimately, it is the mystery of the Son of God, the One Sent by the Father, that every apostle is called to live and to reveal to others. The mystery of the Incarnate Word, who came to reveal and consecrate the dignity of man and his activities, to illuminate the meaning of his earthly existence and his destiny of eternity, to remove from individual suffering and the vicissitudes of history their aspect of fatality, and this with the free assistance of the human person. It is Christ the Redeemer, assiduously frequented in his evangelical message, in the sacraments entrusted to his Church, who transforms the apostles of today to the point of making them capable of giving their lives without counting the cost for the human and Christian liberation of their contemporaries, beginning with those closest to them, and whatever the social milieu to which they belong.

3. Dear brothers and sisters, delegates of the Pastoral Councils! The current historical moment is undoubtedly marked by strong and widespread secularizing and materialistic tendencies, which unfortunately have pervaded the mentality, the concepts, the behaviors of contemporary man. This vision of reality that exalts and lives as "values" success, consumerism, efficiency at all costs certainly represents a real challenge for the message of the Gospel. The only authentic and valid response to this challenge is faith, lived with clarity, with coherence, with courage by all believers in Christ.

The Holy Spirit, through the providential ecclesial event of the Council, has inspired in the Church various forms of renewed apostolic commitment , typical and specific to the laity. In recent years, in many particular Churches, reflection has been deepened on the ways of adapting ecclesial structures to certain new settings and also on the search for the best and most appropriate expressions for the participation of the laity in the mission of the Church.

It is a commitment to reflection and adaptation that has also involved the lay Catholic forces of Switzerland, reviving in them the awareness of the ecclesial role that is theirs and pushing them towards new forms of collaboration with the legitimate pastors. I would like to underline, in particular, the contribution given in due time by the laity to the celebration of the Synod and their active presence in the Pastoral Councils , in which they bring the contribution of their enthusiasm, their energy, their experience.

It is clear, however, that these attempts, these efforts acquire their ultimate and authentic meaning when they contribute to the growth of faith, hope and love in the Church . Through new structures, the particular Churches and communities - as well as their individual members - must increasingly become the "salt of the earth" and "the light of the world" (cf. Mt 5:13-14). Speaking of the participation of the laity in the salvific mission of the Church, the Council was especially concerned to insist on the fundamental elements, affirming that "through the sacraments . . . and especially through the Holy Eucharist, that charity towards God and men which is the soul of the whole apostolate is communicated and nourished" ( Lumen Gentium , 33).

Without this ideal of Christian “holiness”, to which we are all called and in which all our actions as baptized people find their source, their meaning and their purpose, the commitment to apostolic works and structures, however updated and renewed, is destined to become impoverished and, in the long run, to dry up. It is the continuous conversion of the heart (cf. Mt 3:2; 4:17; Mk 1:15) that must animate and stimulate your work within the different pastoral councils. This interior experience is the indispensable condition so that the participation, even generous and active, of the laity in the many services and commitments undertaken within the scope of ecclesial communion and mission, is not reduced to a simple external practice, of an administrative and bureaucratic type, but is a premise and source of enrichment in the plurality of vocations and charisms and in the unity of the mystical body of Christ: it is this unity that must overcome linguistic and cultural differences, and push towards dialogue, collaboration, solidarity, complementarity, in a spirit of loyal obedience to the bishops, pastors and leaders of the individual diocesan communities.

4. Finally, I would like to say a few words to you, my brothers and sisters, who are full-time members of the Church. In my previous reflections I have already stressed that union with Christ is the basis of every fruitful lay apostolate. In your case, this union is required in two ways: because of your own individual path to salvation; and because of your willingness to make yourselves available for the fulfillment of some of the Church's important pastoral or official tasks.

Your choice of profession is indeed a courageous decision. Especially at a time when a certain public tends to look for weaknesses in church officials and overlook the help offered; when not only the church but also God himself is often sidelined. You know this and have certainly felt the burden of such a service enough for yourself. Therefore, I would like to thank you especially for taking the risk of such a church profession.

I would like to encourage you from the bottom of my heart in your service in the Church's mission. Do everything in your power to ensure that the message of Christ does not go unheard, even in a secularized environment. Do not see your professional work as a mere way of earning a living. That would be contrary to the inner meaning of the Gospel. Rather, bear witness to it through your word and example, and above all through your life. In our day, the acceptance of the message stands and falls with the credibility of the messenger, with your power of witness.

This shows the demands that your service makes of you. All Christians are called to bear witness, but especially those who are linked to the Church in a special way by profession. In order for your work in the service of the Good News of Jesus Christ to be truly fruitful, purely professional qualifications are not enough; you yourself must be deeply inspired and permeated by the Spirit of Christ. Make sure that your personal life testimony and your professional activity correspond to what Christ expects of his Church and what the Church expects of its co-workers.

Whether you work in church administration or are directly involved in pastoral service, what is required of you above all is a fundamental identification with the church as it actually encounters you: with its human weaknesses, but also with its demanding spiritual demands. It is not critical distance, but trust and solidarity for the common cause of Christ that enable you to work together fruitfully with the apostolate of the office, with the bishops and priests, those who bear special ecclesiastical responsibility. The apostolate of the laity and the apostolate of the office must not be seen as opposed to one another, since they are intrinsically connected to one another.

I am aware of the particular difficulties faced by those who are directly involved in teaching the faith. Although many spiritual currents challenge catechesis today, trust that the Spirit of God lives and works in the Church with his truth. Do not be satisfied with mere factual information; his word is always a call to witness and to follow. Your teaching of the faith should always be based on a willingness to accept the binding witness of the Church and the decision of those who in the Church have been commissioned by God to safeguard the deposit of faith. Strive always to be servants and teachers of the truth, so that "the truth of the Gospel may remain with you" ( Gal 2:5).

5. To all of you, brothers and sisters, whether you are directly involved in pastoral care in a parish, whether you are involved in pastoral care through your work in councils and commissions, in clubs and associations, or whether you are active in “spiritual movements,” I would like to thank you once again for your commitment. To you, who are so diversely involved as lay people in the Church, I say: “Unless the Lord builds the house, then he who builds it will work in vain” ( Ps 127 (126), 1). The more you grow in faith and the more you grow into the Church, the more valuable your pastoral services will become. May Christ be your goal and the Church your home!

© Copyright 1984 - Vatican Publishing House

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