YEAR OF THE LAITY

The Laity is a force to reckon with in the Church, though it has remained to be untapped for so long a time. However, this year the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has declared 2014 as the Year of the Laity, through its pastoral exhortation “Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be Saints…Sent Forth as Heroes”. This can be viewed as an effort coming from the part of the hierarchy to remind the Laity of their great potential. Truly, this year is a great time to revisit our thoughts regarding the Laity and their vocation as we prepare for the celebration of the 5^th centenary of the encounter and eventual reception of Christianity by our forebears (1521-2021).

The laity are called to live a holy life. We come to a full sense of the dignity of the lay faithful if we consider the prime and fundamental vocation that the Father assigns to each of them in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit: the vocation to holiness, that is, the perfection of charity (Christifidelis Laici, 16). That is to seek sanctification in the world and in turn sanctify the world. This vocation of the laity encourages them to engage with various endeavors in the world and bring Christ in the field of economics, politics, science and technology and other workplaces wherever they may be so that more and more the world may be configured with the image of God and his kingdom.

But isn’t it a scandal that in this nation named as the only Catholic nation in Asia, poverty thrive in our midst? Isn’t it a scandal that many, perhaps the majority of the corrupt people in politics and in business are graduates of our own Catholic schools and are “practicing” Catholics? Isn’t it a scandal that the majority of those who cheat in elections and those who sell their votes are also baptized Catholics? Isn’t it a scandal that the bribe takers in public offices and the looters of our public coffers are baptized Catholics too?

The CBCP, in its pastoral exhortation, traced the probable cause of these social scandals with the disconnection between the faith the laity profess and the actions they commit. Thus the bishops urge the laity to strengthen their faith by continuing educating themselves towards the maturity of an integral faith. If the lay people are the branches, then they ought to be deeply rooted to the Vine, in order for them to bear fruit (Jn 15:5). 

This Year of the Laity may prove itself to be of challenges and struggles, as we move towards our goal of a mature and integral faith for our laity. But isn’t that true to all of us, to our lives? In life, we will always meet a stumbling block hindering our way towards our end. But that should not stop us in moving on, in moving forward. We only have to remind ourselves about our vocation and mission. We are all called to be saints and sent to be heroes. We do not have to be afraid for God, who is the Truth, is with us. And nothing conquers except the Truth, and the victory of Truth is Love. Victoria Veritatis Amor Est (Augustine, Sermon 358).