September 10, 2017

Participation in the Church is based on baptism, when God gives
us new life in Christ, and on faith, when God gives us the grace to
see and assent to a vision of things beyond the purely visible.
Those who share a common baptism and who profess the same
faith participate in the one Church.
Some lay people have what theologians are now calling “a
vocation within a vocation,” a calling to ecclesial ministry within
their basic baptismal calling to be servants of the world. For many
years, lay people have served the Church and her people as
catechists, liturgists, directors of charities and good works,
administrators, principals and teachers in Catholic schools. Some
of these activities are full-time and some part-time, some are
salaried positions and some are done by volunteers. While
exercised always in cooperation with ordained priests, “the
ministries, the offices and roles of the lay faithful find their
foundation in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation and,
for a good many of them, in the sacrament of
matrimony.” (Christifideles laici, 23).
Those lay men and women involved with ministry, whether
formally instituted or in other fashions, build up the Church and
enrich the lives of all of us. Ministry in the Catholic Church is far
more diverse now, and it is difficult to imagine what the Church’s
life would be without lay ministers. Participation in ministering to
people is complemented by the many liturgical ministries that
now enrich our worship of God.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the Little Flower, whose feast is
celebrated on Oct. 1, knew what is at the heart of all participation
in the Church: love. She had a heart which desired to do everything
for God. This cloistered Carmelite nun wanted to teach, to be
an apostle, a priest, a martyr and, especially, to be a missionary
from the dawn of creation until the end of time. She laughed at
herself for such desires, for she fully accepted St. Paul’s reminder
to the Christians at Corinth that God has determined different
roles and offices in the Church. The Church is made up of many
parts, and one part cannot say to another, “I have no need of
you.” (see 1 Cor 12, 21). The abundance of God’s love filling her
heart made her want to do everything possible to return that love.
God made known to her how she could truly do everything if her
vocation was to be love in the heart of the Church. “Love contains
all vocations,” wrote St. Therese. “Love is everything. It is love
alone that enables the Church’s members and ministers to act.”
We must continue that same spirit of St. Therese as our ministries
and committees start up again this fall.
Fr. Dan