Category: Vocation

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What are the lay ministries?

“There are various ministries, but the Lord is the same. There are various functions, but it is the same God who works everything in everyone … This is done by the same and only Spirit, who distributes to each one his gifts as he wishes”, as Saint Paul explains to us (1 Corinthians 12: 5-6,11).

Therefore, in the People of God there are various services, various ministries. Some are the ministries that are conferred through the sacrament of Orders, such as the diaconate, the priesthood, and the episcopacy. Others, however, are not conferred through the sacrament and, therefore, the faithful who receives them do not leave their lay status.

The ministries destined to the liturgical service were considered as institutions prior to the reception of sacred orders, and were called “minor orders.” Among these were the ostiary, the lector, the exorcist and the acolyte.

After the Second Vatican Council, a revision of these functions was made, and they ceased to be called “minor orders”, and the “ministries” were transformed, preserving only the acolyte and the lector, although leaving to the episcopal conferences the possibility of creating others that were necessary for the region (Ministeria Quaedam).

On 2021, third lay ministry was added: that of the catechist (Antiquum ministerium).

Thus, there are three lay ministries: acolyte, lector and catechist, which can be entrusted to any member of the faithful, who meets the age and conditions established by the episcopal conference. To this end, they must be instituted through a liturgical rite.

This, however, does not mean that only instituted catechists can be the communicators of the truth of the faith, or that only instituted lectors can read the word of God in the liturgical assembly, or that only instituted acolytes can take charge of the altar service. These functions may also be performed by any other lay person, either de facto or through the temporary assignment of the parish priest. The existence of lay ministries only indicates that those who are instituted through the liturgical rite will do so in a stable way.

Let us consider whether in our condition as lay people we feel called to any of these ministries, to contribute with the gifts and charisms that the Holy Spirit has blessed us and to collaborate with our parish in the Holy Eucharist or sharing the faith as catechists.

Liturgia Papal, “Los ministerios laicales”, LiturgiaPapal.org, 12 February 2022, translated from https://liturgiapapal.org/index.php/manual-de-liturgia/ministerios/1155-los-ministerios-laicales.html

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Are we open to God’s call?

During our daily lives we sometimes ask ourselves, what is the mission that the Lord has for us? But we would really have to reflect if we are attentive to the call that the Lord makes to us. Have we fed the homeless person who begs at the supermarket door? Do we donate clothes in good condition that we no longer wear? Do we collaborate with the offering during mass? Do we donate our time to any of our parish ministries or in the community? Am I willing to form a new ministry that is needed? Do I accept my neighbor as an image of Jesus Christ?

And if we have heard the call, are we willing to follow it unconditionally as were Andrew and John (John 1:35-39), Simon-Peter and James (Luke 5:1-11), Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13) or Paul (Acts 9:1-22)?

Our Lord will come to meet us no matter what path we are taking. The important thing is that when He calls us, we make the decision to follow Him, because He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and through Him we can know the Father, because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:11).

As Catholics we must be willing to listen to the call of our Lord with an open heart, and even more be willing to answer said call with our actions following his teachings, commemorating the Paschal sacrifice, and above all participating in said sacrifice that is the Sacred Communion.

Let us be attentive to the call of our Lord, and let us respond like the prophet Samuel, who after many times hearing the call of the Lord, finally said: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:1-10)

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What does being a Christian mean today, here and now?

Being a Christian has never been easy, nor is it easy today. Following Christ demands the courage of radical choices, which often means going against the stream. “We are Christ!”, St Augustine exclaimed. The martyrs and witnesses of faith yesterday and today, including many lay faithful, show that, if necessary, we must not hesitate to give even our lives for Jesus Christ.

In this regard, everyone is invited to a serious examination of conscience and lasting spiritual renewal for ever more effective missionary activity. As Pope Paul VI, wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi towards the end of the Holy Year of 1975:  “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (EN 41).

These words are still valid today in the presence of a humanity full of potential and expectations, but threatened by a multitude of snares and dangers. One need only think, among other things, of social advances and of the revolution in genetics; of economic progress and of underdevelopment in vast areas of the globe; of the tragedy of hunger in the world and of the difficulties in safeguarding peace; of the extensive network of communications and of the dramas of loneliness and violence reported in the daily press.

Let us faithful, as witnesses to Christ who are especially called to bring the light of the Gospel to the vital nerve centers of society, be prophets of Christian hope and apostles of the One “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty!” (Revelations 1:4).

John Paul II, “Jubilee of the Apostolate of the Laity” homily  § 4, Vatican City, 26 November 2000, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20001126_jubillaity.html

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Should I accept him as a brother when he is so different from me?

“But they are so different… Their customs are so different… they behave strangely…” these are some of the justifications that we sometimes give to ourselves when we encounter cultural or ethnic groups, different from the one we belong to, even in our own mother Church. Let us remember that the Catholic Church, from its beginnings, has welcomed the diversity of cultures, has made them its own and has not denied them the Gospel (Acts 2:1-11).

The grace of the sacrament of baptism, the door to salvation, and the good news of Jesus Christ was also extended to minorities, foreigners and according to the old law, imperfect. Just as Philip evangelized and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch by the advice of the angel of the Lord (Acts 8:26-39), we must extend the grace of the gospel to minorities who feel rejected from the Church, maybe by our own blindness of not wanting to see them as children of God.

The diversity of the Church is even immersed in its own name, when Saint Paul gives the name “ekklesia” (church) to the communities of Christians. In Greek “ekklesia” means “called-out assembly”, this assembly was made up of all those called out to the way of the Lord regardless of their previous affiliation. The apostle himself recognizes in several of his epistles the diversity of the charismas with which the Holy Spirit blesses the faithful (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, Romans 12:6-8).

Let us recognize our Lord Jesus Christ in each of our brothers in faith, no matter how different from us they seem or how different their customs are. Let us welcome with mercy those who feel rejected and find themselves on the peripheries, keep in mind that everything we do for the least of God’s children, we are doing for Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 25:30-41)

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How can I help in my parish?

I come regularly to mass and support with the offering, but I would like to help more, what can I do to help my parish? Our main mission as Catholics is to evangelize, we can also do it by helping our local Church, joining a lay ministry or forming one that is needed.

Lay ministries in the Church are not only those that we see at Mass, such as: altar servers, acolytes, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, psalmists, choir, and ushers. Apart from these there are other ministries that we usually do not see, but nevertheless their work is important for the ritual of the mass and evangelization. Some of these are: Altar Linen Care Ministry, are those in charge of washing the altar cloths, corporals and purifiers; Consolation Ministry, are those who assist in the preparation prior to and during funerals to accompany the family of the deceased; Catechesis Ministry, they share their faith, whether with children,  adolescents or adults to guide them in the knowledge of the Church’s teachings; Prayer Shawl Ministry, who offer their time and skills making hand-woven garments that will be donated to those most in need; Vine and Branches Ministry, they help and organize the events of the parish in which food is shared; Youth Ministry, aimed at youth who have already received their sacraments of initiation, in order to keep them active in their faith; Liturgical Environment Ministry, which is in charge of decorating the temple according to the liturgical time and vesting the altar with the appropriate liturgical color; Wedding Preparation Ministry, offers support to couples in the coordination and rehearsal for the sacrament of marriage; Outreach Ministry, extends the mercy of the Church to those most in need, offering them food and household supplies; Prayer Ministries, in its various forms, Divine Mercy, the Holy Rosary, Padre Pio, Miraculous Medal, who offer their time and prayers for the well-being and sanctification of everyone.

Let us participate in a ministry where we can put into practice the gifts which God has blessed us with, supporting our parish and evangelizing with our actions.

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How am I to follow Jesus Christ?

Sometimes we find ourselves wondering how we should follow Christ in our lives, and sometimes we wonder if we are really worthy of following Christ because of the weight of our sins.

We must in those moments find our way looking at the call of the apostles, we can begin to follow Jesus Christ on the recommendation of others and then stay by his side as happened with Andrew and John, initially disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35- 39). We can witness his miracles and even feeling unworthy, we follow Jesus Christ; just as Simon-Peter and James did (Luke 5:1-11). We can find ourselves immersed in our work, but a call from Jesus Christ makes us follow him despite the sins we have committed; just as it happened to Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13). We can even be on a totally opposite path to Jesus Christ, but an encounter with Him is enough for us to change our lives and proclaim his works, as happened to Paul (Acts 9: 1-22).

Our Lord Jesus Christ will come to meet us regardless of the path we are, the important thing is that once He calls us, we make the decision to follow Him, because He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and with Him we can know the Father, because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:11).

Following Jesus Christ implies following his teachings, commemorating the paschal sacrifice, and above all participating in said sacrifice, which is the Holy Eucharist, since we have to eat the body of Christ because He is the living bread that came down from heaven, and the one who eats from that bread will have eternal life. (John 6:51)

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What is our mission as lay people?

Our Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection appears to his disciples for the third time, and after eating with them Jesus has the following dialogue with Simon-Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said: Feed my lambs. Again, Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you love me? He answered: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). In this text we see the Lord giving Peter the pastoral ministry, He was leaving to him and his successors the government of the Church, a government that would be shared collegially with the apostles and their successors, the bishops; and from them the entire hierarchical body of the Church: priests, deacons, and the different lay ministries.

This Petrine government is shared in its specific mission by each baptized person, since we all receive the triple anointing in our baptism as priests, prophets and kings; priests who, united like the branch to the vine, which is the priesthood of Christ, can offer our lives for the glory of God and the good of our brothers; prophets, who, united with the mystical body of Christ, strongly denounce what is contrary to God’s commandments, announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is already among us, and kings because Christ grants us with his redemption the dignity of children of God.

This general or baptismal priesthood enables all of us to participate in the pastoral mission of the Church with the same conditions that our Lord imposes on Peter, that we love him and on top of that love for Christ, He will hand over to us the missions of our life, which will always be “feed my sheep”, that is, “take care of the brothers and sisters that I am going to give you as a mission”, be it a family, a lay ministry, the priestly ministry, a diocese, or the entire Church, in the case of the Pope.

The different services within the Church, the different movements and prayer groups, at whatever level, are part of this pastoral mission, which is the mission of pastoral ministry always in communion with the Holy Father, the diocese and the parishes.

Let us always be ready to follow the mission to which Jesus Christ calls us in our lives, always ready to tell Him that we love Him, every time He asks us through the Holy Spirit expressed in our neighbor.

Romero, Luis Miguel “El Ministerio Pastoral del Laicado” Catholic Faith Network 13 June 2023, https://vimeo.com/855809440

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What do I have to do to follow the footsteps of Jesus?

Just as Jesus Christ has called us to holiness (Matthew 5:48), our Lord has also called us to follow him (John 14:6-7). How can I be a disciple of the Lord? By following the vocation to which God is calling you, the vocation is not only those of priestly order or religious life, a person may also have the vocation to marriage (Matthew 19:5-6) or celibacy (Matthew 19:12). Vocation is a call that God himself makes us to serve him in the best way for the work of salvation (Matthew 11:28-30), just as he did with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2) and Samuel (1 Samuel 3:7-10).

What must I do then to be able to hear the call of the Lord? There is no better way to be attentive to the call of our Lord than prayer. In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ (CCC 2565).

Let us be open to the call that God makes us and let us respond with faith to this call, not all we will have the same vocation, since different gifts have been distributed to each one of us until all of us attain to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:2-14).

Let us discern with faith our vocation, whether to Holy Orders, holy matrimony or the celibate life, so that, as a holy people, we work for the edification of the body of Christ that is the Church. Let us not be sponge Christians who only receive the word without acting, let us rather be like a honeycomb, Christians overflowing with the sweetness of the gospel through our example of life in the vocation of service that God has called us to.