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.