Living the Call. Michael Novak
in the Church and the World. He noted that laypeople are sharers in the priestly mission, for which Jesus offered himself on the cross and continues to be offered in the celebration of the Eucharist for the glory of God and the salvation of humanity. “The lay faithful,” said the pope, “consecrate the world itself to God.”
The Second Vatican Council very clearly laid out the proposition that all ministry is rooted in the baptismal call to discipleship and evangelization. All laity are called through baptism toward the transformation of the secular world.
During the course of his tenure, John Paul II also offered specific instruction for the leaders of the U.S. Catholic Church: “As pastors of the people of God in America, priests . . . should be careful to discern the charisms and strengths of the faithful who might be leaders in the community, listening to them and through dialogue encouraging their participation and co-responsibility. This will lead to a better distribution of tasks, and enable priests ‘to dedicate themselves to what is most closely tied to the encounter with a proclamation of Jesus Christ, and thus to represent better within the community the presence of Jesus who draws his people together.’”
In recent years, the leadership of the American Church has taken up Pope John Paul II’s challenge with vigor. Commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, the U.S. bishops reaffirmed that “baptism and confirmation empower all believers to share in some form of ministry.” The bishops recognized that the Church “faces an unprecedented situation in the contemporary world and the laypeople are at the cutting edge of these new challenges. It is they who engage directly in the task of relating Christian values and practices to complex questions, such as those of business ethics, political choice, economic security, quality of life, cultural development and family planning.”
The bishops foresaw that the issue of lay involvement in Church leadership could be a difficult one but warned that the “recognition of lay rights and responsibilities should not create divisiveness between clergy and laity but should express the full range of influence of the People of God.” Without the laypeople, the bishops suggested, the Church cannot live out its mission: “The Church is to be a sign of God’s Kingdom in the world. The authenticity of that sign depends on all the people: laity, religious, deacons, priests and bishops. Unless we truly live as the People of God, we will not be much of a sign to ourselves or the world.”
Finally, the bishops offered this humble but inspirational declaration: “We are convinced that the laity are making an indispensable contribution to the experience of the People of God and that the full import of their contribution is still in a beginning form in the post-Vatican II Church. We have spoken in order to listen. It is not our intention rigidly to define or to control, to sketch misleading dreams or to bestow false praise. We bishops wish simply to take our place and exercise our role among the People of God. We now await the next word.”
Though the role of the laity is still in flux, it is clear that both the laity and the Church leadership want to make sure that certain foundations are put in place. The importance of formation for laity cannot be overestimated. If laypeople are called to occupy such vital places in the Church, then their religious education is of the utmost urgency.
In 2005, the U.S. bishops released a document titled “Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.” As its title suggests, the bishops reiterate in this document the importance of clergy working alongside laypeople to accomplish God’s work in the world. The bishops are aware that “the pathway to lay ecclesial ministry for any individual is as unique as that individual. No typical path exists, only a multitude of examples. Most of the paths are quite circuitous; few are direct.” But no matter what path an individual takes, it is important that he engage in a serious course of formation before undertaking any sort of lay ministry.
“Effective formation methods address the whole person: emotions, imagination, will, heart, and mind. It is the whole person who ministers, so the whole person is the proper subject of formation.” The bishops lay out four paths to formation—human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral:
• Human qualities critical to form wholesome relationships and necessary to be apt instruments of God’s love and compassion
• A spirituality and practice of prayer that root them in God’s Trinitarian life, grounding and animating all they do in ministry
• Adequate knowledge in theological and pastoral studies, along with the intellectual skill to use it among the people and cultures of our country
• The practical pastoral abilities called for in their particular ministry
While some of these qualities must be developed through the kinds of spiritual exercises and practices discussed in the second part of this book, others require a greater engagement with the texts of the Church and more formal instruction in the particular kinds of ministry.
In the years since the publication of these guidelines, their message has started to trickle down to the local parishes. A number of bishops and archbishops have written letters to their own parishioners to reiterate and expand on the messages of these documents.
At the same time, a number of Catholic educational institutions have begun to take up the challenge of formation. Several formal programs have been launched to meet the growing demand of laypeople who want to take on a larger role.
Loyola Marymount University in Southern California offers a master of arts in pastoral theology whose requirements include not only courses in systematic theology and Church history but also fieldwork. The University of Notre Dame has begun offering an MA program in theology that can be completed over the summers, for laypeople who are engaged in other work. People who complete it are well suited to serve in high school religious education, parish, and diocesan ministries, as well as in health care and social-work ministries.
Boston College’s Weston School of Theology and Ministry offers more traditional degrees, like an MA in pastoral ministry. With the cooperation of other graduate divisions at BC, that degree can be combined with degrees in counseling, nursing, social work, and business. These sorts of integrated programs can help laypeople bridge the gap between their internal spiritual lives and their missions as lay leaders in the Church and the world.
Laypeople who are interested in pursuing these kinds of programs may, of course, look to nearby Catholic universities. But there are organizations that act as clearinghouses for this information as well. The Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry, which has almost 50 member institutions, helps educators to offer the most thorough and up-to-date models for lay ministers in training. And the National Association for Lay Ministry (NALM) is a professional organization that supports, educates, and advocates for lay ministers and promotes the development of lay ministry in the Catholic Church. National certification standards have been established for at least four positions: pastoral associates, parish life coordinators, parish catechetical leaders, and youth ministry leaders. NALM publishes the guidelines for lay certification in a variety of fields.
Individual dioceses can also offer their own courses to aid in the formation of lay ministers. Kathy Russell, who oversees the formation of lay ministers for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, says the process is different depending on a person’s background. Some have the administrative skills or the spiritual knowledge but not the communication skills or the understanding of counseling. She tries to set up potential lay ministers with a combination of courses from local seminaries, universities, and the archdiocese itself. From courses on preaching to a seminar on “inclusive communities,” laypeople should be able to find much of what they need in the diocese training program.
Finding a lay vocation can be a long and sometimes complex process of discernment. But the process does not take place in a vacuum. Parishes that are looking for lay involvement must also discern where their needs lie, then engage in a dialogue with parishioners about how lay involvement can improve the community.
The Holy Family Parish in South Pasadena, California, for instance, put together a succession plan that laid out the need to look at a range of options when its pastor retired. One possibility that they wanted to explore was adding a parish life director. The parish leadership launched a national search to find someone to fill the position. Holy Family recognized