Hello! It is Day 3 of the course, but I’ll share the
experience of Day 2 with you in this post.
We heard from Claudio Betti, a professor of international
relations at a university in Rome. He is also a member of the Community of San
Egidio, better known as a lay community that he says has 50-70,000 members. The
community is based in Trastavere, Rome, but has communities worldwide. They
have a special focus on the poor.
Today’s topic was “Current theology on the laity”. Claudio
did not speak directly about Church teaching on the laity, but more about how
laypeople in the world are working as members of the Church, and as Church.
Let me pause in describing our day to offer some ideas of
what I see as the current theology of the laity. Having graduated college
studying religion and theology just 3-4 days ago, I’m eager to share my
theological prowess! Only kidding. In all seriousness, the topic of the laity
in Church teaching is actually quite interesting.
In a post Vatican II Church, we have recognized the powerful
ministry of the lay faithful in the world. From increased visibility in the
liturgy, to entire communities of lay faithful, to helping administrate on the
parish level… laypeople have a role in the Church.
Of course, we understand Church to be the following: all the
baptized faithful who hold faith in Jesus Christ. That is the short version! In
the case of lay Marists, we have the interesting connection to the faith in
which we live the Gospel by being Marist. This charism, or gift of the Holy
Spirit, has been cultivated in the life of all who call themselves Marist for
almost 200 years (in 2017 we will celebrate the Bicentenary).
With incredible foresight into what the future of the
Institute will look like, the Marist Brothers are seeking to increase focus on
lay Marists, helping cultivate those gifts of their life and faith that they
bring to the table. This course is a perfect example. This is not to say that
lay will “take over” or “replace” Marist Brothers. It is a recognition of our
shared single vocation: to be Christians in this world. Claudio Betti
highlighted this shared single vocation in his remarks.
While the Second Vatican Council gave us a lot to hold onto
happily by recognition of the laity, it also got a few things… in my opinion,
wrong. For instance, Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church),
speaks of the laity as more connected to the “secular world” or “temporal
affairs”. To put it simply: lay, religious, and the clergy live in the same
world, work many of the same jobs, and live in different yet similar ways. 50
years after the Council, we continue to read the “signs of the times” as Pope
John XXIII did and move forward. It is my strong belief that we shouldn’t dwell
on what we feel is wrong with teaching, but live in a way that is true to our
spiritual selves and the Gospel.
Back to some of today’s remarks to from our presenter.
Claudio drew some connections from the narrative of Jesus multiplying the
loaves and fishes. The disciples said to Jesus “We have here only five loaves
of bread and two fish,” (MT 14:17). For our changing Marist world, a decrease
in the number of brothers does not mean a decrease in the evangelization that
happens in our schools or Marist communities. Rather, it means a move forward together
toward “a new beginning”, as we have heard in recent international gatherings
and on the local level.
What might this mean for the U.S.? Maybe it means having a more organized method to help form and accompany lay Marists who are growing in their Christian life. I hope to come home with a lot of information on how that might happen. I won’t say much about that… so that we can revisit this later.
I leave you with a question: What are our needs in the US
for lay Marists?
Peace! -Luis
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