In Confirmation, Christians are empowered to fulfill their tasks
A good man willingly shares this, what he has, with your fellow men. It does not close in on itself, is not indifferent to the fate of another human being. Yes, enjoys, that he can help another.
But what can you share ? - Everyone, what we have : material goods, your time, by force, wisdom, skills.
There is one more wealth, given to us by God at baptism, which you do not need ,,hide under a bushel ". This is the Joyful News about the salvation of man. When Christ handed it over to his church, He instructed to proclaim it all over the world and to distribute it to every man of good will. This task of the Church is called apostleship. Who is to complete them ?
A vocation to proclaim the Good News
We are the People of God. We received the grace of salvation from Christ. However, we accepted it not only for ourselves. Baptism obligated us to share this grace with others. Christ called his Church for this, to "make all people partakers of the redemption of salvation" (GIVES 2). Everyone then, who becomes a member of the Church, he also takes over his mission.
Words : "Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk 16, 15) they apply not only to the Apostles. The first Christians were already careful, that it is the duty of every baptized person, and that they performed it at every opportunity (by. Dz 11, 19-21).
A lot has changed over the years. The preaching of the Gospel was dealt with mainly by the clergy, and lay Christians were concerned only with their own salvation. But the present times have reminded us anew of this universal apostolic duty. The conditions of human life have changed. The population is growing rapidly, technological progress creates many new situations, in which the laity can sometimes do more than the clergy. That is why the Church in the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity recalls, that the duty of apostleship rests with all members of the Church.
Priests do this by virtue of the sacrament of priesthood and a special mission that follows, to whom they devote their entire lives completely. Lay Christians receive the right to the apostolate in the sacrament of Confirmation, who gives them the power of the Holy Spirit and makes them responsible for the Church of God.
Ways of proclaiming the Joyful News
Both the priest, and the lay Catholic want to turn the whole world towards Christ. But each of them does it differently.
The lay Catholic lives among the people, deals with various temporal matters. They fill him every weekday. So he should learn to manage them like that, lest they hide from him the truth about salvation. He will achieve it then, when he imbues his every activity with the spirit of the Gospel. His whole life will then become a testimony of the Good News. Such conduct is the foundation and condition for the effectiveness of the lay Catholic apostolate.
By doing so, other people, believers and non-believers, they will understand better the principles of the Christian life, which the Church of Christ teaches us about. They will also see a live example, how these principles should be applied every day among various matters of the modern world. Such behavior of a Christian can therefore be called an apostolate of life.
But the tasks of a lay apostle do not end there. It uses all the opportunities that come up, and even looks for them, to fulfill your calling faithfully.
So he can speak at the right moment, to rectify any mistake, to answer the objection, or to explain the mystery of salvation. Such words can strengthen or lead to faith in many people. This is a particularly important way of apostleship, because the priest's word does not reach everywhere and not everyone wants to hear it. We call this way of acting as the apostolate of the word. Because Christ put the commandment of love first, the lay apostle will do the same. When he always and willingly hurries his neighbor - no matter who he is - to help, it will bring this man closer to Christ. It will be an apostolate of good works.
The Church fulfills her saving mission through prayer, public worship and liturgy. Its effect on people will be much more effective, when lay Catholics will courageously and correctly participate in it. We call this way of fulfilling our mission an apostolate of prayer.
The culmination of all Christ's activity was his passion and death on the cross. Through her, He sanctified every suffering, what happens to a person. A lay Catholic will imbue with the apostolic spirit also moments of suffering in his life, willingly offering them for people who need God's grace. We can call this an apostolate of suffering.
Witness to God in your environment
The layperson lives among the people. If he is animated by the spirit of the Gospel, he can also pass it on to others. Closest, with whom he lives, it's his parents or children, that is, family. How many different occasions there are at home, to influence others well ! After all, the household know everything about each other, they know their faults and weaknesses perfectly well and have the most opportunities to pray together, provide yourself with good, and rebuke one another.
Everyone has a lot of people close to home and away from home. These are his colleagues, peers, Friends. He meets them at school, in the common room, on the pitch, etc.. One brave and apostolic friend can bring a lot of good into the life of friends and society.
As Catholics, we also create a parish community. The center of her life is the church and the liturgy. A priest presides over this community. But he himself would not do much, if he had run out of lay helpers. Lay Catholics complete the work of the priest. They take on many parish matters, and they cooperate lively in catechesis and in works of charity. They are concerned not only with the parish community, but also the matters of the diocese and the whole Church. The area of activity of adults is the places of their professional work. They are also concerned with national matters, social, and even worldwide. They come into contact with people of different views and religious beliefs. A Christian cannot forget his mission in such situations. He will cooperate with every man of good will. With his honesty and nobility, he will attract others to good and prepare their hearts unnoticed for the action of God's grace.
How will I answer God ?
Idea, how many years have passed since you were baptized ?… Christ has given you the grace of salvation. Year by year you deepen your knowledge of your faith in religion classes. You are constantly using the sacrament of reconciliation. God still supports your efforts with His grace, to keep you getting better and better.
And what are the consequences of this? ? What are you doing, to share your experience with others ? You cannot sanctify yourself, without sanctifying others. Can you be called an apostle of the word?, prayers, deed… ?
■ Think :
1. Do kogo skierował Chrystus nakaz głoszenia Ewangelii ?
2. Jaka jest różnica między apostolską działalnością kapłanów a świeckich ?
3. Od czego zależy skuteczność apostołowania świeckich katolików ?
4. Kiedy pouczenie apostolskie jest specjalnie ważne i konieczne ?
5. Jakie są jeszcze inne sposoby apostołowania ?
6. W jakich środowiskach może działać apostoł świecki ?
■ Remember :
29. What it means to be a lay apostle ?
Being a lay apostle means living in the world and taking care of temporal matters not only for your own salvation, but also for the salvation of others.
30. W jaki sposób chrześcijanin może apostołować ?
A Christian can minister by the example of his own life, by an instructive word, a prayer, doing good, and also by suffering and sacrifice.
31. Gdzie chrześcijanin może apostołować ?
A Christian should be the apostle in his family, in the group of colleagues, in the parish and everywhere, where he meets his fellow men.