St. Mark, pray for us!!
St. Mark | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org
Redemptor hominis - Pope John Paul II
21. The Christian vocation to service and kingship
In building up from the very foundations the picture of the Church as the
People of God-by showing the threefold mission of Christ himself, through
participation in which we become truly God's People-the Second Vatican Counci]
highlighted, among other characteristics of the Christian vocation, the one
that can be described as "kingly". To present all the riches of the
Council's teaching we would here have to make reference to numerous chapters
and paragraphs of the Constitution Lumen Gentium and of many other
documents by the Council. However, one element seems to stand out in the midst
of all these riches: the sharing in Christ's kingly mission, that is to say the
fact of rediscovering in oneself and others the special dignity of our vocation
that can be described as "kingship". This dignity is expressed in
readiness to serve, in keeping with the example of Christ, who "came not
to be served but to serve"181. If, in the light of this attitude
of Christ's, "being a king" is truly possible only by "being a
servant" then "being a servant" also demands so much spiritual
maturity that it must really be de- scribed as "being a king". In
order to be able to serve others worthily and effectively we must be able to master
ourselves, possess the virtues that make this mastery possible. Our sharing in
Christ's kingly mission-his "kingly function" (munus) is
closely linked with every sphere of both Christian and human morality.
In presenting the complete picture of the People of God and recalling the
place among that people held not only by priests but also by the laity, not
only by the representatives of the Hierarchy but also by those of the
Institutes of Consecrated Life, the Second Vatican Council did not deduce this
picture merely from a sociological premise. The Church as a human society can
of course be examined and described according to the categories used by the
sciences with regard to any human society. But these categories are not enough.
For the whole of the community of the People of God and for each member of it
what is in question is not just a specific "social membership";
rather, for each and every one what is essential is a particular "vocation".
Indeed, the Church as the People of God is also-according to the teaching of
Saint Paul mentioned above, of which Pius XII reminded us in wonderful
terms-"Christ's Mystical Body"182. Membership in that body
has for its source a particular call, united with the saving action of grace.
Therefore, if we wish to keep in mind this community of the People of God,
which is so vast and so extremely differentiated, we must see first and
foremost Christ saying in a way to each member of the community: "Follow
me"183. It is the community of the disciples, each of whom in a
different way -at times very consciously and consistently, at other times not
very consciously and very inconsistently-is following Christ. This shows also
the deeply "personal" aspect and dimension of this society, which, in
spite of all the deficiencies of its community life-in the human meaning of
this word-is a community precisely because all its members form it together
with Christ himself, at least because they bear in their souls the indelible mark
of a Christian.
The Second Vatican Council devoted very special attention to showing how
this "ontological" community of disciples and confessors must
increasingly become, even from the "human" point of view, a community
aware of its own life and activity. The initiatives taken by the Council in
this field have been followed up by the many further initiatives of a synodal,
apostolic and organizational kind. We must however always keep in mind the
truth that every initiative serves true renewal in the Church and helps to
bring the authentic light that is Christ184 insofar as the initiative
is based on adequate awareness of the individual Christian's vocation and of
responsibility for this singular, unique and unrepeatable grace by which each
Christian in the community of the People of God builds up the Body of Christ.
This principle, the key rule for the whole of Christian practice-apostolic and
pastoral practice, practice of interior and of social life-must with due
proportion be applied to the whole of humanity and to each human being. The
Pope too and every Bishop must apply this principle to himself. Priests and
religious must be faithful to this principle. It is the basis on which their
lives must be built by married people, parents, and women and men of different
conditions and professions, from those who occupy the highest posts in society
to those who perform the simplest tasks. It is precisely the principle of the
"kingly service" that imposes on each one of us, in imitation of Christ's
example, the duty to demand of himself exactly what we have been called to,
what we have personally obliged ourselves to by God's grace, in order to
respond to our vocation. This fidelity to the vocation received from God
through Christ involves the joint responsibility for the Church for which the
Second Vatican Council wishes to educate all Christians. Indeed, in the Church
as the community of the People of God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit's
working, each member has "his own special gift", as Saint Paul
teaches185. Although this "gift" is a personal vocation and a
form of participation in the Church's saving work, it also serves others builds
the Church and the fraternal communities in the various spheres of human life
on earth.
Fidelity to one's vocation, that is to say persevering readiness for
"kingly service", has particular significance for these many forms of
building, especially with regard to the more exigent tasks, which have more
influence on the life of our neighbour and of the whole of society. Married
people must be distinguished for fidelity to their vocation, as is demanded by
the indissoluble nature of the sacramental institution of marriage. Priests
must be distinguished for a similar fidelity to their vocation, in view of the indelible
character that the sacrament of Orders stamps on their souls. In receiving this
sacrament, we in the Latin Church knowingly and freely cammit ourselves to live
in celibacy, and each one of us must therefore do all he can, with God's grace,
to be thankful for this gift and faithful to the bond that he has accepted for
ever. He must do so as married people must, for they must endeavour with all
their strength to persevere in their matrimonial union, building up the family
community through this witness of love and educating new generations of men and
women, capable in their turn of dedicating the whole of their lives to their
vocation, that is to say to the "kingly service "of which Jesus
Christ has offered us the example and the most beautiful model. His Church,
made up of all of us, is "for men" in the sense that, by basing
ourselves on Christ's example186 and collaborating with the grace that
he has gained for us, we are able to attain to "being kings", that is
to say we are able to produce a mature humanity in each one of us. Mature
humanity means full use of the gift of freedom received from the Creator when
he called to existence the man made "in his image, after his
likeness". This gift finds its full realization in the unreserved giving
of the whole of one's human person, in a spirit of the love of a spouse, to
Christ and, with Christ, to all those to whom he sends men and women totally
consecrated to him in accordance with the evangelical counsels. This is the
ideal of the religious life, which has been undertaken by the Orders and
Congregations both ancient and recent, and by the Secular Institutes.
Nowadays it is sometimes held, though wrongly, that freedom is an end in
itself, that each human being is free when he makes use of freedom as he
wishes, and that this must be our aim in the lives of individuals and
societies. In reality, freedom is a great gift only when we know how to use it
consciously for everything that is our true good. Christ teaches us that the
best use of freedom is charity, which takes concrete form in self-giving and in
service. For this "freedom Christ has set us free"187 and
ever continues to set us free. The Church draws from this source the unceasing
inspiration, the call and the drive for her mission and her service among all
mankind. The full truth about human freedom is indelibly inscribed on the
mystery of the Redemption. The Church truly serves mankind when she guards this
truth with untiring attention, fervent love and mature commitment and when in the
whole of her own community she transmits it and gives it concrete form in human
life through each Christian's fidelity tò his vocation. This confirms what we
have already referred to, namely that man is and always becomes the
"way" for the Church's daily life.
"O humility, what great blessings you bestow where you are present." St. Teresa of Jesus
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