LUMEN GENTIUM
"But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by
engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God.
They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions
and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social
life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there
by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the
Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a
leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the
testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since
they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special
task to order and to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may
come into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the praise
of the Creator and the Redeemer."
- Lumen Gentium, #31
"For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their
ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and
mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life,
if patiently borne—all these become "spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ". Together with the offering of the Lord's body,
they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as
those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world
itself to God."
- Lumen Gentium, #34
"Just as the sacraments of the New Law, by which the life and the apostolate
of the faithful are nourished, prefigure a new heaven and a new earth,(204) so
too the laity go forth as powerful proclaimers of a faith in things to be hoped
for,(205) when they courageously join to their profession of faith a life
springing from faith. This evangelization, that is, this announcing of Christ by
a living testimony as well as by the spoken word, takes on a specific quality
and a special force in that it is carried out in the ordinary surroundings of
the world.
- Lumen Gentium, #35
"The faithful, therefore, must learn the deepest meaning and the value of all
creation, as well as its role in the harmonious praise of God. They must assist
each other to live holier lives even in their daily occupations. In this way the
world may be permeated by the spirit of Christ and it may more effectively
fulfill its purpose in justice, charity and peace. The laity have the principal
role in the overall fulfillment of this duty. Therefore, by their competence in
secular training and by their activity, elevated from within by the grace of
Christ, let them vigorously contribute their effort, so that created goods may
be perfected by human labor, technical skill and civic culture for the benefit
of all men according to the design of the Creator and the light of His Word. May
the goods of this world be more equitably distributed among all men, and may
they in their own way be conducive to universal progress in human and Christian
freedom. In this manner, through the members of the Church, will Christ
progressively illumine the whole of human society with His saving light."
- Lumen Gentium, #36
DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH
LUMEN GENTIUM
SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON NOVEMBER 21, 1964
LUMEN GENTIUM
SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON NOVEMBER 21, 1964
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