Friday, September 22, 2006
We turn to an examination of the third quality of the Christian believer: our participation in the royal aspect of Christ's bestowal upon his disciples. Naturally, this kingly nature is embedded in the Son's kenosis, or self-emptying sacrifice.
Christ, becoming obedient even unto death and because of this exalted by the Father,(Cf. Phil. 2, 8-9.) entered into the glory of His kingdom. To Him all things are made subject until He subjects Himself and all created things to the Father that God may be all in all.(Cf 1 Cor. 15, 27) Now Christ has communicated this royal power to His disciples that they might be constituted in royal freedom and that by true penance and a holy life they might conquer the reign of sin in themselves.(Cf. Rom. 6, 12.)
The kingly power of baptism, then, is a path not for domination, but for self-freedom and a focus on the path toward holiness.
Further, He has shared this power so that serving Christ in their fellow (human beings) they might by humility and patience lead (them) to that King for whom to serve is to reign. But the Lord wishes to spread His kingdom also by means of the laity, namely, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace (Ex Praefatione festi Christi Regis.). In this kingdom creation itself will be delivered from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the (children) of God.(Cf Rom. 8, 21.) Clearly then a great promise and a great trust is committed to the disciples: "All things are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's"(I Cor. 3, 23.)
God's kingdom is described, lest anyone gain a false sense that the Christian kingly expression is one of power, or lording it over others. Instead of a classical medieval (or modern blogetariat) everybody-for-themselves competition, spiritual symbiosis is called for. We assist each other on the journey to holiness.
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 (people) 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 (people), 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.
Labor is subordinate to the mission of the Gospel.
Moreover, let the laity also by their combined efforts remedy the customs and conditions of the world, if they are an inducement to sin, so that they all may be conformed to the norms of justice and may favor the practice of virtue rather than hinder it. By so doing they will imbue culture and human activity with genuine moral values; they will better prepare the field of the world for the seed of the Word of God; and at the same time they will open wider the doors of the Church by which the message of peace may enter the world.
And we read that the role of spreading moral virtue and preparing others for entry into the Reign of God is the laity's.
Because of the very economy of salvation the faithful should learn how to distinguish carefully between those rights and duties which are theirs as members of the Church, and those which they have as members of human society. Let them strive to reconcile the two, remembering that in every temporal affair they must be guided by a Christian conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity which can be withdrawn from God's dominion. In our own time, however, it is most urgent that this distinction and also this harmony should shine forth more clearly than ever in the lives of the faithful, so that the mission of the Church may correspond more fully to the special conditions of the world today. For it must be admitted that the temporal sphere is governed by its own principles, since it is rightly concerned with the interests of this world. But that ominous doctrine which attempts to build a society with no regard whatever for religion, and which attacks and destroys the religious liberty of its citizens, is rightly to be rejected (Cfr. Leo XIII, Epist. Encycl. Immortale Dei, 1 nov. 1888: ASS 18 (1888) p. 166 ss. Idem, Litt. Encycl. Sapientae christianae, 10 ian. 1890: ASS 22 (1889-90) p. 397 ss. Pius XII, Alloc. Alla vostra filfale. 23 mart. l9S8: AAS S0 (145R ) p. 220: Ia Iegittima sana laicita dello Stato ..).
You've been rather silent this week. Any thoughts today?
