Klaus Sanders, msc
Assistant General
In an essay
called 'The Layman in the Pre‑Reformation Parish', published forty years
ago in a Catholic Truth Society pamphlet, Cardinal Aidan Gasquet relates the
anecdote of an inquirer who asked a priest what was the position of the layman
in the Catholic Church. "The layman has two positions", answered the
priest. “He kneels before the altar, that is one. And he sits below the pulpit,
that is the other.” The cardinal adds that there is a third that the priest had
forgotten. The layman also puts his hands in his purse.
In a sense
that is still so, and always will be so: there will never be a time when lay
men and women are not on their knees before the altar and sitting before the
pulpit, and for a long time yet they will have to put hand into purse. Nevertheless,
now and for the future they do these things in a different way; or at least,
doing these things, they feel differently about their position as a body in
the Church. (Y. Congar, Lay People in the Church. London 1957 / 1959.)
If one
reads the Gospels carefully it is easy to discover that Jesus was ultimately
rejected and put to death because of his way of interpreting the Torah in terms
of justice and compassion. His healing on the Sabbath, his eating with the
unclean, his table fellowship with the outcasts and sinners had only one aim:
to create a new community in which life‑giving relationship would guarantee the
fullness of life for every one and the end of all discrimination. In acting
like this Jesus demonstrated what God's Kingdom was all about: the creation of
a new community in which all would be brothers and sisters, where there would
be no marginalisation anymore. Here all would be gathered into the one great
family of all creatures according to the image and likeness of God the Three in
one.
This was to
be the precise mission of his disciples as well: to go out into the whole
world and to gather people from all nations and races and cultures into this
great new family of God. What does discipleship mean? Discipleship is first
of all a gift ‑ by our baptism we all became members of the new family
of God. Being a disciple means to share in a fundamental experience made and
communicated by the master. It means to be caught up in the vision of the
master, to be on fire with the fire of the master. It ultimately means to
become like the master. A disciple is a person who has made the same fundamental
experience that Jesus made. God loves every human person with an unconditional,
compassionate love. He is always with us. A disciple is someone who starts
living his daily life out of this experience and who sees his witnessing to
this experience as taking part in Jesus' own mission and so become a co‑worker
with God for the salvation / transformation of the world into God's final
design. Every Christian is called to mission on the basis of the sacrament
of Baptism. Baptism is not a passport to heaven or a ticket to enter into
eternal life. It is a call to mission. Most people will find eternal life
without being baptised. The privilege of being a Christian consists in having
been called to participate in a special way in the mission of Christ to save
all human beings. To be called means to “be consecrated", to be
taken into God's plan. Because of this we all are "holy, consecrated,
set apart” (klêros) to be sent out, to engage actively in God's mission,
to become “fishers of men" (Mk 1, 17; see: John Fül1enbach
SVD, Called to Mission. in SEDOS 96 /74)
The New
Testament considers every baptised Christian as ‘consecrated’ to God. It is
enough to recall the Pauline term, which speaks of Christians as hagioi,
as saints. Furthermore, the NT never considers the ministers of the Church as
sacred persons at the expense of other Christians. Quite the reverse, all
Christians are chosen and called by God, and all build a clergy, clêros,
which means a share, a heritage, a specific category consecrated to God (Col 1,
12; 1 Ptr 1,4).
Saint Paul
teaches that each Christian receives the charisms of the Spirit for the service
of the Church, and so receives gifts of service which are to be exercised in
and for the Christian community (1 Cor 12).
All Christians
are disciples of Jesus Christ and as disciples are sent into the world to share
in the same mission as Jesus Christ.
The Church as a whole is
ministerial; every Christian, ordained or not, is called to be at the service
of the Christian community and of the world. The ministries of the laity are
the direct fruit of baptism and confirmation. Lay people are apostles in the
Church and for the world because they are baptised. Full participation in all
the dimensions of the activity of the Church seems to be the order of the day,
even though there is still a long way still to go to fulfil this ideal.
A more complete and global
understanding sees the Church as communion, communio, where all
Christians share responsibility for the whole, although in a different way. The
Church, which in the past relied too exclusively on the clergy regarded as
being a special class of Christians, has to become a Church of the whole
people, a Church which takes into account all Christians according to the
different gifts they have received from the Spirit. The reason for all this is
the priority given to service, to a servant Church which is at the service of
the Gospel in the world and for the world.
The NT
never uses the term laïkos in spite of the fact that it already
existed two centuries before in the classical Greek. The word laos does
occur in the Bible, with the express meaning of the people of God, different
from the other nations, the people consecrated to God. The first use of the
word ‘lay’ In opposition to ‘priest’ is to be found in a Roman document, a
letter sent to the community in Corinth and written by Pope Clement, a
contemporary of the apostles (Congar, Jalons pour une Théologie du Laïcat.
p. 20-21). The distinction between clergy and the laity is very clear in
the literature of the beginning of the third century (Tertullian, Clement of
Alexandria, Origen). The words ‘high priest’ (archiereus) and ‘priest’ (hiereus)
were used only for Christ (Hebrews) and for the entire Christian community
(1 Ptr 2,9 “But you are a chosen race, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation,
a people to be a personal possession to sing the praises of God who called you
out of the darkness in to his wonderful light”; Apoc 1,6; 5, 10).
To
characterise the functions of the clergy in the Church as sacred and those of
the laity as secular presents many theological difficulties. It is easy to
understand the sacraments as essentially sacred activities. But if ordained
ministers are called to preside at their celebration, the laity also is called
to participate fully at their celebration. The sacraments are not exclusively
the business of the clergy. They belong essentially to the life of all
Christians. Otherwise, if they don't participate in their celebration, they are
called non‑practising Christians.
Every
activity fulfilled by a Christian, whether an ordained minister or not, is, if
fulfilled at least implicitly in the name of Christ and for Christ, a sacred
activity. If this activity is not fulfilled in the name of Christ and for
Christ at least implicitly, the person doing it does not act as a Christian. It
is only the act of a human person. We must not forget the famous dictum of Paul
to the Christians: “Whether you eat, then, or drink, or whatever else you do,
do it all for the glory of God” (1Cor 10,31). To proclaim the word and to
listen to it, to celebrate the sacraments are activities shared in by the
clergy and the laity, the only difference being in the way each group and each
individual takes part in the celebration.
Vatican II,
far from resolving all theological questions about the laity or even about the
clergy, had often left these questions open. The theology of the laity is very
recent in the Church and has undergone vigorous development. Vatican II was the
first ecumenical Council which devoted a whole document to the laity.
I think it
is important to see that the Church in its entirety is called ‘to serve’. Its
members, ordained or not, fulfil a multitude of ministries and services. We
have to see the Church as essentially a communion of equal members, a communion
sent into the world by Christ to serve through the innumerable gifts of the
Holy Spirit.
Lumen
Gentium makes the
distinction between common priesthood and ministerial priesthood. Vatican II
affirms that these two “differ essentially and not only in degree” (art.
10), On the other hand art. 32 asserts the radical equality of all the members
of the people of God. The problem is to define more precisely the common
priesthood.
If we
understand the common priesthood as participation in Christ's priesthood
with its different services and roles in the Church and in the world, fulfilled
in virtue of baptism and confirmation according to the gifts of the Spirit,
then we have not just two different groups in the Church but as many groups as
there are gifts of the Spirit. Every believer is responsible for the Church and
for the world, but everybody according to his or her own gifts.
Lay people
are, by right, full members in the Church. They are not just people who need to
be told what to do and when. The Church is not a society where some individuals
give the orders and take all the initiatives, and the others have to listen and
to obey. The Holy Spirit does not speak only to those who are in authority. "It
blows where It pleases" (Jo 3,8). Therefore, those in authority have to be
attentive to what the Spirit says through all the members of the Church.
The word
“klêros”, from which our word “clergy” comes, relates to the entire People of
God in the NT, because all “share the inheritance (lot, “klêros”) of God's holy
people" (Col 1,12; see Acts 20,32; 26,18; 1 Ptr 1,4). They are named
“those who are called, elected, chosen by God”; they are “the saints”; they
form “a chosen race, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (1 Ptr 2,9).It is not
admissible to look at the clergy as 'sacred' at the expense of the other
believers.
The clergy
and the laity have to work hand in hand to transform the reality of the world
into God's design and to live the inner life of the Church called by the NT "koinonia",
with the meaning of communion with God and with one another. We have to
avoid speaking of a double vocation or mission: one in relation to the Church
which would be for the clergy, and the other in relation to the world which
would be for the laity. All Christians have a vocation or a mission in relation
to the Church and another one in relation to the world, though they share in
them in a different way.
Lay people
are full members of the Church and have a mission for the Church and for
the world. From this point of view there is no difference between clergy and
laity. With regard to leadership in the Church there is and there will be a
difference. It is the ordained ministers who are the ones who normally preside
in the Church, and specially for the celebration of the sacraments and of the
Word. But in many cases quite a number of lay people are called to exercise a
real leadership in the Church, a leadership which is not in competition with
ordained ministers.
(see: Eugène Lapointe, OMI,
Mission et Rô1e du laïcat dans l’Eglise. Position d'une Eglise d'Afrique.
SEDOS 99/73)
Father
Jules Chevalier, founder of the congregations of the MSC, the FDNSC and, with
Father Hubert Linckens, of the MSC Sisters, did not elaborate a structure for
his congregations from theoretical principles. He was living the urgency of the
mission; all the structures he was giving to his organisation had the main
purpose to realise that mission, i.e. to continue the mission of Jesus himself
and in this way to fight against the destructive evils of society.
The common
mission of the three congregations is a mission without frontiers, open to all
kinds of work and apostolates. It is among other things what Fr Chevalier
wanted to express when he chose a motto: “May the Sacred Heart of
Jesus be loved everywhere.”
Thus the
goal of the community is to let Jesus Christ be known as well as the love
flowing from his Heart. Jules Chevalier was convinced that the devotion to the
Sacred Heart was an answer to the evils of his time.
A proper
understanding of Fr. Chevalier's idea of mission is essential for a correct
understanding of the importance of the laity for him. When we read his first
publications on the nature and mission of the Society, we have the strong impression
that it was unthinkable for him or maybe ‘impracticable’ to speak of changing
the world and its values without the participation of the laity, since they are
more immersed in the world. The religious priests, brothers and sisters
together with the secular priests have an essential role to play, but if the
mission must progress at all the levels of society, then the role of the laity
is at least as essential.
Fr.
Chevalier was convinced that a religious congregation in itself was not enough
as a missionary force. It is for this reason that he often came back in his
early writings to the structure of three branches of the Society. For example,
in a brochure published in 1866, Les Missionnaires du Sacré Coeur he
wrote: They (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) must be truly
religious in order to resemble him more closely whose Kingdom they want to
spread. At the same time, they must keep as close contact as possible with the
clergy, in order to spread everywhere the divine influence of the Sacred
Heart.... And finally, a lay third order will penetrate where the priests would
not be able. In this way, if it is possible, nothing will be allowed to escape
the rebirth that comes through the influence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus"
(op. cit. p. 8).
As a
result, Fr. Chevalier had accepted that for the same mission to be effective,
it should necessarily include a variety of groups. Each of these groups had its
own way to accomplish the unique and same mission.
The MSC,
the Daughters of OLSH, the MSC Sisters have been inspired by his vision and his
example. To support each other, many of the laity feel they are called to
incarnate the same ideals and the same vision, keeping and underlining their
status as laity. They bring new challenges and possibilities to a vast
ecclesial movement. The charism of the Founder unites consecrated persons and
laity who recognise each other as united and animated by the same ideals of
life and mission.
In 1993 the
General Chapter of the MSC approved a document which underlines the authentic
and important role of the
laity in “the project of three branches.” CS 61: “Our Founder wanted the
fullness of mission to be realised in a global project with religious men and
women, diocesan priests and lay people. He especially wished to have an
Association of lay people closely united with the professed members in their
spirituality and mission (Constitutions 1877) ".
The last FDNSC General Chapter in 1993 as well
as the MSC Sisters' General Chapter in 1990 have recognised the important place
of lay people in the vision of Father Chevalier. The FDNSC Chapter has put the
‘Promotion of the Laity’ on its list of priorities and "affirms the many
initiatives concerning the laity that are already being undertaken in
different provinces.... and encourages provinces which have associates to
support them in their commitment to live our spirit and mission”.
The MSC
Sisters’ Chapter "encourages all provinces regions and districts to
study the issue of lay associates and to initiate such an association"…. The
General Council of the MSC Sisters declares: We believe that the association
of laity complements, strengthens and enriches our commitment to our
Spirituality and Mission.... We encourage our Sisters to promote Fr.
Chevalier's dream of having an association of laity working hand in hand with
us as we strive to make the Sacred Heart of Jesus known and loved everywhere.....
The mutual
relations between religious and lay people must be characterised by communion
and complementarity. The communion between the two forms leads to understanding
and reciprocal appreciation, to sympathy for the persons and for the respective
way of life, to a sharing of gifts.
From this
communion and this complementarity grow up an enrichment and a reciprocal
support between religious and the laity. Thus we can have within the “spiritual
family” a real experience of ecclesial community which allows us to go beyond
the anonymity or the structural membership while the diversities of the groups
are respected.
The
specific structures of the lay associates must be defined by the laity itself
in a realistic discernment, which respects the life of the different groups and
the different contexts. However, the structures of interdependence between
religious and lay associates need to be defined in a true dialogue and in
mutual respect for the two forms of life, so that all can draw water from the
same spiritual well, while living the concrete forms of incarnation in
accordance to the situation.
The number
of countries having lay associates of the Chevalier Family is growing. We find
them in Africa (Benin, Cameroon, South Africa, Zaire/Congo), Australia,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, England, France/ Switzerland,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, USA, Venezuela.
The first
“International Meeting of the Lay Associates of the Jules Chevalier Family” in
Issoudun 1995 had found a very positive echo. All the participants, religious
and laity, about 160, had been deeply convinced that they had lived an intense
time during this week of meeting and sharing in the spirit of Fr. Chevalier. The
second “International Meeting of the Lay Associates of the Jules Chevalier
Family” (19 - 25 July 1999) was also a great success. Again more than 160
participants from 22 countries came to Issoudun. This meeting, on the
initiative of the Council of the Laity MSC France/Switzerland, demonstrated the
vitality of the lay branch of the Chevalier Family. A charter was accepted as a
common basis for all those who see themselves as "Lay Missionaries of the
Sacred Heart". The assembly voted unanimously for a basic structure: a
board of international communion, which has its place of reference in Miribel,
in contact with Issoudun.