Emerging Laity: Vocation, Mission, and Spirituality

The exciting teaching of the Vatican II on the call and role of the laity is still a well-kept secret. It's been forty-plus years since the council, and this teaching on the laity has not penetrated down to the grassroots level of the church yet. This book aims to help the laity to perceive their ordinary lives as part of God's wonderful plan to bring about the transformation of the world and the salvation of all. According to the author, the biggest benefit of this text is that "ordinary" lay people are exposed to a simple explanation of the teaching of the church on the theology of the laity in a way that is usually unavailable to them. This book explodes the myth that holiness is only for a select few, that the mission of the church is restricted to the clergy and religious, and that ordinary lay life is not the proper context for Christian discipleship. Most laity think that only priests and nuns have a vocation and a responsibility for the mission of Christ to transform the world. But actually everyone is called by God through baptism to be holy and to live the mission of Christ right in the midst of daily life. The "secret" this book reveals is that laity do not have to separate their real lives from their spiritual lives, since God's call comes in the rough-and-tumble of family life, work, and ordinary activities. +