Monday, March 17, 2008 at 2:02am
The power of laypeople
Column: God Said What?
Laypeople are the future of the Catholic Church.
No, that doesn't mean that we're moving beyond a need for priests, bishops and religious sisters and brothers. And it's not meant to be a slight against these amazing men and women who have admirably entered into consecrated life. Without their leadership, ministry, skills and guidance, the Church would be in serious trouble. We rely upon them and should have a special respect and veneration for their dedicated lives of ministry.
Having said that, the number of people who are entering into consecrated life, especially in the United States, is quickly diminishing. For this reason, the clustering and closing of parishes are becoming more and more common. Your parish may no longer have a priest in residence, let alone a community of priests. Clergy are getting burned out and laypeople are getting worried. And God only knows whether or not this trend will continue. But for our time and generation it is a serious problem that must be met.
That's why the ministry of laypeople is becoming more and more important. We are the ones who have been empowered since Vatican II to embrace our shared apostolic calling to ministry and leadership. We too are called to exercise love of God and love of neighbor as the Church. We too are to imitate Christ as we follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Think about that for a moment.
And for a powerful reminder that laypeople (with the help of the Holy Spirit) can indeed participate in and even lead the Church, we need look no further than the Catholic tradition. In particular, we should look to the emergence of the Catholic Church in Korea. That's because it was a local Church founded entirely by laypeople. Even though the Korean government severely persecuted them — to the extent that they claim 10,000 martyrs in 100 years — the Korean Church endured and even flourished.
You see, into the 18th and 19th centuries the Kingdom of Korea still existed in self-seclusion. There were neither Christian missionaries nor clergy. Period. The government had little use for the outside world, and the Confucian-influenced culture had outlawed the practice of Christianity. When you place that government decision in context, however, a context of a European colonization that thrust both the Bible and "gunboat economics" upon most of Asia (except for Korea), then their decision seems fairly wise. They weren't given much of a positive vision of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Anyway, the Korean Catholic Church had it tough. It was frequently persecuted and had no ordained leadership. And they were so isolated from the rest of Christianity that when a Chinese priest made his way to Korea in the late 18th century he was surprised and amazed to find 4,000 Korean Catholics already there. And none of them had ever seen a priest before. They were all laypeople. They had learned about the faith from some reading material from the Jesuits in China that had made its way to Korea. And they had led and sustained the Church to persevere and eventually flourish.
These were some determined Christians. They survived many awful trials. And they would be officially recognized several hundred years later. In Pope John Paul II's 1984 trip to Korea he elevated to sainthood 98 Korean Christian martyrs. Among these martyrs were St. Andrew Kim Taegon (the first native Korean priest), St. Paul Chong Hasang (a layman who was integral to helping the Korean Church endure) and St. Columba Kim Hyo-im (a laywoman who was tortured and murdered for remaining dedicated to her faith).
The vast majority of the beatified martyrs were laypeople. Without their blood, sweat and tears the Church would have been snuffed out. Their dedication, strength and sacrifice that enabled the Korean Church to persevere would forever after be a sign of God's grace among us within diverse cultures. It would also be a touchstone within the tradition to remind us of the power of the laity.
As William Faulkner once pointed out, the past is not dead; it's not even past. Those are wise words to remember. This is especially true for us Catholics. That's because we tend to have a long historical and religious memory. As many of us know, no matter how new something is in theology or ministry, it must always be linked to our long tradition. Newness and interruption must always be balanced by continuity. All things must be connected.
So it's with this historical sensibility that we should connect the laity of the 21st century with the Korean martyrs of the 19th century. Of course, this doesn't mean that the laity in the United States is being severely persecuted. It's obvious that we're not. But these saints remind us about the grace-filled possibilities of the laity in our Church.
They remind us that the Holy Spirit is always working. They give us hope that an empowered laity can help to chart the course of the Church in the future. For they demonstrated the vision of Vatican II long before it ever came about. And they give us inspiration for continued lay discipleship and lay ministry within our Church.
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, the largest Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry in North America. He is married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and makes sure his thoughts make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kevin Considine.
No, that doesn't mean that we're moving beyond a need for priests, bishops and religious sisters and brothers. And it's not meant to be a slight against these amazing men and women who have admirably entered into consecrated life. Without their leadership, ministry, skills and guidance, the Church would be in serious trouble. We rely upon them and should have a special respect and veneration for their dedicated lives of ministry.
Having said that, the number of people who are entering into consecrated life, especially in the United States, is quickly diminishing. For this reason, the clustering and closing of parishes are becoming more and more common. Your parish may no longer have a priest in residence, let alone a community of priests. Clergy are getting burned out and laypeople are getting worried. And God only knows whether or not this trend will continue. But for our time and generation it is a serious problem that must be met.
That's why the ministry of laypeople is becoming more and more important. We are the ones who have been empowered since Vatican II to embrace our shared apostolic calling to ministry and leadership. We too are called to exercise love of God and love of neighbor as the Church. We too are to imitate Christ as we follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Think about that for a moment.
And for a powerful reminder that laypeople (with the help of the Holy Spirit) can indeed participate in and even lead the Church, we need look no further than the Catholic tradition. In particular, we should look to the emergence of the Catholic Church in Korea. That's because it was a local Church founded entirely by laypeople. Even though the Korean government severely persecuted them — to the extent that they claim 10,000 martyrs in 100 years — the Korean Church endured and even flourished.
You see, into the 18th and 19th centuries the Kingdom of Korea still existed in self-seclusion. There were neither Christian missionaries nor clergy. Period. The government had little use for the outside world, and the Confucian-influenced culture had outlawed the practice of Christianity. When you place that government decision in context, however, a context of a European colonization that thrust both the Bible and "gunboat economics" upon most of Asia (except for Korea), then their decision seems fairly wise. They weren't given much of a positive vision of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Anyway, the Korean Catholic Church had it tough. It was frequently persecuted and had no ordained leadership. And they were so isolated from the rest of Christianity that when a Chinese priest made his way to Korea in the late 18th century he was surprised and amazed to find 4,000 Korean Catholics already there. And none of them had ever seen a priest before. They were all laypeople. They had learned about the faith from some reading material from the Jesuits in China that had made its way to Korea. And they had led and sustained the Church to persevere and eventually flourish.
These were some determined Christians. They survived many awful trials. And they would be officially recognized several hundred years later. In Pope John Paul II's 1984 trip to Korea he elevated to sainthood 98 Korean Christian martyrs. Among these martyrs were St. Andrew Kim Taegon (the first native Korean priest), St. Paul Chong Hasang (a layman who was integral to helping the Korean Church endure) and St. Columba Kim Hyo-im (a laywoman who was tortured and murdered for remaining dedicated to her faith).
The vast majority of the beatified martyrs were laypeople. Without their blood, sweat and tears the Church would have been snuffed out. Their dedication, strength and sacrifice that enabled the Korean Church to persevere would forever after be a sign of God's grace among us within diverse cultures. It would also be a touchstone within the tradition to remind us of the power of the laity.
As William Faulkner once pointed out, the past is not dead; it's not even past. Those are wise words to remember. This is especially true for us Catholics. That's because we tend to have a long historical and religious memory. As many of us know, no matter how new something is in theology or ministry, it must always be linked to our long tradition. Newness and interruption must always be balanced by continuity. All things must be connected.
So it's with this historical sensibility that we should connect the laity of the 21st century with the Korean martyrs of the 19th century. Of course, this doesn't mean that the laity in the United States is being severely persecuted. It's obvious that we're not. But these saints remind us about the grace-filled possibilities of the laity in our Church.
They remind us that the Holy Spirit is always working. They give us hope that an empowered laity can help to chart the course of the Church in the future. For they demonstrated the vision of Vatican II long before it ever came about. And they give us inspiration for continued lay discipleship and lay ministry within our Church.
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, the largest Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry in North America. He is married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and makes sure his thoughts make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Kevin Considine.