What did Vatican II say about the laity?

The Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium (Chapter IV:33), which magnified the authority, identity and the mission of the church as well as the duty of the faithful, teaches: “The laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it …

What is the role of the laity during Mass?

Lay people can also take part in some of the sacred rituals of the Church by being altar servers, lectors, and lay ministers who can help distribute the Holy Eucharist during Mass and bring Holy Communion to shut-ins and those in hospital.

How did Vatican 2 change the laity?

Vatican II also made profound changes in the liturgical practices of the Roman rite. It approved the translation of the liturgy into vernacular languages to permit greater participation in the worship service and to make the sacraments more intelligible to the vast majority of the laity.

What was the role of the laity before Vatican II?

Before Vatican II, the laity served a passive role in the Church behind ordained religious figures such as priests, sisters and brothers. But post-Vatican II much has changed. As recounted in the book The Many Marks of the Church, in response to a dismissive, rhetorical question “The Laity?

What is the specific apostolate of laity?

The Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity identifies the mission of the Church as “the spreading of the kingdom of Christ throughout the earth for the glory of God the Father, to enable all men to share in His saving redemption … that through them the whole world might enter into a relationship with the Christ” (AA, no …

What is the purpose of apostolate?

An apostolate is a Christian organization “directed to serving and evangelizing the world”, most often associated with the Anglican Communion or the Catholic Church. In more general usage, an apostolate is an association of persons dedicated to the propagation of a religion or a doctrine.

What are the four important tasks of the laity?

The ministry of the laity is “to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church”.

What role does the laity play in the Catholic Church?

Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders or vowed to life in a religious order or congregation. Their mission, according to the Second Vatican Council, is to “sanctify the world”.

How did the Mass change after Vatican 2?

The changes from Vatican II Mass was changed to be in the vernacular, no longer in Latin. And women no longer had to cover their hair in church. And these are but the most practical. Many of the bigger doctrinal changes were those that most Catholics were oblivious to, or knew about only in passing.

What is the important role of the laity in the mission of the Church?

It was one of the most fundamental responsibilities that He left to His disciples and as part of His Body, the laity is tasked to bring His message to the world and mankind. Through the laity’s work, His divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the Earth.

What is the full meaning of apostolate?

Definition of apostolate 1 : the office or mission of an apostle. 2 : an association of persons dedicated to the propagation of a religion or a doctrine.

Why is laity important in the Church?

―Essential Role of the Laity‖ clearly identifies as the ―perfection of charity, the fundamental vocation that the Father gave to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit‖. This invitation to holiness is not exclusive to the priests and the religious but rather an invitation to all the people of God in His Church.

Why do the laity have such an important role in the Church?

The essential feature of the layperson’s role is the vocation to bring the spirit of Christ into the arenas of secular life from within, i.e. into the family, work and profession, trade and commerce, politics and government, mass media, science and culture and national and international relations.

What is the most important mission of the laity?

For according to the teachings of Christ’s own Church, it is the task of the laity to transform it; it is the mission of the laity to bring the temporal order into conformity with the will of God.

What year did the Catholic Church stop saying Mass in Latin?

The Tridentine Mass, established by Pope Pius V in 1570, was banned in 1963 by the Second Vatican Council of 1962- 65 in an effort to modernize the Roman Catholic liturgy and allow more participation and understanding of the mass by the congregation.

When did they change the Catholic Mass?

Catholics throughout the world worshiped in Latin until Vatican II, when the church granted permission for priests to celebrate Mass in other languages. The English translation used until this weekend was published in the early 1970s and modified in 1985.

What is the apostolate of the laity?

(2) The apostolate of the laity derives from their Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it. Sacred Scripture clearly shows how spontaneous and fruitful such activity was at the very beginning of the Church (cf. Acts 11:19-21; 18:26; Rom. 16:1-16; Phil. 4:3).

What is the apostolate in the social milieu?

13. The apostolate in the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and structures of the community in which one lives, is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be performed properly by others.

Should the lay apostolate be incorporated into the whole church?

Whether the lay apostolate is exercised by the faithful as individuals or as members of organizations, it should be incorporated into the apostolate of the whole Church according to a right system of relationships.

What should priests do to form the laity?

Priests should focus their attention on the formation of the laity for the apostolate in their catechetics, their ministry of the word, their direction of souls, and in their other pastoral services. Schools, colleges, and other Catholic educational institutions also have the duty to develop a Catholic sense and apostolic activity in young persons.