If they think of the lay vocation simply as a form of
service inside the Church: serving as lectors, acolytes, catechists
and so forth. They forget that the lay vocation is directed above
all to charity within the family and to social and political charity.
It is a concrete and faith-based commitment to the building of
a new society. It involves living in the midst of society and the
world in order to bring the Gospel everywhere, to work for the
growth of peace, harmony, justice, human rights and mercy, and
thus for the extension of God’s kingdom in this world. (Pope Francis in CV #168)

While Holy orders and consecrated life is the heart of God, lay ministry is the hands at work. It is a sacred calling, simply by Baptism to assist the Lord and His chosen ones (priests & religious), by building “social friendships” and “worthy relationships” with the world beyond the church. It is a call that requires (in given order) listening to the voice of God, the realization of being called to something greater than our own life; the reflection of being unworthy; the preparation to take up the mission; the effort to become worthier; the flexibility to be bent and broken by the Lord, again and again and thus, the grace to be fruitful & impactful.

A Lay minister always puts people before himself and focusses on God whilst living among people. He thinks not just with a human mind, but the heart of God. He acts not just with sweat of the body but blood that bleeds from the heart. He places the pain & sufferings of others before the struggles and desires of himself. He works for the betterment of others and not the glorification of himself. He bridges the gaps, fills the voids of the members of the hierarchy of the church. He assists the clergy & religious by stepping ahead in times and places they are restricted and bound. In definition, lay ministers are coworkers with the Bishop alongside priests and religious. They may be known as "lay workers", "pastoral assistants", etc. Therefore, as Pope Francis says in Christus Vivit, lay vocation is simply not providing service inside the church, but being the voice and hands of the Church in the secular world, hence being a calling above all, aimed at building a new society.

Now, I also want to differentiate between lay vocation and lay ministry. Vocation is one’s calling in life, which becomes ministry when one prioritizes it above other plans, dreams & offers in life. Every Baptized Christian has a calling to social friendships & love. But it becomes ministry when clubbed with pain, tears and sacrifice. Ministry has to involve the attitude of “selfless service” to others i.e. the constant reminder to one self that “Lord, I lay me down I’m not my own, I belong to you alone” (from the song Lay me down by Chris Tomlin; listen to it sometime).

Therefore, lay ministry includes:

1. Passion, pride & perfection in the work (ministry) you are doing
2. Willingness to be guided by passion & not provision
3. Resisting temptations or making an effort to, at least
4. Being content with whatever you get in return or even nothing
5. Not competing or complaining about disappointments or negative forces
6. An attitude of working for the Lord and his people, not others or fame
7. Compromising on career, relationships & lifestyle
8. Overcoming fear of failure & rejection
9. Letting go off the steering wheel of your own life into the hands of God
10. Accepting challenges and improving yourself each day
11. Polishing yourself (your attitude, nature, feelings, reactions, skills and knowledge)
12. Offering your intellect, education, skills & expertise for a cause of the Church
13. Inculcating the art of “see, judge & act i.e. awareness, reflection, action & evaluation
14. Courage to confront and challenge the negative forces at work against you
15. The humility to be an empty pot and always say yes to be filled by the Lord and emptied onto others.

17 February 2021

Bethania, Faridabad