By Fr. Roy Cimagala
WE should always keep in mind God’s original will for us and do everything we can to fulfill that will of his. We should help one another to be aware of this fundamental condition of our life and to be faithful in effectively living by that condition.
We are reminded of this truth of our faith in that gospel episode where Christ, after preaching by the lakeside, told Peter and companions to go to the deep and pay out their nets for a catch. (cfr. Lk 5,1-11)
At first, Peter was hesitant because he failed to catch anything the previous night, but later on he corrected himself and did what he was told. And, behold, he caught a huge amount of fish to his utter consternation.
This episode somehow reminds us that irrespective of the conditions we may have in life, we should not forget to pursue what really is God’s first will for us. And that can only be our own sanctification and our duty to help build up the Church, the People of God, the Mystical Body of Christ.
This will of God is for all of us, irrespective who and how we are in the world. This will is not only for priests or some consecrated religious people or some special people. It is for everyone, although pursued in different ways according to our different conditions and state in life.
The laity should not feel that they are some kind of second class citizens in the Church and that they play only a minor role in the life and mission of the Church. They are called to be holy and to be apostolic just as much as the priests and the religious people are.
The late Pope, now Saint, John Paul II once said: “Everyone in the Church shares the common vocation to holiness. The lay faithful are called, in full title, to this common vocation, without any difference with respect to the other members of the Church.”
In fact, the Code of Canon Law clearly says: “From their rebirth in Christ, there exists among all the Christian faithful a true equality regarding dignity and action by which all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ according to each one’s own condition and function.” (Canon 208)
For the laity, their responsibility in the Church lies in their duty to humanize and Christianize the secular world in all its aspects. Thus, the Code of Canon Law says that:
“According to each one’s own condition, they are also bound by a particular duty to imbue and perfect the order of temporal affairs with the spirit of the gospel and thus to give witness to Christ, especially in carrying out these same affairs and in exercising secular functions.” (Canon 225.2) This is no mean responsibility for which the laity should be properly trained.
We have to make this primal will of God for us known by everyone as early as possible. At the moment, what we see is a large-scale ignorance and indifference to this truth of our Christian faith in the world.
Let’s see to it that the education and formation given to people, especially the young ones, by the different institutions, from the families to schools, etc., should give emphasis to this primal will of God for us.
Now that the world is rapidly evolving, with so many issues and challenges coming up, we should give due attention to this primal will of God for us!
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
