Called to live an integrated life in Christ

On December 7, 1965, Pope St. Paul VI promulgated the Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), which emphasized a theology of Christian mission, describing the Church as “leaven in the world” (GS, 40). The Council Fathers exhorted “Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit” (GS, 43). They also stressed the irreplaceable role of the Church, which is called to play an active part in shaping the wider world by offering the gift of Christ in dialogue with all people. Hence, Christians, by virtue of their baptism, are invited and empowered to proclaim the Gospel by their lives.

Jesus tells us that “from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48). Christians, therefore, are to have an integrated life that sees the incorporation of word and deed in their dealings in both public and private spheres. Christians “are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation” (GS, 43).

Therefore, Christians are called to give in a way that responds to what has been received, and to oppose a form of religion that creates any artificial split between worship and mission. Christians miss the mark “who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess, and their daily lives,” according to the Council Fathers, “deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age” (GS, 43).

Everything is gift. “What do you possess that you have not received?” (1 Cor 4:7), asks St. Paul. It is in this precise understanding of receptivity that helps us to see reality. It is in receiving that we find our profound identity – our call and mission. And it is in giving that we experience our most expressed mission, made manifest through daily practices in our homes, businesses, and public life. However, if we fail to get “receiving” right, we won’t get “giving” right. Thus, the better we appreciate what has been given to us in Christ, the better we give in a way that develops others and ourselves.
This realization promotes true freedom and heals relationships. It fosters real concern for others, their well-being and flourishing (solidarity); it brings about true conversion and renewal within society. This notion moves us toward an encounter with others, which is not a vague feeling of compassion for the plight of those around us, but rather a proactive notion: “[Solidarity] is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all” (Pope St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38).

As disciples of Christ and as a people called and sent on mission, let us not neglect our earthly responsibilities or compartmentalize our religious life and our daily living. Instead, let us joyfully bear witness to our faith and its transforming power in the world.

FATHER SHENAN J. BOQUET is the president of Human Life International (www.hli.org) and a priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, LA. Please keep Human Life International in your continued prayers and support.