Reflections on CFL: Paragraph 36
In this section, the Holy Father is beginning to discuss the mission of the Church and the way in which the lay faithful play a unique role in carrying out that mission. But before the pope gets into specific ways, he writes:
"Having received the responsibility of manifesting to the world the mystery of God that shines forth in Jesus Christ, the Church likewise awakens one person to another, giving a sense of one's existence, opening each to the whole truth about the individual and of each person's final destiny. From this perspective the Church is called, in virtue of her very mission of evangelization, to serve all humanity. Such service is rooted primarily in the extraordinary and profound fact that 'through the Incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion to every person.'
For this reason the person 'is the primary route that the Church must travel in fulfilling her mission: the individual is the primary and fundamental way for the Church, the way traced out by Christ himself, the way that leads invariably through the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption.'"
This is a difficult passage to understand, but with the focus on the Incarnation and Christ himself seems to be the key. In gazing on Christ, the Word made flesh, we see the fullness of humanity and, thus, what we are called to be. And in uniting ourselves to Him, through His Church, we can find freedom.
It is this emphasis on the personal and the ultimate dignity of the human person, that gives some insight into why the Holy Father sees the laity as irreplaceable to the mission of the Church. Think for a moment about those times where you have experienced most strongly a respect for the dignity of the human person. I would venture to guess that it wasn't through speeches or homilies, but in the actions of someone you know from your daily life. And who comprises most of those sectors of life? The laity.
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