Discover the Lay Vocation
What does it actually mean to be a lay person in the world? How are we to serve God, His Church, and His world? How are we to reach holiness?
A lot of the answers we hear can be boiled down to one of two misguided views:
Mistake 1: “The laity can just sit back and do the bare minimum. Most of the work is for the bishops, priests, and religious.”
OR
Mistake 2: “The laity needs more authority and power and we really don’t need these bishops and priests telling us what to do.”
The issue? Neither of these takes are what the Church actually teaches. For years, there has been extreme confusion about what it means to be a lay person, which is why Pope St. John Paul II wrote Christifideles Laici.
52 Weekly Reflections
This is his Apostolic Exhortation on the Mission and Vocation of the Lay Faithful and it has gone largely unread! In it, he shows how the lay life is central to God’s plan for the world and how it is meant to lead us to the height of holiness.
The lay life, like priestly and religious life, is designed to make us saints who transform the world and renew the Church.
Here at reCatholic, discovering Christifideles Laici has lit a fire in our hearts and transformed how we live out our lay vocation to help serve Jesus. And we want to make this treasure accessible for you too.
Sign up to discover the lay life in a year as we break open John Paul II’s vision for the laity in 52 short, weekly reflections.
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Read Past Reflections
Week 47 – A Dominican and A Fortune Cookie
In college, I once went to a Chinese restaurant with a Dominican priest. I was part of a group that brought Catholic speakers to campus, and after one talk, Father graciously joined us for dinner. When the waiter brought out fortune cookies, Father began unwrapping...
Week 46 – Holiness Found in Work
This nation was built by tireless, hardworking people—a spirit of determination we’ve proudly inherited. There’s a lot of goodness in that. But sometimes, without realizing it, this work ethic can lead us to a dangerous trap: believing our worth comes from how much...
Week 45 – Human Dignity Can Never Be Taken Away!
A couple of weeks ago, I went on a pilgrimage to Rome, unsure what I was looking for—peace, clarity, maybe both. But as God often does, He surprised me. I met a priest who shared something that cut through the noise of life: no matter what divides us—politics,...
Week 44 – Family, Hope, and A Little Wink
My dad was the youngest of seven, so our family celebrations were raucous. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and even random neighbors piled up around the dinner table, and everyone talked—loudly . As the youngest with the smallest voice, I often felt overlooked. The...
Week 43 – Evangelizing Ourselves: The Key To Loving God
Going on a mission trip is deeply impactful. I remember years ago, when I was much younger, my home parish took a trip to Eastern Kentucky to serve the poor. It was eye opening in ways that I could have never anticipated. Yet, while the trip changed me, it didn’t...
Week 42 – The Missing Piece to Passing on the Faith
There have been times when I’ve tried so hard to share my faith but felt like I was missing something. I wasn’t sure where I was going wrong until I had a conversation with my older sister. She helped me see that I wanted to follow God, but I wasn’t giving it my all—I...