Lay Life in a Year

52 Reflections on JPII's vision for the Laity

Week 39 – The Mission of the Church

I think we’ve all been there—sitting through a homily when the “mission appeal” part comes up. Our minds drift, we hear the familiar phrases—“mission,” “help the poor,” “time, talent, treasure,” “spread the faith…” —and yet sometimes, it feels like the message gets lost in a sea of words. 

Mission is simple, at its core. St. John Paul II reminds us that our mission is clear: to present the Word of God—and everything else we do should support this!

We often make things so complicated and confusing. We get lost in all the details that we begin to believe our mission only looks like us fundraising, giving blood, selling raffle tickets.

If fundraising and service projects become our mission instead of living out the Word of God, then we find these really good things becoming distractions to our mission instead of helping us fulfill it!

Our mission isn’t just something distant or reserved for trips abroad. It’s lived right here—through the way we treat others, how we speak, and how we carry the Gospel into our everyday lives. It’s simpler than we think , and it begins at home, at work, and in our communities.

We ask God to help strengthen us to live as Christians in this world. It starts small and might be easier than we think. We find little ways to bring the Word of God to the heart of what we do.

Ultimately, our call to action is to focus on Christ, and let Him transform the way we live.

Lay Life in a Year Overview

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Week 38 – How to Respond to a Divided World

Division is something that seems to grow more each day. Nations, families, and relationships seem to be falling apart. In my own life, I have struggled to find something to hold on to. In weathering the storm, I often find myself grasping for anything to keep me...

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Week 37- A Response to Busyness

In a meeting with my pastor about our parish, he said: “If we don’t fix things, the bishop will close this parish. We have to get more young families engaged.”  Caught off guard and growing in concern, I asked him what activities the parish was currently doing....

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Week 36 – An Unexpected Discovery from 1979

When I was a kid, my dad was obsessed with one particular VHS tape—it was like some secret treasure from the past. He held it out with a grin and said, “Now I’ll show you what basketball is supposed to look like.”  It was the 1979 NCAA championship game—Larry Bird vs....

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