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 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...

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Week 41 – This Is The Moment for Re-Evangelization!

Pope Benedict XVI tells a story about a clown who runs into a village, crying out that the circus is on fire. He jumps, shouts, and pleads for help—but the more he yells, the more they laugh. They can’t see beyond his costume, so they ignore him. Then comes the punch...

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Week 40 – Every Disciple Is Called By Name

This week I want to do something a little different. We’ve talked A LOT about being called. We’ve said that the laity is called to: the universal call to holiness evangelize and sanctify the secular participate in our parish and help build up the Church But if we...

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