Lay Life in a Year

52 Reflections on JPII's vision for the Laity

Week 14: Children of God

One of our team members was talking to an atheist who said, “I just can’t accept a God who is Father.” His earthly dad had been so cruel that he couldn’t bring himself to see God as a good dad.

Although the challenge might not always be this intense, even a Catholic may have to wrestle with this from time to time.

Through Baptism we become adopted children. This means that God cares about us, but John Paul II tells us that it also comes with demands. We are fully dependent on Him, just as a child depends on his dad. And this kind of complete dependence can be hard or even a little frightening

It takes a lot of vulnerability and if we have been let down by our earthly relationships before, then it’s even harder. We can think to ourselves: “What if He doesn’t understand me? What if He doesn’t care about me? What if He abandons me?”. 

Our identity as children of God may pose different challenges for each one of us. The Father knows this and patiently waits for us. But because of our baptism, we have become transformed into Christ, so He says the same thing to us that He says to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased“.

Lay Life in a Year Overview

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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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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...

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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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