Lay Life in a Year

52 Reflections on JPII's vision for the Laity

Week 2: You Too Are Called to Holiness

The Church teaches that everyone is called to holiness. But many of us make the mistake of thinking, “Really the ones who are supposed to be holy are priests and religious. Deep prayer and evangelization—that falls under their job description, not mine.” 

“Maybe” we think, “I can do one of these. Maybe I can be a prayer person or an evangelization person, but certainly not both.

When we turn from our call to holiness or push it away by trying to be just a “prayer person” or an “action person”, then we end up frustrated, idle, and fruitless. 

But Jesus knows all that we are made for and invites us not to settle. So He cries out to us: 

“And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard.’ ” He says this to “every person who comes into the world” and that includes you. (CFL, No. 2)

He desperately wants you to know Him in personal prayer. He wants you to enter His vineyard and help transform the world by your life. He wants you to live a life filled with both deep contemplative prayer and rich apostolic work. 

You are called to be a contemplative and an apostle. You too are called to holiness.

Lay Life in a Year Overview

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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...

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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...

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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,...

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