Lay Life in a Year

52 Reflections on JPII's vision for the Laity

Week 5: The Urgent Issue of Secularism

Everyday life is filled with extreme challenges and temptations. Our culture is surrounded by sexual exploitation, unhealthy lies about how to live, and everywhere there is rage, anxiety, and despair.

This is the reality of secularism.

But the laity is called to more than just complaining and hiding away. To be a lay person is to take on the task of bringing Christ to a world that has forgotten all about Him.

Do you realize that you are called to evangelization? That, in a world that has forgotten all about God and His love, it is our responsibility to remind them? Even if it’s uncomfortable or hard. Even if it means being ignored, ostracized, or persecuted.

Jesus wants to send us out on mission everyday to fight the darkness in our culture by bringing Him to our schools, jobs, families, friends, and neighborhoods.

He doesn’t ask us to do this through some perfect program or long-term plan.

He just wants us to remind every person we know that He loves them.

Lay Life in a Year Overview

Read the original: Introduction, No. 4
Last week: Why Do You Stand Here Idle?
This week: The Urgent Issue Of Secularism In The World
Next week: Secularism In The Church

Week 37- A Response to Busyness

Oct 13, 2024

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....

Week 36 – An Unexpected Discovery from 1979

Oct 6, 2024

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....

Week 35: Answering God’s Call—Even in the Small Things

Sep 27, 2024

It was a regular Wednesday—sun shining, birds chirping—and there I was: 15 years old, grumbling as I stood over the lawnmower. Mom had asked me to mow the lawn, and like most teenagers, I dragged my feet. The job seemed pointless and hot, and honestly, I’d rather be...