The responsibility of the lay faithful in the Church and the world – based on John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation "Christifideles laici"

Abstract

The message of the apostolic exhortation "Christifideles laici" is based on the appeal of Jesus Christ: "You also go and work in my vineyard", which is addressed to all people, and especially to lay Catholics. Man is called to live with God. This call is a challenge to live in a way that fulfills God's plan of love for the world. In his exhortation, John Paul II mentions a variety of Christian vocations for people of different age (youth, children, the elderly) as well as the sick and the suffering, and points to the diversity and complementarity of the vocations of men and women who are fully equal with regard to their personal dignity. Every man is called to work in the "vineyard of the Lord". All people share the same Christian dignity and the universal vocation to holiness based on perfect love; however, members of the laity, through a specific secular character of their state, emphasize the importance of the temporal reality in the saving plan of God. Within the lay state there are different paths of the spiritual life, which is reflected in the diversity of vocations among the lay faithful.