Carry Catholic values into everyday life, U.S. bishops say

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 11, 1998

Editor's note: While the divisions and tensions within Catholicism are abundantly evident, even at the annual meeting (Nov. 1619) of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (see NCR, Dec. 4), there are clear areas of common ground. One of those areas is the church's consistent and long tradition of social teaching. The following document, approved unanimously and with little debate during the recent meeting of the bishops' conference, outlines the content of that teaching and challenges Catholics to live the teaching in practical ways in the modern world.

Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice

A Pastoral Reflection on Lay Discipleship for Justice in a New Millennium

Introduction

One of the great challenges for Christians is as old as our faith, but it takes on special urgency today as we approach the third Christian millennium. How do we connect worship on Sunday to work on Monday? How is the gospel proclaimed not only in the pulpits of our parishes, but also in the everyday lives of Catholic people? How does the church gathered on the Sabbath act as the people of God scattered and active every day of the week? How can we best carry the values of our faith into family life, the marketplace and the public square? How do we love our neighbors, pursue peace and seek justice in everyday choices and commitments?

In these reflections, we highlight one essential dimension of the lay vocation that is sometimes overlooked or neglected: the social mission of Christians in the world.

Every believer is called to serve "the least of these," to "hunger and thirst for justice," to be a "peacemaker."

Catholics are called by God to protect human life, to promote human dignity, to defend those who are poor and to seek the common good. This social mission of the church belongs to all of us. It is an essential part of what it is to be a believer.

This social mission is advanced in many ways -- by the prophetic teaching of our Holy Father; by the efforts of our bishops' conference; and by many structures of charity and justice within our community of faith. But the most common -- and in many ways, the most important -- Christian witness is often neither very visible nor highly structured. It is the sacrifice of parents trying to raise children with concern for others; the service and creativity of workers who do their best and reach out to those in need; the struggle of business owners trying to reconcile the bottom line and the needs of employees and customers; and the hard choices of public officials who seek to protect the weak and pursue the common good. The church's social mission is advanced by teachers and scientists, by family farmers and bankers, by sales persons and entertainers.

The Catholic social mission is also carried forward by believers who join unions; neighborhood organizations; business groups; civic associations; the pro-life movement; groups working for social justice; or environmental, civil rights or peace groups. It is advanced by Christians who stand up for the values of the gospel. This mission is the task of countless Christians living their faith without much fanfare or recognition, who are quietly building a better society by their choices and actions day by day. They protect human life, defend those who are poor, seek the common good, work for peace and promote human dignity.

Working for justice in everyday life is not easy. There are complex and sometimes difficult challenges encountered by women and men as they try to live their faith in the world. We applaud the efforts of all Catholics to live the gospel by pursuing justice and peace in their everyday choices and commitments.

The Catholic Layperson: Discipleship and the Pursuit of Justice

Being a believer means that one lives a certain way -- walking with the Lord, doing justice, loving kindness and living peaceably among all people. Christian discipleship means practicing what Jesus preached. Discipleship is found in a relationship with Christ and a commitment to his mission of bringing "glad tidings to the poor/ ... liberty to captives/and recovery of sight to the blind/to let the oppressed go free."

For Catholics, this takes on special meaning today. According to the Second Vatican Council, "It is the special vocation of the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will. They live in the world, in each and every one of the world's occupations and callings and in the ordinary circumstances of social and family life which, as it were, form the context of their existence. There they are called by God to contribute to the sanctification of the world within, like leaven, in the spirit of the gospel, by fulfilling their own particular duties."

We welcome and affirm the growing participation of lay women and men in the internal life of the church. Service within the church should form and strengthen believers for their mission in the world. With this pastoral statement we are addressing in a special way the demands of discipleship in the pursuit of justice and peace in everyday activity.