By his own life in the world, Christ gave transcendent value to the humblest human actions, imbuing them with the leaven of divine grace

At the General Audience of Wednesday, 10 November, the Holy Father continued his discussion on the role of lay people in the Church, focusing this time on their need for divine grace to carry out their mission in the world. Christ's involvement in all aspects of human life shows that holiness can be attained in even the humblest of daily activities. The Pope's catechesis was the 78th in the series on the mystery of the Church and was given in Italian. 

1. We already noted that the secular character of the laity's life cannot be considered from a mere "worldly" standpoint, because it includes man's relationship with God in the community of salvation that is the Church. For the Christian, then, there is a transcendent value to the lay state stemming from the Baptism by which the human person becomes an adopted child of God and a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. 

For this reason, from our first catechesis on the laity, we also said that it is wrong to understand and use this word —"laity"—in opposition to Christ or the Church, as if it meant an attitude of separation, independence or even mere indifference. In Christian usage a "lay" person is a member of the People of God who at the same time lives in the midst of the world. 

2. The laity's membership in the Church, as one of her living, active and responsible parts, originates from the very will of Jesus Christ, who wanted his Church to be open to all. One need only recall the conduct of the vineyard owner in the very meaningful and interesting parable recounted by Jesus. Seeing some men unemployed, the master says to them: "You go into the vineyard too" (Mt 20:4). This call, the 1987 Synod of Bishops remarked (Christifideles laici, n. 2), "from that distant day ... never fails to resound in the course of history: it is addressed to every person who comes into this world". "The call is a concern not only of Pastors, clergy, and men and women religious. The call is addressed to everyone: lay people as well are personally called by the Lord, from whom they receive a mission on behalf of the Church and the world". All are invited to "be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20), to be saved and to work together for universal salvation, because God "wants all to be saved" (1 Tm 2:4). All are invited with their personal qualities to work in the Father's "vineyard", where each one has his own place and his own recompense. 

3. The call of the laity involves their sharing in the Church's life and, consequently, an intimate communion with Christ's very life. It is a divine gift and, at the same time, it has a corresponding duty. Did not Jesus ask the disciples who followed him to remain in constant union with him and in him, and to allow his own zeal for life to penetrate their minds and hearts? "Live on in me, as I do in you. Apart from me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:4-5). As it is for priests, so it is for lay people: true fruitfulness depends on union with Christ. 

Lay people need grace to fulfil their mission

It is true that "apart from me you can do nothing" does not mean that without Christ they cannot use their talents and personal qualities in the realm of temporal affairs; however, Jesus' words, handed down in John's Gospel, warns us all, clergy and laity, that without Christ we cannot produce the most characteristic fruit of our Christian life. For lay people this fruit is specifically their contribution to transforming the world by grace, and to building a better society. Only with fidelity to grace can the ways of grace be opened up in the world: both in carrying out their own family tasks, especially in raising children, and in their own work of service to society at every level and in every form of involvement for the sake of justice, love and peace. 

4. In harmony with this Gospel teaching, repeated by St Paul (cf. Rom 9:16) and confirmed by St Augustine (cf. De Correptione et Gratia, ch. 2), the Council of Trent taught that, although it is possible to do "good works" even without being in the state of grace (cf. DS 1957), nevertheless, only grace gives saving value to these works (DS 1551). Pope St Pius V, in turn, while condemning the opinion of those who maintained that "all the works of non-believers are sins and the virtues of the [pagan] philosophers are mere vices" (DS 1925), rejected all naturalism and legalism as well, in order to assert that the meritorious and saving good comes from the Holy Spirit who pours grace into the hearts of God's adopted children (DS 1912-1915). 

This was the balanced approach of St Thomas Aquinas, who, in answer to the question as to "whether without grace man can desire and accomplish what is good", replied: "Because human nature is not altogether corrupted by sin, so as to be lacking all natural good, even in the state of corrupted nature it can, by virtue of its natural endowments, achieve some particular good, such as building dwellings, planting vineyards and the like [the sphere of values and activities in the realm of work, technology and the economy]; yet it cannot do all the good natural to it... just as a sick man can of himself make some movements, yet he cannot move with the movements of one in health, unless he is cured with the help of medicine..." (Summa Theol., I-II, q. 109, a. 2). Even less can he achieve the higher, supernatural good (bonum superexcedens, supernaturale), which is the work of the infused virtues, especially of the charity due to grace (cf. ibid.). 

As you can see, this issue regarding the holiness of the laity also involves one of the basic theses of the theology of grace and salvation!

5. In their own lives lay people can be conformed to the mystery of the incarnation precisely through the secular nature of their state. We know, in fact, that the Son of God wanted to share our human condition, becoming like us in all things except sin (cf. Heb 2:17; 4:15). Jesus described himself as "he whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world" (Jn 10:36). The Gospel tells us that the eternal Son was fully involved in our condition, living his own consecration in the world. Jesus' fully human life in the world is the model that enlightens and inspires the life of all the baptized (cf. Gaudium et spes, n. 32): the Gospel itself invites us to discover in Christ's life a perfect image of what can and should be the life of everyone who follows him as a disciple and shares in the mission and grace of the apostolate. 

God's Son became like us in all things, except sin 

6. In particular, we can note that, in choosing to live the common life of mankind, the Son of God conferred a new value on this life, raising it to the heights of the divine (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theol., III, q. 40, aa. 1-2). Since he is God, he introduced even the humblest activities of human existence to a participation in the divine life. In him we can and must recognize and honour God, who, as man, was born and lived like us; he ate, drank, worked, and did what everyone must, so that the mystery of the Trinitarian life is reflected in all of life, in all human activities raised to a higher level. For whoever lives in the light of faith, as lay Christians, the mystery of the incarnation also penetrates temporal activities, imbuing them with the leaven of grace. 

In the light of faith, the laity who follow the logic of the incarnation, which took place for our redemption, also share in the saving mystery of the cross. In Christ's life the incarnation and the redemption are one mystery of love. The Son of God became incarnate to ransom humanity by his sacrifice: "The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve—to give his life in ransom for the many" (Mk 10:45; Mt 20:28). 

When the Letter to the Hebrews states that the Son became like us in all things except sin, it is speaking of a likeness and a sharing in the painful trials of this life (cf. Heb 4:15). We also read in the Letter to the Philippians that he who was born in the likeness of men obediently accepted even death on a cross (cf. Phil 2:7-8). 

Just as the experience of daily difficulties in Christ's life culminated in the cross, so too in the life of the laity daily trials culminate in death united to that of Christ, who conquered death. In Christ and in all his followers, priests and lay people, the cross is the key to salvation.