National Laity Week 2013: Proclaim the Gospel through Faithful Witnessing

Catholic lay people have the mission to transform the world by living their faith in order to build the Church. By faith, Catholic lay people across the centuries have “professed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called” (PortaFidei 13).

Catholics must be “active heralds” of the New Evangelization to “deepen their faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel,” according to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle in an Asianews report published recently. He added that lay people need not be ordained to proclaim the Good News.

He also called on priests to carry the responsibility of “recognize(ing) the gifts present in their community, eventually nourishing and developing the laity to be one in communion and salvation.”

This year’s National Laity Week (September 22 to 28) banners the theme “Taong Pananampalataya sa Diwa ni San Pedro Calungsod.” We hope that the laity will “rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith; and to strengthen our faith in God, and to proclaim Him with joy to the people of our time.”

Lastly, the Church calls on the Catholic laity to emulate the examples and virtues of St. Pedro Calungsod, who at such a young age left his family to be a lay missionary, and eventually proclaim the Gospel through faithful witnessing.