Hey Deacon

Continuing on my quest to summarize the four constitutional documents of the Second Vatican Council, this week I look inside Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. Promulgated by Pope St. Paul VI on November 21, 1964, This document was the fruit of much prayer, conversation, and reflection by the Council’s fathers who desired to “bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church” (LG #1).

Archbishop Emeritus Roger Schweitz of Anchorage Alaska wrote an article 11 years ago highlighting five significant developments that have resulted from Lumen Gentium.

1. Universal call to holiness: The Council said that the purpose of the Church, and of all human life, is holiness. This is the fundamental call of all Christians to holiness, and it can be lived out in various ways. The emphasis on the call to holiness prompted a spiritual re-awakening among the laity, as evidenced by the explosion of Bible study groups and prayer groups and the demand for spiritual direction.

2. The Church as the People of God: The Council emphasized that we are saved not just as individuals but as a community – the People of God. This has led to a renewed understanding of the family as the “domestic church,” and the growth of small faith communities within the Church.

3. The role of the bishops: The document’s emphasis on the dignity and authority of bishops, especially in terms of collegiality (college), has given rise to the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, as evidenced by the Extraordinary Synod on the Family in October 2014, and most recently Synod of Synodality in October 2023.

4. The permanent diaconate: The document’s authorization of the restoration of the permanent diaconate is a very significant development, especially in the United States where more than 14,000 permanent deacons now serve in active ministry.

5. The lay vocation: Running through the entire document, and picked up by other Council documents, is the theme of the laity participating in the Church’s mission. All the faithful, by virtue of their baptism, are called to proclaim Jesus to the world. The lay faithful live out this call by witnessing to Christ in the family, the workplace, and the civic community.

Quotable quotes from Lumen Gentium “… the Church, although she needs human resources to carry out her mission, is not set up to seek earthly glory, but to proclaim, and this by her own example, humility and self-denial.” (LG #8)

“Though they differ essentially and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless ordered one to another; each in its own proper way shares in the one priesthood of Christ.” (LG #10)

“But by reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will.” (LG #31)

Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn