Then and Now
THE PEOPLE OF GOD
But the renewal of the liturgy wasn’t the only change—the council had even more good news for us. By a vote of 2151 to 5, the bishops overwhelmingly approved the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), in which they promised “to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission” (1). The decree devoted its entire second chapter to a description of the Church as the “new people of God” (13). In other words,
WE ARE THE CHURCH!
Previously, when we spoke of “the Church,” we were primarily speaking about its hierarchy. In the Dogmatic Constitution, the council reminds us that through our baptism and anointing we’ve been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The document goes on to say that “all the disciples of Christ, persevering in prayer and praising God, should present themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (10). For most of us, our experience of being the Church is in our parish, but we’re also conscious that our parish is part of a diocese. In our local parish, people are asked to serve as members of the parish council. Now we see many of “the people of God” teaching in our Catholic schools, while others serve as religion teachers in religious-education programs. Married couples prepare engaged couples for the sacrament of marriage by acting as sponsor couples.
Even more to the point, the council refers to the family as “the domestic Church” (11), where parents are by word and example the first heralds of the faith to their children.
In recent years, a significant number of the people of God have devoted themselves to the study of theology, and today the number of laypeople pursuing a degree in theology and sacred Scripture far outnumbers the priests and religious earning such degrees. Lay professionals make a significant contribution to the development of doctrine. These and many other areas of development clearly indicate the Holy Spirit’s presence, making us ever more aware that the Church is indeed the people of God.