Way of Life
Jesus calls us to follow him in living our lives in total surrender to God. This is not simply an influence on our lives or a part of our lives, but an entire way of life. It is a different way of looking at and understanding the world that has the potential to change the world around us.
We are all individual disciples first and we can't "contract out" that responsibility by our financial giving or Church membership. We cannot all personally visit other countries to help the poor there, but we are all called to personally be the face of Jesus to those in our lives and to live the Good News in all the ways we act. It is essential to financially support social organizations to do some work on our behalf, but our parishes need to also equip us for dealing with these issues individually, such as how to respond in a personal encounter with the poor or vulnerable or seeing life from their perspective so that can influence our civic engagement and giving.
We are all individual disciples first and we can't "contract out" that responsibility by our financial giving or Church membership. We cannot all personally visit other countries to help the poor there, but we are all called to personally be the face of Jesus to those in our lives and to live the Good News in all the ways we act. It is essential to financially support social organizations to do some work on our behalf, but our parishes need to also equip us for dealing with these issues individually, such as how to respond in a personal encounter with the poor or vulnerable or seeing life from their perspective so that can influence our civic engagement and giving.
Key Insights
Witness
In living a Gospel-centered way of life, Christians witness to their faith and evangelize. Conversion
This way of life necessarily begins in conversion and is sustained by ongoing conversion. This is the change from our old way of life to the new, and is why we see conversion as the death of our old self and birth of our new self and way of living. |
Recognizing God
When we live as disciples, God is revealed to us in our daily lives in concrete ways. Biblical Times
Our contemporary notion of separating aspects of our daily life from our faith would have been completely foreign to the Hebrew people, who understood everything as being intertwined with their faith. God informed everything they did. |
Surrender
The Christian way of life is a surrender to God: placing God above all other priorities. The Early Jesus Movement
The early followers of the Risen Christ certainly let their faith pervade their daily lives, so much so that others noticed and were attracted to them. As recorded in Acts, they also held possessions in common and provided for the poor among them. They were urgently evangelical, despite persecution and hardship. All were active, intentional disciples. |
Quotations
One of the great challenges for Christians is as old as our faith... 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 market place and the public square? How do we love our neighbor, pursue peace and seek justice in everyday choices and commitments? Mature disciples make a conscious, firm decision, carried out in action, to be followers of Jesus Christ no matter the cost to themselves. Beginning in conversion, change of mind and heart, this commitment is expressed not in a single action, nor even in a number of actions over a period of time, but in an entire way of life. It means committing one’s very self to the Lord. Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. On Christian Hope (Spe Salvi)
Pope Benedict XVI Discipleship is rooted in human experience. It is through human experience that one enters into a dialogue with modern culture. The human experience provides the “sensible signs” that help us come to know ourselves, one another, and God. It is through common human experiences that the Word of God is revealed to us. These sensible signs are not abstract metaphysical signs but the concrete actions of the Holy Spirit present in the Christian’s everyday life. Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization
Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, U.S. Bishops This life of intimate union with Christ in the Church is nourished by spiritual aids which are common to all the faithful, especially active participation in the sacred liturgy. These are to be used by the laity in such a way that while correctly fulfilling their secular duties in the ordinary conditions of life, they do not separate union with Christ from their life but rather performing their work according to God's will they grow in that union. In this way the laity must make progress in holiness in a happy and ready spirit, trying prudently and patiently to overcome difficulties. Neither family concerns nor other secular affairs should be irrelevant to their spiritual life, in keeping with the words of the Apostle, "Whatever you do in word or work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Col. 3:17). 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 New Evangelization does not seek to invite people to experience only one moment of conversion but rather to experience the gradual and lifelong process of conversion: to draw all people into a deeper relationship with God, to participate in the sacramental life of the Church, to develop a mature conscience, to sustain one’s faith through ongoing catechesis, and to integrate one’s faith into all aspects of one’s life. The process of conversion and evangelization that accomplishes the objectives above must include the witness of the Church through her members in the everyday living out of the Gospel. Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization
Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, U.S. Bishops The commitment to living the Christian life provides an essential element of the culture of witness. To those seeking answers to the increasing secularization, individualism, and materialism of society, a Christian life provides a powerful witness to the Gospel. Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization
Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, U.S. Bishops The Second Vatican Council clearly proclaimed the universal call to holiness. Not only are lay people included in God’s call to holiness, but theirs is a unique call requiring a unique response, which itself is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is characteristic that lay men and women hear the call to holiness in the very web of their existence (Lumen Gentium, 31), in and through the events of the world, the pluralism of modern living, the complex decisions and conflicting values they must struggle with, the richness and fragility of sexual relationships, the delicate balance between activity and stillness, presence and privacy, love and loss. This gospel message gives us a different vision of what life is about. We see a pattern of love, hope, and meaning because the intimate relationship with God in which we were created, lost through sin, has been restored by Jesus, whose death has destroyed our death and whose resurrection gives us the promise of eternal life. We do not see a world of blind forces ruled by chance, but a universe created to share God's life; we know that following Jesus means we begin to share God's life here and now. We do not view life's purpose as the gathering of power or riches, but as the gracious invitation to live for God and others in love. We do not calculate what we think is possible, but rather, know the Spirit of God always makes new things possible, even the renewal of humanity. We do not merely look for many years of contented life, but for an unending life of happiness with God. In our faith, we discover God's eternal plan, from creation's first moment to creation's fulfillment in heaven, giving meaning to our human lives. Go And Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States, 21-22
U.S. Bishops Emphasis added |
Cover image from Pentecost, a painting by El Greco.