Fr. Richard Landry on Lay People and the Renewal of the Church

"Earlier this month, I had the privilege to go to New Zealand to give five talks over seven days, sandwiched around two days of sightseeing in one of world's most beautiful countries. The first three talks were to young adults, the last two, at the Auckland Eucharistic Convention, for Catholics of all generations.

"Certain talks are easier and more enjoyable to prepare and deliver than others. I loved comparing the thoughts of Popes John Paul II, Benedict, and Francis on love, describing John Paul II's Theology of the Body as a way to holiness, addressing Christ's summons to the young to follow him all the way, and discussing how Jesus Christ in the Eucharist seeks to fill us with courage before all our challenges, which was more or less the theme of the Eucharistic Convention, dedicated to Jesus' words 'Take Courage, I have overcome the world.' But the last talk I was asked to prepare, on the call to lay people to renew the Church as salt, light, and leaven, struck me as too dry and theological - in short, too boring - for an hour-long speech before a large, non-academic Catholic crowd.

"Soon after I arrived, however, I quickly saw the caliber of many Catholic lay leaders, especially young adults. In a highly secularized culture in which many are largely disappointed in the Catholic 'professional' class - teachers and administrators in Catholic schools and universities, as well as clergy, religious and catechists - for watering down the more challenging aspects of the faith, I found the lay people hungry for a theology of the laity that could inspire them to make bold commitments toward assuming and fulfilling faithfully their own responsibilities in the Church. Their reactions made me think of other lay people closer to home who might similarly profit from a robust understanding of the lay people in the renewal of the Church."

In a recent commentary, Father Roger J. Landry (a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, MA, who works for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations) reflected on lay people, the vast majority of the Church, being renewed in holiness, becoming the "living stones" of the Church

To access Fr. Landry's complete essay, please visit:

Boston Pilot: Echoes: Lay people in the renewal of the Church (24 JUL 19)