Layman’s Mission in Building the Kingdom
In this Core session, our speaker uses the analogy of a construction site to illuminate the unique and essential vocation of the layman in the life of the Church. Drawing on personal stories and practical examples, he explains the distinct roles of clergy, religious, and laity, and highlights three common mistakes that often keep laypeople from fully embracing their mission. He then challenges us with three fundamental tasks: to be formed in the faith, to act as Catholic men in every aspect of life, and to speak boldly about Christ. The evening concludes with a powerful witness and the praying of the Rosary, meditating on both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of our Lord.
MC: Adam Hohn
Presenter: Joseph Gruber
Deacon: Rick Freedberg
Brought to you By: The Knights of Columbus
Audio Trasnscription
participantOne:(2860-27980): Do you mind if we pray again? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Direct, O Lord, our actions by thy holy inspiration, and carry them on by thy gracious assistance, that every word and work of ours may begin in thee, and by thee be happily ended. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. So gentlemen, my dad was a commercial electrician.
participantOne:(28400-60340): he would be on job sites, usually new builds. Sometimes he'd be there to rewire old buildings, but very often new builds. And it's an amazing thing thinking about the different roles that people have on the job site and some of the stereotypes about them. Because you want an electrician to be pulling wire. You want the electrician to be setting up the fuse boxes. You want the electrician to be doing all of that. You don't usually want the electrician doing anything else.
participantOne:(61080-92920): for several reasons. One, they're probably not good at it. And two, they're probably getting in the way of the people who are good at it. Right? There are all of these stereotypes. Like, if you bring in a plumber and you ask them to do anything outside of the realm of plumbing, you know that you never know what you're going to get. Right? And so there are some lessons in this. Right? We have specialists for a reason. We have specialists for actually several reasons.
participantOne:(93620-125580): One is the specialist is trained in what they're doing. They know what it is they're doing. They can do it well. They can do it to completion. They can make it look nice. My dad, whenever he would do any of the projects around the home, he would get it done, sort of. It never really looked very good unless it was wiring. Of course, that doesn't include my grandfather who was an electrician, and even his wiring didn't look good in the home. But... Probably self-taught.
participantOne:(126200-159820): My grandfather might have been. Yeah. Anyway, so there's this aspect of training, but then there's this aspect of fittingness. Right? Like if my dad were helping out with building a home and he finished wiring, which is his proper job, and then he decided all on his own to start hanging drywall, well, there would be a couple problems there. One, that's not his area of expertise. Two, what if the guy who needed to do the plumbing or the HVAC hadn't done their job yet?
participantOne:(160420-192640): There's like an orderliness to the jobs being done. And staying within our role is helpful because of our training, but it's also because there's a greater plan to do the mission before us because it fits in with all of the other missions around us. Why am I telling you about worksites and the like? Well, because fundamentally, we as Christian men are part of the great work of building up the church.
participantOne:(192900-217239): of building up the kingdom of God. And in that work, there are different roles that we take on. And there are three fundamental roles that we can talk about when we're talking about this. This is the month where we're talking about the role of the laity, the layperson. But to note, first off, there is the people of God. That's everyone who is baptized. That's everyone who is baptized.
participantOne:(217440-246220): Everyone who is baptized has been baptized into the body of Christ. They have been given supernatural graces. They are called to a life of virtue. They are called to a life of holiness. They are called to a life of mission. Every baptized Christian, these things are true. They are fundamentally on the same team. But that team takes up three basic distinct roles.
participantOne:(246620-278340): classes or roles to take on. One is the clergy. So those would be the deacons, the priests, and the bishops. These are men who are ordained to particular work. Their job is to sanctify, to teach, and to govern the people of God. They're there to offer the sacrifice of the Mass and to facilitate that. And they're there to help the rest of the people of God become the saints they're called to be.
participantOne:(280600-309180): particularly by sanctifying, teaching, and governing. Then there are the religious brothers and sisters, people in religious orders. These are people who are living out celibacy for the anticipation of the fulfillment of time. If you want to get fancy, they're living out an eschatological reality. The eschaton is the end times. They are living now as all people will live in the end times.
participantOne:(310460-341200): That's their job. Their job is to look like what we're all aiming for. That's what they do. And then there's the laity. The laity, we have two basic roles with that as well. We sanctify and perfect the temporal order. The temporal order, that's the stuff of the world. The stuff in time. So we build things, we participate in common life,
participantOne:(341960-373840): We work our jobs, we live lives in our homes. Christian men, Christian women are called to a life that perfects, that completes, that makes better everything around us. And we are also called to work for the good of the church. We're called to evangelize, we're called to build up our brothers and sisters. These are things that we're called to do. These are distinct roles, right? The clergy and the religious and the laity are distinct things.
participantOne:(376480-410980): And yet, I see three very common mistakes. So the rest of the talk, I'm going to talk about three mistakes and then three tasks for us. So three big mistakes that I see time and time again, and then three tasks for us as lay people. Okay, so one, and this one bothers me to no end. This is the laity think that the best way to be Catholic is to be just like the priests.
participantOne:(411720-443860): and to do things at Mass especially. How often does it happen that a man will say, I really want to get more involved in my faith, and he'll come to the priest and say, I really want to be more involved in my faith. Or he'll come to somebody who works at the church and say, I really want to be more involved with my faith. What is the answer they usually get? Do you guys know? Have you ever done this? Have you ever said this to somebody, that you want to be more involved in your faith? Anybody? Nobody's ever said they wanted to be more involved in their faith.
participantOne:(444540-478040): Okay, well. Maybe less involved. Okay, how can I be less involved in my faith? That's the question. Okay, at least people have been interested in the question about involvement in faith. That's the important thing. So what I've seen, obviously not from anybody here, but when other people go up and say, I want to be more involved, the stereotypical answer is, you could sign up to be a lector. You could be an usher.
participantOne:(478720-516900): Have you ever thought about the music ministry? That has been like the standard pat answer for people wanting to be more involved in their faith. Which trains people to think the way to be a better Catholic is to do more stuff at Mass. Have you gotten that impression before? Okay, that makes sense, yeah. I'm not saying lay people can't read at Mass. I'm not saying there shouldn't be anybody singing. And I'm not saying that people don't need ushering.
participantOne:(518140-548400): I am saying that saying, I want to be more involved in my faith, does not necessarily mean putting someone who doesn't maybe know how to read very well in front of everybody to proclaim God's word. Or putting somebody who doesn't actually know how to sing in the role as cantor. It doesn't always make sense. It's not always a good fit. And it's almost like we have forgotten that we have a job to do.
participantOne:(549719-583060): So that's one big mistake that I see time and time again, where people who are very, very excited, they're getting more involved in their faith, they're starting to pray, they're starting to read the Bible, they're starting to get excited about the faith, they've listened to Father Mike Schmitz talk about the Bible and the Catechism, and they say, I want to be more involved. And if we say, well, the way to be involved is to do things at Mass, that's such a small, narrow band,
participantOne:(583680-625660): And it's missing the whole rest of the vocation of the layperson. Okay, so laity trying to become more priestly. Doesn't need to happen. That's not a... That's a... Battery? No, well... It doesn't have a battery. It doesn't have a battery, but the microphone did die. Well? You've got a good voice. I've got a good voice. I will project my voice, and that will have to do. Okay.
participantOne:(626000-656260): The second mistake, gentlemen, that I see for laypeople is to say that the priest should do the job of the layperson. They'll say, why doesn't the priest speak out more in public about our religion? Why doesn't the priest make more public statements to the world about the position of the Catholic Church? Gentlemen, that's our job. Gentlemen, it is our job.
participantOne:(656760-683360): to be preaching to the people who are not believers. It's the priest's job to preach to us. They have a particular faculty given to them by the bishop, so do the deacons, to preach to us. We are supposed to receive that and then to pass that on. Insofar as we receive that, we should be passing it on.
participantOne:(684459-714100): But a lot of people think that the priest should be doing a lot of the things that we as the lay people ought to be doing. And that's a huge mistake. They are busy enough doing things they probably don't even need to be doing, taking care of buildings and running schools and the like. It's already beyond what they probably should be doing. Because their basic role as priests is to help us become saints.
participantOne:(715120-749680): Their holiness, their dedication to Christ, to his sacraments, to his bride, the church, that is supposed to form us so we can be in the world as witnesses. And I think a lot of people put pressure on priests to do double duty. And I don't think they even know that they themselves have a responsibility. So one mistake, two.
participantOne:(750000-778220): thinking that the lay people should be more like the priests. Another mistake, that the priests should be more like the lay people. A third mistake is something called clericalism, where there's this over-reliance on priests, where we are overly reliant on permission from the priests to do what we know we ought to be doing. I have seen people who want to study the Bible with their friends, and they're like,
participantOne:(779040-811280): think, I have to ask my pastor if I'm allowed to study the Bible with my friends. Gentlemen, one, that's a waste of his time. And two, he has given us a commission at the end of every Mass. Or the deacon has given us a commission at the end of every Mass. Deacon Rick, what are some of the commissioning words? Go and announce the gospel of the Lord.
participantOne:(811620-838600): Have you guys ever heard that one? Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. You heard that one? My least favorite is go in peace. There needs to be some more to it. The priest or the deacon or the bishop actually does commission us at the end of every Mass to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
participantOne:(839640-867460): Do you think that you need more permission than that to talk to somebody about the good news of Jesus Christ? Why would you need more permission than that? You might need more training than that. You guys, this is one of the reasons why I'm okay with saying you guys should talk to people about the faith because you'll realize just how much training you need. Until you start doing it, you probably think you know your faith pretty well.
participantOne:(868280-893960): You start doing it, and then you come across a Protestant who knows one more Bible verse than you. And maybe they just know one Bible verse, but that's one more than you do. And then you realize, oh, wait, I actually do need more training. I'm not afraid of you guys going out there and messing up. I'm afraid that you guys will go out there and do nothing.
participantOne:(894680-922680): If you go out there and you mess up, you're going to realize that you actually need more formation. And that's great. You don't need permission to share your faith with a friend or a family member or a co-worker. You don't need permission for that because you've been given permission for that. You've been commissioned to do that. Does that make sense to you? So there's a kind of clericalism there.
participantOne:(922880-951160): of saying that I need permission. Now, there are things you do need permission from a priest for, right? Like, my wife and I started a marriage ministry. I talked to my pastor about that. I talked to the chancellor of the diocese about that. He said it was too much paperwork to make us a Catholic organization. So we're not technically a Catholic organization. But he said, go and keep doing it. So I'll go and keep doing it.
participantOne:(952480-986220): So there are times and places to go and ask for permission to do things. But if you're saying, I need to do something, so I need to ask the priest for permission. You can ask the priest for more training. You can ask the priest for advice. You can ask the priest for what resources to look into. That's fine. But he's actually already commissioned you. And with this clericalism, is this weird, like, I want this to be a church activity, so it has to happen at the church? Gentlemen. Gentlemen.
participantOne:(987920-1022820): If you own a home, so I bought a home on McCain Road, right? You can drive past it. It's the yellow house with the wheelchair ramp. It's on McCain Road. That house is a piece of the parish of Queen of the Miraculous Medal. Anything I do in that house is part of the parish. The parish is not the building. It's not the campus. The parish is the geographic boundary.
participantOne:(1025379-1057280): Right? Everything north of Michigan Avenue up to the county line is St. John the Evangelist Parish. If you own a home there, you own a slice of St. John the Evangelist Parish. So thinking that things need to have explicit permission from the priests and thinking that things need to happen at the church in order for it to be a Catholic event, those are weird things. Again, there are times and places to ask for permission.
participantOne:(1057580-1088660): There are times to use the church. We're meeting at St. Mary's Star or the C Hall with the permission of Father Tim Nelson. In fact, a couple of times when we didn't have someone with a key, he came down in his pajamas to open the door for us. Right? There are times and places for this, but the vast majority of our life, we don't actually need to do things at the church or with explicit permission from the priest to share the faith. Okay, those three mistakes...
participantOne:(1090879-1121060): They're huge, right? If you think that the priest should be doing our job, we're not going to do anything. If you think that it's our job to do the things that the priest does, we're not going to do the things that we ought to be doing. And if we're waiting for more explicit permission to share our faith with people who are dying, spiritually dying and then physically dying, without the faith, if we think we need permission to do that over and above the commissioning that we've received...
participantOne:(1122500-1149420): That's ridiculous. It's paralyzing us, and it's hurting the people around us because they don't know the saving power of God until it's been revealed to them. Okay, so those are three mistakes. I'm going to talk now just very briefly about three tasks for us as laymen. First task as a layman, a member of the laity, be formed.
participantOne:(1151940-1183520): Two weeks ago I talked about pray, pay, and obey. Those are three healthy spiritual practices. If you're not praying, pray. If you don't support the local church, support the local church. You get to do that. And be obedient to the commandments of God and Holy Mother Church. Learn what they are, learn why they are. You never have to be afraid of asking why the church teaches something. She has a good reason. She actually probably has many good reasons.
participantOne:(1183900-1220640): most of which are for your good. And those that aren't for your good are for the good of other people. So be formed. Things like core, things like good podcasts, good talks, things like reading the catechism, reading everything that the catechism cites. Be formed. Be around men who are better than you. Be around men who are better than you. If you want to be formed well, find men who excel and stick with them.
participantOne:(1222980-1254680): Second task, act like a Catholic. Romano Guardini once said that they should know that you are Catholic by how you climb a tree. They should know you are Catholic by how you climb a tree. I don't know the last time you guys have climbed a tree. I do it from time to time. It starts with making the sign of the cross. Yes, it does start with that. Nowadays it does start with making the sign of the cross. Absolutely. How are you going to be Catholic by that? No.
participantOne:(1255120-1288100): Brilliant, Phil. But in everything that we do, we should be pursuing excellence. If we are employed, our employers should know that we are Catholic because of our dedication to our work. If we are married, our wives should know that we are Catholic by how zealously we pursue God and our wife's heart. People should know that we are Catholic by offering to help other people.
participantOne:(1288460-1322280): and they should know that we are Catholic because we're able to receive help from other people and ask for it. Whether it's at work, at home, at the grocery store, wherever you are, to act like we are Catholic. To know that that's actually our job. When we walk into a room as a baptized Catholic, we are walking in as a font of grace. Baptism happened once, and what it did was unleashed a font of grace in your heart.
participantOne:(1323920-1357200): Every time we walk into a room, that room changes because we have walked into it. And if we're ignorant of that, we need to open our eyes to it. And then finally, speak like we are a Catholic. People erroneously attribute to St. Francis of Assisi the quote, they preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words. Have you heard this? One, he probably never said that. Two, it means...
participantOne:(1357560-1382320): That if you speak, you should be preaching the gospel. Because if you're preaching the gospel at all times, every time you open your mouth, the gospel should be coming out of your mouth, right? Yeah, does that click? Does that make sense? Okay. Finally, it is necessary to use words. In the decree on the lay apostolate,
participantOne:(1382960-1415980): It says in paragraph 13, For there are many persons who can hear the gospel and recognize Christ only through the laity who live near them. There are many persons who can hear the gospel and recognize Christ only through the laity who live near them. Your neighbors, the people in our community who don't yet know Christ, their only access point to him right now might be you.
participantOne:(1418260-1452420): if you never even bring up the topic of Jesus, if you never even talk about his bride, the church, if you never talk about what difference prayer makes in your life, if prayer makes no difference in your life, that's a different thing. But if you never talk about the difference that prayer makes in your life, they will never know that these people and these things make a difference. So be formed. If you think you're formed pretty well already, try the next two things, which is act like a Catholic and speak like a Catholic.
participantOne:(1453120-1481020): Because once we do, we'll realize, oh, wait, I actually need more. I need more, and I need more, and I need more. It was Curtis Martin, founder of Focus. He said the people he loved teaching the most weren't the people who started as Catholic missionaries with Focus their first year. He liked teaching them just fine. He liked teaching them after they finished their first year on mission, right?
participantOne:(1481960-1514940): Because they finally realize how much more they need. After spending a year out there trying to live with people and love people and to spread God's message of love and forgiveness and mercy and compassion and justice, they realize that they need more. And gentlemen, if you don't think you need more, it's probably because you're not doing much of anything. All right, three mistakes. Laity, thinking we need to be just like the priests, not really owning our role.
participantOne:(1515540-1547080): priests thinking, us thinking the priests need to be more like the laity and to do our job, and an overly clerical kind of mindset. These mistakes, they're everywhere. Hate them. They're more than a pet peeve. They are literally hindrances to the gospel being spread. So the three tasks, be formed, act, and speak like a Catholic. The one thing that got me through what I'm going through right now
participantOne:(1548140-1575440): Because I just had two seizures and thanks to dad and Maynard and Brandon and Jim Fisher But one thing mainly got me through if people understand what life is all about All you got to do is do one thing watch Passion of the Christ Sit there and I mean really watch it because I went with when it first came up and I talk about this all the time because I know dad and Jim and
participantOne:(1576660-1598200): Everybody's trying to hear me talk about it, but if you watch that Pax in the Trice and you really sit down and watch it. I sat right beside Father Jim Schafer when he was alive, God bless his soul. We went down there when it first opened, it was the first time the TV or I was in the theater. And I sat there. It was not like a regular movie.
participantOne:(1598740-1625640): If you watch it, people walked out of that, you couldn't hear, it wasn't quiet, it was like a dead drop. And if you really want to know what God really meant, and seeing what God did, you honor the priests and the deacons and all these people that did the stuff that they do. But basically, it's what he did for us. Yeah.
participantOne:(1625879-1655420): That's why you made this hand. Great. So let's pray. We're going to pray two decades of the Rosary. We're going to do something you probably have never done before. You ready for it? We're going to pray the fifth sorrowful mystery, the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then we're going to pray the first glorious mystery, the resurrection of our Lord. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
participantOne:(1656140-1683220): The fifth sorrowful mystery is the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This is the day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
participantOne:(1683620-1706520): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1706700-1718180): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1718500-1741920): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1741879-1764600): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1764800-1787340): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1787680-1816840): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Amen.
participantOne:(1817720-1842280): The first glorious mystery is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
participantOne:(1842700-1865600): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1865720-1891540): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
participantOne:(1891680-1911540): Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen.
participantOne:(1911680-1925980): Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
participantOne:(1925600-1948100): Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
participantOne:(1948200-1975020): Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, for all time. Amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Amen.
participantOne:(1975260-1985060): In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. All right, gentlemen, feel free to grab some more coffee and head back for a small group discussion.
