Denver Catholic

14 JUNE-JULY 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC become his presence there, acting as leaven in every corner of society. Vatican II's document on the laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem, unpacks the mission of the laity in more detail. The laity apply the Church's mission of salvation and renewal in the world through the daily details of their lives. "Christ's redemptive work, while essentially concerned with the salva- tion of men, includes also the renewal of the whole temporal order. Hence, the mission of the Church is not only to bring the message and grace of Christ to men but also to penetrate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel" (5). Rightly ordering the world already anticipates the completion of "the singular plan of God that He Himself intends to raise up the whole world again in Christ and to make it a new creation, initially on earth and completely on the last day" (5). YO U R R O L E I N GO D' S P L A N You have a unique role in this plan. Through you, God wants to serve your family members, co-workers, neighbors and fellow parishioners. You can touch them through your own gifts and presence to show them God's love so that he, too, can become more present to them. We can have confidence in God through every hardship, knowing he has called and equipped us for our mission. As St. John Henry Newman ref lected, "I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. . . . He does nothing in vain; . . . He knows what He is about." You have a unique role in this plan. Through you, God wants to serve your family members, co-workers, neighbors and fellow parishioners. You can touch them through your own gifts and presence to show them God 's love so that he, too, can become more present to them."

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