MOSAIC Spring/Summer 2022 | Page 7

When they know the individual , they know best what gesture of self-giving love to offer . Have we too been gifted to freely offer such tiny , yet powerful , gestures of self-giving love ?
Jesus ’ deep engagement approach with the people to whom he ministered , therefore , requires those who are discerning a lay ecclesial ministry vocation to pray and reflect on this aspect of Jesus ’ own ministry — the micro , everyday interactions with others . To discern the vocation of lay ecclesial ministry within the parish , then , involves asking yourself whether or not you really want to get to know the people in a parish , to form a community in Christ with them . If you discern that you do , then I encourage you to further reflect upon this desire . What does it mean to minister in this particular parish community ? This question leads to further questions that we Americans seldom ask ourselves , questions that should not be overlooked . Are you willing to commit yourself to this place , to this parish community , to sticking around and not looking for better opportunities somewhere else ?
Part of a lay minister ’ s discernment process is to discern if one truly wants to be of service to God ’ s people as Jesus was , that is , to follow his example of selfgiving love in this particular location . Of course , as mentioned above , one must additionally pray and discern if God has bestowed you with the charism of deeply engaging with others from everyday chitchat to comforting others in difficult times . Are you called to engage in these types of micro ministries ? Alongside these deep questions to discern , comes another important question — do you want to do this with these people in this particular parish ? In other words , the question of mobility or upward social mobility needs attention in discerning a ministerial vocation . As Americans , we often take the question of mobility for granted , yet mobility is detrimental to building and sustaining a community and therefore requires conscious reflection .
Upward social mobility requires conscious reflection precisely because it is such an ingrained , American aspirational cultural norm , a norm dictating that we must relentlessly work at getting ahead in order to prove we are successful . This desire for success often leads us to abandon our communities . Yet we know , sociologically and otherwise , that such instances of mobility are a laceration of the communal body . When people leave , the communal body bleeds . Mobility can be quite destructive to a community , but as Americans , we seldom give it a second thought .
If engaging deeply in people ’ s lives to build community and follow in Jesus ’ footsteps of self-giving love is as important as the Catholic tradition says it is , then lay ministers need to discern if they are simply moonlighting in the hope of obtaining a better or higherpaid position elsewhere , or if they are truly called to conform to Jesus ’ s pattern of ministry . In other words , although this is seldom mentioned in ministerial circles and certainly is not mentioned in the document Co-Workers , vocational discernment for the laity should involve at some point the questioning of that fundamental American cultural assumption of upward social mobility . Do I commit myself to this community without an underlying motive to move in a few years to obtain more status and money ? Certainly moving to another community is required in particular situations , but it should be discerned that God is initiating such a move , not the individual . But given the cultural pull of upward social mobility , deep prayer , reflection , and discernment is needed to know if this is truly what God is calling one to do .
Jesus deeply engaged in people ’ s everyday lives and therefore knew what they needed and how best to serve them . The classic Catholic proposal is that we live life best as persons in community and as a community of persons . However , this sense of communal personhood swims against the contemporary tide . The tide tells us that individual rights are the guiding purpose of life — not responsibility for the common good . Catholic faith and thus Catholic discernment of one ’ s calling to lay ecclesial ministry must include the understanding of the person as an individual-cum-social being . We are not first and foremost individuals who may choose to join the Church . We are intimately social beings who become our “ selves ” only in and through community . Jesus , being steeped in his Jewish faith , was keenly aware of the notion of covenant and that this covenant demanded that the Jewish people function as a community — as the people of God . No tradition has placed more emphasis on the importance of community . Catholicism , likewise , has placed the same emphasis on community in that Jesus lived and died for the common good , for all . Lay ecclesial ministers are called to be servant leaders of the community and so anyone discerning such a ministry should consider the questions : Do I want to conform to Jesus ’ self-giving love by deeply engaging in the lives of everyday people in this particular parish , in this particular place ?
Dr . Michael J . McCallion is the Interim Dean of Institute for Lay Ministry and the Rev . William Cunningham Chair of Catholic Social Analysis . He received his Ph . D . in sociology from Wayne State University in Detroit and his M . A . in liturgy / theology from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana . He is primarily interested in the sociology of religion , spending whatever time he can studying Catholic liturgical worship and the New Evangelization from that perspective .
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