A Mandate for Action
The Apostolate of the Laity

by H. Lyman Stebbins

For me, CUF was and is part of the apostolate of the laity, and as such is to be guided by what recent popes and Vatican II have said about that apostolate. One useful and descriptive declaration on the subject was Pope Paul VI's sermon preached on September 1, 1963, in the Cathedral of Frascati. He described the apostolate of the laity as "that form of Christian life which joins the lay volunteer to the work of evangelization, edification, and sanctification entrusted to him with a special mandate for action by the ecclesiastical hierarchy."

Pope Paul VI chided many Christians with being passive toward, forgetful of, and sometimes deserters from the great call of God. He recalled the time of the French Revolution when many good concepts, fundamentally Christian, were taken up under a banner that was anti-Christian, secularist, and irreligious. He recalled how St. Vincent Pallotti pointed out on the one hand the emptiness which was threatening to engulf everything, and yet listened to the voice from heaven with the most clear appeal: It is necessary to remake Christian society—it is necessary to awaken it, to become aware that we are responsible.

Pope Paul VI said that that word "responsible" is one that acts to instill a special dynamism in the souls of those who understand it. He spoke of St. Vincent Pallotti as a pioneer. And he went on to say that "the pioneer of Christ habitually directs himself to those who have as their normal responsibility the encouragement of sanctity and of the moral forces of the world, that is, the clergy, for it is we priests who must deal with the woes that surround humanity, the world, and the Church."

Pope Paul VI also said:

While in preceding ages the hierarchy took completely to itself both the responsibility and the exercise of every significant ministry of sanctification and evangelization . . . today the layman . . . repeats with enthusiasm: "I, too, I, too, have to do something. I cannot be only a passive and unfeeling instrument." . . .The hierarchy itself today calls on the laity to cooperate with it. . . . Come with us—the hierarchy says—we will search for ways to coordinate our work. . . . It is the hierarchy itself that wants the layman at its side as an aide. It calls all, and it reminds all . . . but (they who answer) assume a great burden, a risk, a duty. It means that together with the clergy they are to bear the Cross of the Lord in the midst of society, preaching Christ who always has within Himself the drama of contradiction: There are those who accept Him and those who reject Him, who want Him crucified. It means bringing this drama into the world. . . .Therefore the Holy Father . . . is happy to repeat this invitation: You too, faithful, you too, laymen, come to the aid of the work of the Church. Come and comfort this clergy which has become fewer in number and insufficient for its vast sacred ministry. . . . Now is the time to work; we must work today, today, because this is the law of the conscience of the Christian. When he feels a duty, he does not say: I will do it tomorrow. He must act immediately.

Christian support must be given immediately to all . . . which can be vital for the life of our times. . . .The times are grave and can be described as decisive without overstating their solemnity. May we guard ourselves against being lazy, slow, or quarrelsome sons of the Gospel and of the Church.

May all seek to be faithful sons and bring to the Church an effective contribution in loyalty, words, help and, above all, action. In truth this is the formula that the Church today wants to adopt, and which the Lord in His Spirit wishes to suggest for the salvation of the world: Act so that Christ may still and always be our Teacher and Savior.

One might almost suppose that that would be program enough, and would clarify every obscurity or disagreement among us. Our work is part of the apostolate of the laity. It involves evangelization, edification, and sanctification, with a special mandate for action—for action that is swift, energetic, loving, loyal—action that is entrusted to us by the hierarchy. We are partners of the clergy in the task of remaking Christian society. We must cooperate with the hierarchy as their aides. Together with them we are to bear the Cross; we are to comfort and give strength to the clergy. We must start to work at once.

The trouble with our opponents in the Church is that they do not accept that spirit and that program. They are impatient and quarrelsome and want to take over as senior partners—or as the only partners.

We sometimes get carried away by the temptation to see, as alternatives, things that belong together, even though they have a different place in the scale of values. I believe, and I think all Christians believe, in the primacy of the spiritual. And yet we find ourselves talking in terms of spiritual versus active, of letter versus spirit, of love of God versus love of neighbor, of obedience versus freedom. CUF cannot work effectively unless all of us understand—and teach our members—that things are not alternatives, are not antagonists. Those whom we are obliged to obey and follow—the Pope and the bishops in union with him—have explained to us the spirit with which we must be filled, and have told us what sorts of action we are called to undertake in that spirit. That is how it has been since the beginning: Love of God, and then love of neighbor—"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Mt. 6:33). Not the least impressive example of this truth is that of St. Thérèse of Lisieux who, from her enclosure as contemplative nun, became Patroness of the Missions of the Church.

I think it necessary to remember always what we stand for. Where is the antithesis to liberal secularism to be found? To my mind, in the words of St. Paul: "For me, to live is Christ ." If we ask ourselves to what extent any of us could truly utter those words about himself, I think we'll find that, while opposing liberal secularism, and in order to oppose it effectively and convincingly, we all have need—need!—for a lot more transformation of ourselves. I am not opposed to good action—I'm for it, heartily. I only say that action by one St. Paul would be more effective than a lot of angry people running around. Zealous reformers, such as those suggested by the name of Savonarola, are stirring, and sometimes burn very hot indeed, like a fire of straw. But that is not the kind of action which CUF will take as long as I can help it. CUF is an apostolate, and one in which we exist as servants of God. We are indeed invited by Pope and Council to a partnership with the hierarchy; but it is as junior partners, and we are to express our loyalty by cooperation, friendly and obedient and patient and humble.

I do believe that CUF should be, primarily, a movement for the formation of Christians whose faith, hope, and charity can really help to repair the dissent and disunity within the Church. That, too, the Council documents and the Pope stress again and again. I believe that God has not only assigned to us a task, but has also assigned a way of accomplishing it: In an alliance of bishops, priests, religious, and laity—all united for the faith.

H. Lyman Stebbins (1911-1989) founded CUF in 1968. This article is excerpted from a letter to CUF's directors in the early days of the apostolate. Pope Paul VI conferred upon Mr. Stebbins the Papal award of Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory in recognition of the great contribution he made to the Church for many years.

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