Spiritual Growth in Lumen Gentium from Vatican II
Lumen Gentium is the Sacred Constitution on the Church. Pope Paul VI wrote the encycilcal Ecclesiam Suam (Pathways of the Church),. In that document, he tells us that Lumen Gentium is an examination of conscience for the Church. It asks the question, “Church, what do you say of yourself?” It uses Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition to explore what Christ intended the Church to be . Lumen Gentium invites us to get rid of the corruptions of Jesus’ plan for the Church and live according to His mission.
At first glance it may seem like this document is not relevant to spiritual growth. It seems to focus on Church structure and politics. But there is still a lot that we can learn.
1. The Church belongs to Christ. In what ways do you expect the Church to conform to you and your ideals? Instead seek to conform youself to Christ, and so to be more tightly united to the Church that He founded.
2. The laity need to fulfill their mission too. To what extent do you see the job of the Church as serving you? Focus instead on fulfilling the mission of Christ in the world. Do you know your mission as a member of the laity? Are you active in it?
3. The Church is a unity in the midst of diversity. Do you remember the scripture verse, “We are many parts but all one body?” Or “There are many Gifts but one Spirit?” The Council emphasizes this theme in this document. It celebrates he diversity of gifts, roles and states of life. It shows the unity of these diverse members joined into one body on Christ. Lumen Gentium invites us to identify and put into action the unique gifts the Holy Spirit has given each of us. At the same time, it calls us to see ourselves as united to all members of the Church. It calls us to rid ourselves of the “us vs. them” mentality.
Spiritual growth always happens in the context of the Church. We are not only saved as as individuals. God redeems us into His Family and we grow in faith together s a family. So it actually makes sense that the document from Vatican II that talks about the Church would have something to say about spiritual growth.
[…] Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes seems on the surface to be an article about Church policies and procedures rather […]