Contacts & Publisher

Subscription Form

Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2008 /  Witness of the lay faithful is important in the story of our Church

Published October 31, 2008

My brothers and sisters in the Lord:

Throughout this anniversary year of our archdiocese, I have been reflecting on people who have been a significant part of our 175 years of faith. As our jubilee year draws to a conclusion, and as we celebrate the Communion of Saints during this month of November, I wish to reflect on the witness of the lay faithful and the significant contributions they have made to the mission of our local Church right from the very beginning.

Lay faithful

When the Church uses the term "lay faithful," we are referring to all the baptized who are not otherwise in holy orders or religious life. Thanks to their baptism, they truly share in the priestly, prophetic and kingly ministry of the Lord and they carry out their mission primarily in the midst of the world, in the ordinary circumstances of family life. As the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council put it: "By exercising their proper function and being led by the Spirit of the Gospel, they work for the sanctification of the world from within, in the manner of leaven…" ("Dogmatic Constitution on the Church," art. 31).

Throughout the decades, our Church of Detroit has been built up and strengthened by the witness of individual lay faithful as well as groups of lay faithful and the leadership of the laity in creating and sustaining many Church-related agencies and institutions.

During my 18 years as your chief shepherd, I have had the opportunity to visit most of our parishes and schools. On those occasions, I often acknowledge the particular service of the pastors and religious who have served in the community. But as I always say, none of our parishes or schools could ever have come into being if not for the often hidden but powerful contribution of the laity. Their faith and generosity have given me and my predecessors and all our priests the support, challenge and energy to make our parishes and schools strong and dynamic. The same is true of our Catholic institutions. And where would we be without so many of the outstanding groups of Catholic men and women such as the Knights and Ladies of Columbus, the Ladies of Charity, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Christ Child Society, and so on? In this month's column, I wish to reflect briefly on these "unsung heroes" of our heritage.

Called to holiness in the world

It is fitting that we reflect on the role of the laity in a particular way during this month of November in as much as we celebrate the Communion of Saints at this time of the year and remember that we are called to holiness in and through the particular circumstances of our daily lives. While there are different ways of expressing our baptismal dignity and responsibility, as the fathers of Vatican II remind us: "All share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ" ("Dogmatic Constitution on the Church," art. 32).

Local Catholic societies

Already from the time of the Middle Ages, as St. Francis and St. Dominic founded their religious communities for men and women, they also had the intuition that it would be appropriate to create "third orders" for lay faithful who wished to be associated with the charism or mission of their community. These guilds or auxiliaries have long been a part of our tradition; for example, here in Detroit, the Capuchins sponsor the Fr. Solanus Guild and our cloistered religious communities also have auxiliaries that support their ministry.

Over the years as the Church developed and increased in size, many more societies came to the forefront, especially in the early years of the 1900s. Most prominent among such groups were the Knights of Columbus, established by Fr. Michael McGivney in 1882, the Holy Name Society, which was present in almost every parish, the League of Catholic Women and the Catholic Instruction League. Each of these organizations has a specific mission and their own unique history.

The Holy Name Society was first established in the Detroit area in the 1880s to promote the honor and glory of the Lord's name; members were to perform corporal and spiritual works of mercy. These societies often gathered for solemn processions and celebrations affirming Catholic identity.

Founded in Connecticut in 1882, the Knights of Columbus came to the Diocese of Detroit in 1898. The mission of the Knights of Columbus focuses on supporting the local Church, enhancing family life, and affirming the dignity of life itself, especially those most vulnerable.

The League of Catholic Women was founded in 1911, especially to help young women who came from small towns to work in Detroit. Originally, they focused on providing low-cost cafeterias, inexpensive residences and opportunities for socialization in a Catholic environment. Historically, the League of Catholic Women has not only maintained a home on Parsons Street near Orchestra Hall, but they have also been involved in various programs, some of which are now under the umbrella of Matrix Human Services. These various programs of their heritage include the St. Peter Claver Community House, a setting for leisure-time activities for families; Casa Maria Community House for newly arrived immigrants; Youth Services Bureau; the Barat House for young girls with behavioral problems; and the St. Peter Claver Nursery.

A very special institution that is part of our lay heritage in Detroit is the Catholic Instruction League established by Josephine Van Dyke Brownson, a lay woman who made Sunday school an effective means of evangelization in Detroit in the early years of the 1900s. She focused primarily on classes for immigrant children and by 1918 had established 21 centers throughout Detroit. She replaced the custom of memorizing catechism questions and answers with stories about the lives of the saints and strove to make classroom learning meaningful and pleasant, following the philosophy that if students loved their class, they would love their religion. In particular, she emphasized the teacher's responsibility; as she said: "If the teacher has fallen in love with the beauty of the Lord and the Church, then the children will be entranced as well."

Missionary outreach

An important part of our heritage has been the involvement of laity in the missionary activity of the Church. Detroit has long had a strong connection with the Catholic Extension Society because of the presence and ministry of Bishop Edward Kelly, who was at one time pastor of Immaculate Conception in Lapeer. Extension lay mission volunteers served in American Home Missions, usually as volunteers for one year. Detroit both gave and received lay missionaries over the decades.

After Vatican II, some laity from the archdiocese became part of a group known as Papal Volunteers for Latin America. In more recent years, Bud and Sue Ozar joined the Lay Mission Helpers of California and worked in Samoa and are now in Kenya. Many organizations continue to provide opportunities for volunteer service such as the Jesuit Volunteer Corp. Detroit was also blessed in the 1950s and 1960s by the presence and service of the Women of the Holy Grail, a secular institute from Ohio who set up a store to provide Catholic reading materials near St. Leo's. St. Aloysius always enjoyed a lending library, something that was originally staffed by the Home Visitors of Mary. It later became the Catholic Book Store.

Implementing the vision of Vatican II

Certainly the laity always had a strong and significant place in the life of the Church of Detroit right from the beginning. The mission of the laity, however, became much clearer and more focused in light of the teachings of the Council Fathers at Vatican II, some of which I have referred to above. As Cardinal John Dearden sought to implement these teachings here in the archdiocese, he inaugurated Synod '69, which was followed by a program for the implementation of the synod through a parish education process entitled, Church, World and Kingdom. In that work of theological and spiritual renewal, Jane Wolford Hughes was a driving force; she modeled nationally the rich potential of adult faith formation as a life-long journey.

Countless lay leaders emerged in the decades after Vatican II, taking up their rightful role of leadership in various aspects of the life of the Church. Each, in different ways, having recognized a particular need, used their talents and skills to work for the improvement of the society and the building up of the Church. Many times it was through building up of Christian service as a vital part of parish life (people such as Blanche Barber) and it was through the establishment of other institutions and structures such as the Catholic Social Service Agencies, Focus: HOPE (Eleanor Josaitis) and countless other agencies too numerous to list.

Ultimately, the mission of the laity is lived out in the circumstances of marriage and family living, as couples bring children into the world, educate, and form them in the ways of the faith. Catholic lay leadership truly permeates every aspect of our society from factories to boardrooms and in the world of business and all the professions. There are countless ways to serve!

In this month of November, as we give thanks to God for many blessings we have received individually and collectively, let us rejoice in the witness of the lay faithful who truly are the hidden energy and abiding strength of our faith community.

Your brother in the Lord,

†Adam Cardinal Maida
Archbishop of Detroit

download image

During this month of November, as we celebrate the Communion of Saints and remember our heritage of faith, let us give thanks to God for the gift and blessing of the lay men and women who have offered their gifts and talents individually and through groups, organizations and agencies to strengthen the Catholic faith, respond to specific social needs and to help all people grow in knowledge and love of the one true God.

Loving Father of the human family, Our Church of Detroit rejoices in the witness of faith of generations of lay faithful who have been your instruments in building up the Kingdom as they have devoted their gifts and talents for the good of others.

As we celebrate the Communion of Saints, we give you thanks and praise for inspiring and sustaining them; May we also have the courage and perseverance to continue to build on their witness and example.

We ask all this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever.  Amen.