Vatican II’s Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People (Apostolicam Actuositatem) is the first ecumenical conciliar document in church history addressed to lay people. The document declares a renewed identity and role of the laity in the church, stating: “Lay people too, sharing in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ, play their part in the mission of the whole people of God in the church and in the world” (Apostolicam Actuositatem,#2). One finds here a clear articulation of the lay vocation. The laity, as baptized members of the Body of Christ, participate in the three offices of Christ as priest, prophet, and king in their own unique way. Moreover, by placing the laity directly in the mission of the Church, the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity sets up a relationship with other major documents of the council. The documents of the Church in the modern world, ecumenism, missionary life, Christian education and liturgy, then, all speak to the laity about their role in various areas of the church’s life and work.

Apostolicam Actuositatem unambiguously declares that the pastoral care of the world is a special obligation of the laity (#5); but it also maintains that the contributions of the laity within the church are essential. “Their activity is so necessary within the Church communities that without it the apostolate of the pastors is often unable to achieve its full effectiveness. They bring to the Church people who perhaps are far removed from it, earnestly cooperate in presenting the word of God especially by means of catechetical instruction, and offer their special skills to make the care of souls and the administration of the temporalities of the Church more efficient and effective (Apostolicam Actuositatem, #10). Important to note here is that the Decree did not deal directly with laywomen and laymen giving themselves full time to ministry within the church. And, more precisely, the terminology for lay work is not “ministry”; as the title of the document itself illustrates, it is “apostolate.”

In the 50 post-conciliar years, then, we have seen a linguistic shift. Parish-based volunteer  lay “ministry” has exploded, and encompasses a variety of roles, including extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, readers, cantors and choir members, pastoral council members, catechists, visitors to the sick and needy, those who teach sacramental preparation courses, youth ministry. In addition, within this larger group of lay ministry, there is a smaller one called, “Lay ecclesial ministry.” This term is used for lay persons working for the church directly, either full-time or part-time in paid positions (e.g., pastoral associates, parish catechetical leaders, youth ministry leaders, Catholic school principals, directors of liturgy or pastoral music).

In responding to the phenomenon of lay ecclesial ministry, in 2005, the US bishops published the document Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry. The longest section of the document is dedicated to the formation of lay ecclesial ministers. It begins by noting that the Church has always required proper preparation for those preparing for ministry, and it cites Code of Canon Law 231, which states that “lay persons who devote themselves permanently or temporarily to some special service of the Church are obliged to acquire the appropriate formation which is required to fulfill their function properly.” The document then offers models of training for lay ecclesial ministry, including models of formation in four areas: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation.

I teach at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, a graduate school in which we strive to form both lay ecclesial ministers and permanent diaconate candidates in these four areas. Each year students meet with their advisor to set personal goals in these areas, and then, later in the year, meet again to evaluate and discuss their progress in these goals. The formation meetings with my advisees each semester are the equivalent of about one full-course load of work; this is to say, it takes time to do adequate formation. Most of my students are adults, already working in part-time or full-time paid ministry, seeking to gain more knowledge and formation for their ministerial work. They have a strong sense of vocation, often having left higher-paying corporate jobs to work for the church. And almost all of my students are juggling work, school and family responsibilities to fulfill their call to ministry. They are dedicated.

In the classroom they learn cutting-edge theology and learn to apply it in a pastoral setting. Recently, I have been struck by the obstacles students face when they try to take what they learn in my classes and apply it directly in their jobs. For example, after my Liturgy and Catechesis class, one student immediately implemented the model of Whole Community Catechesis in her parish, where she leads over 200 families in catechetical instruction. Unfortunately, the application on her end has not been a smooth process. Even as a skilled and highly educated woman, her knowledge and authority are not accepted as readily as the parish priests’. My formation meetings with her, therefore, focus on perseverance, self-care, encouragement as she works to overcome fatigue and exhaustion wrought on by the resistance she encounters in trying to revitalize the life of her parish with what she is learning in class.

According to The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), in April 2012, over 17,000 Catholics are enrolled in some sort of lay ecclesial formation program; 70% of such persons are in Certification programs and 30% in graduate degree programs. This number is not negligible. In my experience, the theology for lay ecclesial ministry is laid out quite well, in its foundation in the Vatican II documents and the Co-Workers documents as well. The on-the-ground application, however, will take some time to operate smoothly and effectively. To speak in formation terms, the authority of lay persons and the collaboration between lay persons and clergy are “opportunities for growth” for almost any parish in the US. How can the theology of Vatican II better serve the needs of lay ministers as they work on-the-ground in parishes? This is a question I ponder daily.