The community of Philosophy of the Legionaries of Christ in Rome dedicated a few days to deepen the understanding of the vocation of the laity in the Church, called to holiness and mission, as a response to one of the formative objectives of the stage: to deepen the identification with the apostolic charism of Regnum Christi.
Mary Patt Pirie, consecrated member of Regnum Christi, led the day, which included the participation of María José Chávez, a consecrated member of Regnum Christi, and various guests who connected virtually from different locations.
After offering an introductory talk, outlining the fundamental lines on the topic, and a time for personal study and reflection, a roundtable was held, led by Fr. Juan José Pérez-Soba, a diocesan priest from Madrid and professor of pastoral family studies at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome; during the roundtable, six laity shared their testimony of Christian life and their apostolate in various areas of ecclesial, family, social, and cultural life, whether as mothers and academics, fathers and entrepreneurs, university students, or social volunteers. Men and women of different ages and from various countries explained how they perceive their own vocation in the Church and how they see themselves walking alongside priests, religious, and consecrated persons in their pursuit of holiness.
On the second day, there was a conference with Daniela Leggio, Head of the Section of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and a married couple from Spain. The focus of this conference was the vocation to love, represented in two expressions: celibacy and marriage.
These days renewed in the religious studying Philosophy the desire to continue preparing for their next stage of formation, the apostolic practices, in which they will have the opportunity to experience firsthand collaboration with laity in the mission of Regnum Christi.
“It was a very good experience to deepen into this vocation to life, to divine life, the life of grace that develops in every believer. It also made me value the role of the laity in society and with very vivid examples, as we had contact with some laity scattered around the world. It was beautiful to see how God lives in these people, and truly makes changes in favor of a society based on love,” commented Brother Iván V. Manzano, LC.
“I see the lay vocation as a call to holiness through the everyday activities of a normal life: friends, family, work, learning the art of perceiving God’s call in everything and offering everything to Him. A vocation to share daily life with God, to transform the structures of society and culture so that they are open to receiving the Gospel. A vocation to be a transparency of Jesus for those who do not yet know Him,” said Brother Diego López, LC.
