Laity important laborers for building up the Church

Editor’s Note: The following is the second in a series of columns by Bishop Joseph A. Williams concerning “laborers for his harvest.”

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Mt 9:37–38)

Last month, I reflected on these words of Jesus and extended an invitation to all the faithful of South Jersey to pray for an increase of priestly vocations for the Diocese of Camden. Asking firstly for ordained laborers is fitting, since the call of the Twelve was the immediate context of the above exhortation. Moreover, when these same words of our Lord are spoken in the Gospel of Luke (10:2), they are set within the context of the mission of the seventy-two. According to the seventh century Doctor of the Church, Venerable Bede, “The number of the twelve apostles marked the beginning of the episcopal rank. It is also apparent that the seventy-two disciples, who were also sent out by the Lord to preach the word, signify in their selection the lesser rank of the priesthood that is now called the presbyterate.” (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Luke, 171) 

So, our petition to the master of the harvest for more laborers begins by asking for more priestly laborers. However, it does not end there. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that lay women and men were also important laborers in the early Church. My favorite among them were Priscilla and Aquila, missionary companions of Saint Paul whom he called “my co-workers in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 16:3) What an astonishing title for a married couple! Aquila and “Prisca” were a tremendous consolation to that great Apostle and were important figures in their own right in the Church at Rome, where they hosted a domus ecclesiae or “house church.” (1 Co 16:19)

This past week, I had the joy of returning to my alma mater, Franciscan University of Steubenville, where I had the opportunity to reunite with a modern-day Priscilla and Aquila: Dr. Scott and Kimberly Hahn. What a joy to catch up with them during our lunch breaks at the Applied Biblical Studies Conference. I marvel at the sheer number of their apostolic endeavors, not to mention the fruitfulness of those endeavors. It would be no exaggeration to say that hundreds of thousands of Catholic Christians in this country have rediscovered the biblical roots of their Catholic Faith and have had the fire of God’s word fanned into flame in them through the couple’s books, talks and conferences.

I can’t imagine that their work for the Church in the United States today is any less important than Aquila and Priscilla’s work for the Church in Rome 2,000 years ago.  And like that Roman couple, their own home has been a veritable “domus ecclesiae” over the years, as they have welcomed over 65 students and seekers to live with them and their six children, many of whom they have mentored in their budding biblical scholarship and many others whom they have guided “Rome Sweet Home,” i.e., into full communion with the Catholic Church.

Scott and Kimberly embody and bring to life in an exceptional way the prophetic teaching of the Second Vatican Council on the apostolate of the laity:

“The apostolate of the laity derives from their Christian vocation and the Church can never be without it. Sacred Scripture clearly shows how spontaneous and fruitful such activity was at the very beginning of the Church. (cf. Acts 11:19-21; 18:26; Rom. 16:1-16; Phil. 4:3) Our own times require of the laity no less zeal: in fact, modern conditions demand that their apostolate be broadened and intensified.” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 1)

So be it in South Jersey! We need more Priscillas and Aquilas in our own times, and to that end, I am currently forming an Evangelization Team for the Diocese of Camden.  Just as our Priestly Vocations Team will work to promote more priestly laborers in South Jersey, so the Evangelization Team will be largely responsible for calling forth and equipping more lay laborers for the abundant harvest that God has prepared in our midst.

You will hear more about the work of this team in the weeks and months ahead. I will also share more about important efforts to promote vocations to the diaconate and to the religious life. In the meantime, let us continue to pray with faith and persistence to the master of the harvest to send out laborers – clergy and lay – for the harvest!