(Stock Photo – Canva)
By Fr. Mau Nguyen
We Are Called to Bring Light to Humankind
by Fr. Mau Nguyen
The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium means “Light of the Nations.” In the beginning, Lumen Gentium says, “Christ is the Light of nations,”[1] therefore, we, the Church, are called “to bring the light of Christ to all men.”[2] Jesus himself affirmed, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12 RSV)[3]. Saint John the Evangelist himself also says of Christ, “In him was life, and this life was the light of men” (Jn 1:4). In this way, Christ is identified with the one referred to by the prophet Isaiah, “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Is 49:6).
Thus we are all called to unite “with Christ, who is the light of the world”[4] through the Eucharist, and through the Eucharist, we go forth to preach to all nations. The role of the laity in this is particularly emphasized in Lumen Gentium. “Each individual layman must stand before the world as a witness to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus and a symbol of the living God.”[5] Therefore, not only the clergy but also the laity are called to be witnesses of Christ and bring the Gospel into the world to enliven the earthly order. Through Lumen Gentium, the Church desires “to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission.”[6]
We are invited to be the light
Jesus is the light of the world. It is he who invites each of us Christians to be a light for others as he said: “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5,14). Jesus wants us to be mirrors reflecting His light everywhere for everyone. We are especially called to be a light to people in despair, for “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Ps 34:18)
The light that shines is not for our glory, but for the glory of the Lord: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 5,16). To be a light like Jesus, we must stay close to Him.
The Church of Jesus must become a light for all people through its concrete daily life. As His disciples, we must enlighten others through our daily words and deeds. Saint Pope Paul VI emphasized: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to the teacher, it is because they are witnesses.”[7] It is not merely or even primarily those who possess the teaching authority of the Church who can evangelize. Every Catholic is called to act as a witness to Christ. A layperson offers a unique witness to others regarding how God’s grace can transform our lives.
Making disciples
We are called to go out and make disciples in the great commission. As the Father sent the Son, so He too sent the Apostles and us saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Mt 28:19-20). As members of the Church, every Catholic Christian has the duty to go and make disciples.
In fact, even an unbaptized person who wants to know God can evangelize. I personally witnessed and wrote about an unbaptized child who brought his parents back to the Church.[8] One day in 2012, when I was a deacon, a Catholic teacher invited me to come to her grade two and three class and talk to her students about the sacrament of Baptism. The students asked me a lot of questions about faith. One boy asked me how he could be baptized. I told him first to see me at church; after that, I would help him. He said that there was no one to take him to church, so I asked him whether his parents were baptized. He answered, “Yes.” I told him to urge his parents to bring him to church. While attending Mass, he had a feeling about what was going on, so the next Sunday, he took his sister to church. A year later, the two of them were baptized. Notably, this boy not only evangelized his sister, he also brought his parents back to Church and to God’s love.
We need to follow the way of Jesus, who himself is “the perfect evangelist.”[9] He evangelized the Samaritan woman very effectively (Jn 4:1-42). For evangelization to be effective, we both share Christ’s love with others and become authentic witnesses. We need to have the zeal of Saint Paul, a great missionary apostle. For him, the proclamation of the Gospel was necessary and urgent as he himself said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.” (1 Cr 9:16).
Furthermore, we should rely on the Holy Spirit. During the day of Pentecost, the first Apostles were motivated by the Holy Spirit. They were excited to go out and evangelize others. “The Spirit brings about evangelization in the life of the Church and in the Church’s sharing of the Gospel with others.”[10]
May each of us become true witnesses of God in the world so that we can effectively proclaim Christ to others, that they may know God’s love and receive his salvation.
[1] Pope Paul VI, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium (21 November 1964), §1. [2] Lumen gentium, §1. [3] The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006). [4] Lumen gentium, §3. [5] Lumen gentium, §38. [6] Lumen gentium, §1. [7] Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization in the Modern World Evangelii nuntiandi (8 December 1975). §41 (Washington D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1976), 28. [8] Mau Nguyen, “A Non-Baptized Child Brought His Parents Back to Church,” at Archdiocese of Regina, (20 December 2016), at archregina.sk.ca/news/2016/12/20/non-baptized-child-brought-his-parents-back-church. [9] Terry Barber, How to Share Your Faith with Anyone (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2013), 57. [10] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Go and Make Disciples, §34 (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2002), 21.
Birds are not usually friendly with strangers. However, if you persistently go to them, listen to them sing, and feed and care for them with love, I am sure the birds will come to you and stay close to you. Likewise, for human beings, when we reach out to others with our heart, love, and care for their basic needs, they become friendly and listen to us.” (Fr. Mau Nguyen)
Fr. Mau Nguyen is a priest for the Archdiocese of Regina, with a special interest in Evangelization.
