In our last article, we saw how Lumen Gentium opens by affirming that the Church, as the entire people of God—pastors and faithful alike—exist for “the entire world.” Emphasis was ultimately put on the Church’s role of “brining the light of Christ to all” (par. 1).

Following the first chapter On the Mystery of the Church, which had shown the divine origin of the Church in the Trinity and the significance of the Incarnation, the second chapter is mainly intended to, firstly, explain what all the members of the People of God hold in common on the plane of the dignity of Christian existence, prior to any distinctions based on office or state, and, secondly, to show that the Christian community has, at its essence, a ‘messianic role’.

Being a “Living Sacrifice”

In a most concise fashion, Lumen Gentium recognises all the baptised as participating in Christ’s three functions of Priest, Prophet and King, and hence, as holding a common and equal dignity:

the baptised, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, in order that through all those works which are those of the Christian man they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the power of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvellous light. Therefore all the disciples of Christ, persevering in prayer and praising God, should present themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Everywhere on earth they must bear witness to Christ and give an answer to those who seek an account of that hope of eternal life which is in them.

Lumen Gentium, par. 10

Each of us, all disciples, are given the common mission of “presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice” and of “bearing witness to Christ [by giving] an answer to those who seek.” In simpler words, both ministerial priests who received the sacrament of Holy Orders and “the faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood,” we are all called to bear Christ’s face in our actions and love, and also in our words and intentions (par. 10). Indeed, in a sense, we are not only called to grow in charity, but also in intellectual virtue—being able to reasonably defend our faith too (as 1 Peter 3:15 affirms). This points towards a holistic form of evangelisation.

“A Messianic People”

Lumen Gentium also presents the People of God as a “messianic people.” This means that each of us, as a Church, are called to be “an instrument for the redemption of all, and are sent forth into the whole world as the light of the world and the salt of the earth” (par. 9). To be ‘messianic’ implies to serve and to be a sign. It means to love others and to will their good, as Christ did. More specifically, it also means to be a balm and a medicine, as the Church should be.
Here, it is also important to note that Lumen Gentium recognises that:

it is not only through the sacraments and the ministries of the Church that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the people of God and enriches it with virtues, but, “allotting his gifts to everyone according as He wills” (1 Cor 12:11), He distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. Each person may be blessed with Charisms rooted in the Holy Spirit. By these gifts, the Spirit makes persons fit and ready to undertake the various tasks and offices which contribute toward the renewal and building up of the Church, according to the words of the Apostle: “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit” (1 Cor 12:7).

Lumen Gentium, par. 12

Ultimately, this emphasis of the Church as ‘one people’ is extremely valuable because it acknowledges that the Church is made up not only of the hierarchy or the episcopate, but of all the baptised; the entire people of God are vital.

Finally, in the remaining paragraphs of Chapter II, the document addresses one of the single most misunderstood and controversial axioms of the Church: “outside the Church, there is no salvation” (extra ecclesiam nulla salus). But we will explore this fully in our next article.