"Catholic jobs" vs. secular jobs

[Benedictus]

On 30/03/2016, 22:00:13, Sponsa-Christi said:

I feel a bit frustrated, because I don't feel like I'm the one who keeps using expressions like "inferiority of various calls from God" or bringing the conversation around to this issue.

I really wanted to talk about what gives characteristic value to working in an explicitly Catholic apostolate. I for one don't think talking about such characteristic value necessarily needs to become a discussion about who is better than whom---but maybe that's the fundamental disagreement here? 

Even if someone here came out and said (and do note that this is a hypothetical response, not something I myself actually believe or would say): "Working for the Church is a good thing because it's higher work, and the people who do it are better in every respect!"---this still absolutely would not answer my questions at all!

Also, for those who are wondering, I was asking this question in the first place because not because I'm in the middle of a personal crisis, but I've been doing a lot of reading on the canonical/theological issues related to the idea of apostolic religious and other consecrated persons (i.e., consecrated persons who aren't secular institute members) forgoing Church-related apostolates to do purely secular work. 

However, while there are many authors who write with the presumption that this is a bad thing (which I would intuitively agree with), and many authors who can talk about some secondary reasons why religious/consecrated giving up Church-related apostolates is problematic,  I haven't found anyone who has clearly articulated in a positive way why it is actively a good thing when religious/consecrated DO dedicate themselves to direct service of the Church.

It seems like there must be some special objective value in giving oneself over to an explicitly Catholic apostolate, in the sense that this is to be expected of the consecrated in particular and is rightly considered a worthy endeavor for the faithful in general. I'm just trying to figure out the right words to explain why.

I think you're looking for a way to say that doing good work is great, but it's better if you do it whilst waving the Catholic banner! I can see your point. From a Catholic point of view it does feed into recognition and therefore promote the faith in the work that's done if it's made explicit.

There is something to be said of being a leaven within secular organisations too. The positive input and contribution in this way shouldn't be downplayed.

I think in reality consecrated persons usually do a mix of both, depending on the needs and context. Most religious have work [whatever that might be] and specifically parish or wider church ministry assignments, as well as tasks within their own community.

There are other factors as well. Often secular organizations are already working well in a particular context and can support an expansion into a new area that religious can take on. It may well be the case that religious, and the Church generally, doesn't have the resources, expertise and time to set up their own project. In some cases it could purely waste resources and money in having a duplicate service that would then struggle to do anything without external assistance. Religious also often don't have the factors on their side, especially in terms of age profile and size, to handle these big social outreach tasks. In some cases they are having to close or hand services over to secular hands. In some respects the fact that government, charity and other orgs have expanded to take on these tasks and responsibilities is a good thing. 

However, the wider task of the church rests with the majority of people in the pews. I would say it's lay people who have the biggest responsibility to offer their gifts in service to the Church or society in a way that is most advantageous. In most parishes lots of things don't happen because the lay people won't take on the tasks because they expect other people to do it. That's the biggest challenge. It's everyone responsibility to collaborate on projects, volunteer time to church outreach, ministry and work.

[Sponsa-Christi]

@Benedictus

I think I've done a really bad job expressing myself in this thread.

I'm not questioning the value of the lay vocation and all this entails (like being leaven in secular society). Of course this is important to the life of the Church as a whole, and I'm not doubting that. 

I was trying to work on a way to articulate the value of choosing to dedicate oneself to what might commonly be called "ministry." But I wanted to avoid using the word "ministry," since TECHNICALLY only ordained clergy have "ministry" per se. 

It just seems to me that there is some particular value in choosing to make ministry one's life's work. I think most Catholics would tend to sense this intuitively, but I would like to be able to put into words exactly why this is.