Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church

Documents of the Second Vatican Council

by Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI

Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5. As is customary with significant Roman Catholic Church documents, it is known by its first words, "Lumen gentium", Latin for "Light of the Nations".

Genres: Catholic, Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Christian, Spirituality

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 1964

About the author

The Second Vatican Council (Latin: Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum Secundum, informally known as Vatican II) addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The council, through the Holy See, formally opened under the pontificate of Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8th December 1965.

Several changes resulted from the council, including the renewal of consecrated life with a revised charism, ecumenical efforts towards dialogue with other religions, and the call to holiness for everyone including the laity, according to Pope Paul VI "the most characteristic and ultimate purpose of the teachings of the Council".

According to Pope Benedict XVI, the most important and essential message of the council is "the Paschal Mystery as the center of what it is to be Christian and therefore of the Christian life, the Christian year, the Christian seasons". Other changes which followed the council included the widespread use of vernacular languages in the Mass instead of Latin, the subtle disuse of ornate clerical regalia, the revision of Eucharistic prayers, the abbreviation of the liturgical calendar, the ability to celebrate the Mass versus populum (with the officiant facing the congregation), as well as ad orientem (facing the "East" and the Crucifix), and modern aesthetic changes encompassing contemporary Catholic liturgical music and artwork, many of which remain divisive among the Catholic faithful.

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022: Rereading for participation in/formation for Aspirant class next month.


2017: I know, I know, everyone says, you really should read the Documents of Vatican II. Well, yes, we should. We also should call mom, pay taxes, obey speed limits and do a lot of other things.

But if you are going to read any of the Documents from the Second Vatican Council, I suppose it is this one because it is about us—the Church, we the People of God, the Body of Christ. If you are like me, you don’t go around thinking of yourself like that very often, but maybe we should…
And if you are going to read one chapter out of this Constitution—which is what it is called—read Chapter 4, The Laity. Here’s my favorite part: ‘Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all men of each epoch and in every land. … All their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their daily occupations, their physical and mental relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne-all these become "spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ". Together with the offering of the Lord's body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, as those everywhere who adore in holy activity, the laity consecrate the world itself to God.’ (Italics mine.)

Chapter 5, The Universal Call to Holiness is pretty amazing too. Well really, why not read the whole thing?

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 2020: Best read in company of Vatican II: Renewal Within Tradition by Matthew Levering and Matthew Lamb or similar commentary. Very useful for people wishing to get in touch with Vatican II documents and knowing what they really say.

[Tom Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is THE document of Vatican II, and therefore a must-read.

[aryssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

God bless clarity and love.

Transformation by the love of Christ does not produce legalistic dogmas. Yes, this is a collection of Church dogmas, but it is evident that its authors have been genuinely transformed by God's love. Not God's hate (thank you, shawn, for your glorious insights on John 3:16). Not religious legalisms. These authors and thinkers have participated in something more essential to love and life than themselves, and their transformation invites its witnesses to the same.

These writings from Vatican II are necessarily precise. The time and attention devoted to the articulation of the innerworkings of the Church and the lives of the faithful convinces the reader of their vital role in God's divine dance. Lumen Gentium reveals that we all belong to God. We must assume our belonging, pick up the cross of our role in God's salvific work toward and within humanity, and glory in the love of our delightful Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

thesis: YOU belong in God's mysterious being and doing

[Evan Beacom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much excellence herein....ever ancient, ever new.

[Debbie]

"...other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men... The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men."

[Samantha B]

This is basically an overview of all the parts (laity, religious, bishops, &c) of the church and the ways in which each is important, and how they should work together.

It definitely made me think, especially about bishops. I hadn't really thought much about a bishop's responsibilities--mostly, when I think about the bishop, I think about Confirmation, but he has so much more responsibility than that. He's the shepherd for all the faithful in his diocese, and the priests are his helpers. I hadn't really thought about it that way before.

(In the part about the laity, I was confused when they said that if the laity and priests worked together, it would be remarkably productive, and that was a bad paraphrase, but it confused me? Didn't they already? But in any case.)

I really liked the part on the religious calling. :)

The section on the faithful of the church as a whole (towards the beginning) made interesting points apropos of extra ecclasiam nulla salis, which made me nostalgic because I definitely quoted this document when I did my presentation on that concept for Confirmation class. :)

[Filip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lumen Gentium is THE document of Vatican 2 and my God it is beatifull, deep and to the point. It saddens me that way to many catholics are attackin Second Vatican Council because of missteps in implementation of these wise documents. I loved section about laiti and about Mother of God. Just read the whole document and you will be wiser.

[Karina]

Lumen Gentium is a Vatican II document that specifically lays out the teachings regarding the church herself. Explaining the purpose, mandate, and mission, we see the redemption of the world promised to Abraham completed in Christ's completed work at the cross and the resurrection as it is vivified by his body the whole church(the covenant people of God filled by the Holy Spirit).

[Pete Kieffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

DENSE BUT GOOD

Lumen Gentium gives a layout of the Catholic Church. It covers from the Pope to the Laity and everything in between. I plan to read this again because there is so much packed into this document that it is hard to take in with one reading.

[Pamela Alegría · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, must-read

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

finally getting around to reading Vatican II documents

[Maria Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have serious questions about paragraph 8, but overall good!

[Danna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was not super excited by this read which was a little disappointing for me, but maybe lectures and reflection will help

[Matthew Ferdie Manlangit · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Christians should read this Constitution. It is what the Church is, was, and will be. It is not a scholarly theological discourse nor a second-grade catechism. It is a document that is easy to read in a language sense, although should not be read quickly. This document is preeminent of the documents of the Council, and is, again, a must read.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and clear layout of the form, function, and goal of the Church; I appreciated the elaboration on the universal call to holiness and the focus given to each type of member of the Body of Christ - particularly to the married laity.

Some of the wording in that same section may have been a bit too vague, though, which possibly led to an overstepping oh boundaries on the part of the laity to assist the clerics. I'm not sure, but I can see certain paragraphs being open to very liberal interpretations.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My theology professor did a very deep dive into this critical church document including a content analysis comparison between key chapters of Lumen Gentium from Vatican II with Pastor Aeternus from Vatican I. Superb. The exercise gave an understanding of both the history and the future of the Catholic Church.

[Ce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reminder of who is the Catholic Church and its mission on Earth to be the LIGHT for the people. The part about Virgin Mary gave me some new insights about her role as mother and guide to her most precious Son.

[Chance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having studied this more since the first time I read it, I can see now, what I did not at first and that is the ambiguous mines placed strategically in the document. We are now reaping what was sown, in my opinion, that is relativism, universalism, and lack of piety.

[sch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars if I believed it all!

[Thomas Cremona · Rating 5 out of 5]

great

[Zeke Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful encapsulation of the mystery of the structure of the Church.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid teaching! Darn ghost of Vatican II.

[Sam Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but not especially a "landmark" text.