Many centuries ago, in fact from the second century itself, the lay faithful of the Church began to cluster themselves into exclusive communities to embrace lives of chastity, poverty, and obedience as the Christian faith suffered from intensifying decadence.

These associations evolved into what eventually came to be known as “religious communities” - monks, friars, nuns, etc. Their presence was meant to be a sacramental to other lay faithful in order that those others might be inspired to also model their lives after Jesus in embracing the values of chastity, poverty, and obedience for the Kingdom of God.

And this beautiful plan of God for the restoration of the Christian faith in a decaying world has worked wonderfully.

In these past two weeks, throughout my time in the Philippines, I’ve been in touch with communities of lay people who have embraced these values of chastity, poverty and obedience in fulfilment of God’s mission in the world. Living together in intimate missional communities, they had left their homes, careers, wealth, and families behind, abandoned lives of comfort, and come to live in the midst of the poor and the hungry.

They are neither priests nor religious communities in the traditional sense of the term. They are communities of the lay faithful, like most of you, like me. They are people who have left behind the false securities offered by the world and answered the call of God to devote themselves by participating in the mission Dei despite being at different states of life. They live by faith - not even on promises of regular financial support from friends as is often found among Protestant missionaries - but by faith alone.

At some point of my faith journey, I had come to believe that such a dream was impossible. Now, I see that hundreds (and in time to come, thousands) of lay faithful are already embodying such a life. It’s unbelievable and amazing. But possible.

And where other ecclesial communities fail to recognise these who aspire to live such sanctified lives, Mother Church embraces them and calls them "associations of the lay faithful".

Like others who thought such faith was impossible, I was wrong.

It’s often easier to believe that such things are impossible just so we wouldn’t have to be confronted with the call to embrace what such a life entails.