sacrament, and brought to completion by loving discipleship through which the baptized participate in Christ’s ongoing paschal mystery in Church and world. Common understandings of the term “lay” as unlettered or nonprofessional can muddle the fundamental dignity of all the baptized who make up a holy people, the People of God (laos theou). Ecclesial Foundations A proper understanding of lay spirituality takes seriously the image of the Church as the People of God who together constitute a sacrament