[24] A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus. He was an authority on the scriptures. [25] He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. [26] He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way (of God) more accurately. [27] And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. After his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace. [28] He vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.
(CCC 904) "Christ…Fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy… But also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with the sense of the faith [sensus fidei] and the grace of the word” (LG 35). To teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh. III, 71, 4 ad 3). (CCC 905) Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.” For lay people, “this evangelization… Acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world” (LG 35 § 1, § 2). This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers… or to the faithful (AA 6 § 3; cf. AG 15). (CCC 906) Lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the sacred sciences, and in use of the communications media (Cf. CIC, cann. 229; 774; 776; 780; 823 § 1).
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