Servants of the Servant

This devotion to Servant of God Pope John Paul II, the “Servants of the Servant” is meant to be a part of your every day walk in the Lord. Being a Servant is a way to grow ever closer to God and is great opportunity to transform ourselves and live and intense life of daily devotion.

At this point, it is important to remember that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian life and any form of daily devotion must never interfere or replace the role of the Sacraments of the Church. What devotion through being a Servant is meant to do is be a part of our Catholic life in addition to the normal precepts of the Church and give those who chose to become members a resource and community in which they can further enrich their faith. Keeping in mind the key role of the Eucharist, it is important to recognize that, in a purely chronological respect, we spend much more time just living our daily life than we are engaged in “formal” worship in the Mass. Because of this, we have a tremendous opportunity to draw close to God by developing an intense life of daily devotion, and this is what the Servants hopes to offer.

A daily devotion must have the spirit of the “new evangelization” mentioned by John Paul II and should strive to let “God be most fully present in prayer”(Easter Mass 2003) and not ourselves. Membership and support of the Servants are outward signs of our response to the daily call to conversion. It is a way for us to individually, and in communion with others as members of a group, to live the life of holiness which is our particular way to embrace the “liberating force of God’s love.”(Veritatis Splendor #107). To some people on the outside, some of the simple things that we do (for instance carrying the rosary everywhere we go) might seem trivial. But to us, from grabbing it first thing in the morning to setting it down right before bed, it is a constant, physical reminder - and more so a connection - of our fellow Servants and more importantly, John Paul, Mary, and the Lord. Those mundane everyday actions that we all experience possibly become spiritually significant. For instance: the other day when I reached into my pocket to grab some money to purchase a coffee, I felt the rosary in my pocket. Instead of just the simple act of buying a drink, feeling the rosary centered me and gave the moment a new dimension. It got me thinking about the Lord for just a moment… and allowed me to look at the world through the eyes of Mary. I become more patient. More forgiving. I look at the person who prepared my coffee as a fellow child of God no matter how rude or unprofessional this young man happened to be. I attempted to smile and connect in a positive manner with the people around me. Now, I’m sure that some of you out there live in a manner that we all would be proud of all the time, but for me, being a Servant and having these devotions as part of my life really helps me live a life worthy of Christ. Our devotion to John Paul II is more than a “pious fan club” rooting for him to become a Saint. No. At our core, the Servants live out the belief that the “Church is a communion of saints…” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #960) and it is our desire to live a life more fully in the one family of God.

The Catechism teaches that “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” All are called to holiness: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (CCC#2013) and so, as Servants, we strive to attain an ever increasing union with God through a life of charity and communion with our brothers and sisters in the faith. And we believe our daily devotions, our small acts of thanksgiving in the love of the Lord, assist us in our desire to nourish “the faith which works through love” (cf. Gal 5:6).

Being a Servant, as I live it, is more than following a set of rules. It is a total transformation of self based upon the Sacraments, prayer, and the group guidelines/principles in order to grow closer to God. It is my hope that my fellow members partake frequently in the Holy Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist. I firmly believe in the old saying: “You are what you eat.” and we, as Catholic Christians have been given the incredible gift of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. This “strong food” as Saint Augustine called it actually consumes us. Every time we receive Communion we are transformed and strengthened in our life long journey to become “partakers of the divine nature”(2 Pet 1:4) and I ask for the intercession of John Paul to bring us all closer to our Merciful Lord and Savior.