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.

“The year was 1986 and the Pope was visiting India. It was the first time a pontiff was gracing the soil of India.”

Full story

A mother contacted us and passed along this plea for intecession:

“please pray for my son connor; pope john paul has touched him and healed him before.  this is very werious.  an abnormal artery has been found in his brain.  on tuesday , we meet with the specialist.  he is 15, and a loving son and wonderful person.  he has had many health problems.  please pray for a miracle”

I ask that all members and friends of the Servants of the Servant call upon the intercession of our dear John Paul to heal this boy…. and join me in the prayer to JPII:

O Blessed Trinity
We thank You for having graced the Church
with Pope John Paul II
and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care,
the glory of the cross of Christ,
and the splendor of the Holy Spirit,
to shine through him.
Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd,
and has shown us that holiness
is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life
and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will,
the graces we implore,
hoping that he will soon be numbered
among your saints.
Amen.

TOBIA, the Theology of the Body International Aliance has a great site set up to help you start your own study group:

“We are a support network providing resources for those striving to evangelize the world by means of Pope John Paul II’s understanding of the human person, explained in his works Love and Responsibility and Theology of the Body. Our aim is to lead every person to an encounter with Jesus Christ.

We currently have over 275 members in 35 states and 13 countries (Brazil, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, Trinidad, and the United States).

Members are involved in both studying the works of John Paul II and implementing his thought and theology into various areas of life including ministry with children, teens, singles, engaged couples, married couples, pro-life work, street evangelization and more.”

Visit them at http://www.tobia.info/index.html

I just created an online forum for JPII prayer group members to use.

http://johnpaulii.freeforums.org/

While spending a little time the other day re-reading the book “Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way” by Pope John Paul II (2004, Warner Books), I came upon a great quote about how he felt about Saints:

“From on high they intercede for the Church that she may grow in communion through the action of the Holy Spirit, who inspires the practice of fraternal charity: “Exactly as Christian communion between men on their earthly pilgrimage brings us closer to Christ, so our community with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace and the life of the People of God itself” (Lumen Gentium, 50).”

I think this is a wonderful insight on how we, in our devotion to JPII, should approach what our prayer groups are “for”.  Instead of a personal devotion to JPII, he himself showed us that in his Sainthood he desires to intercede for the CHURCH first and foremost.  Prayer groups should follow this example and make sure that their respective groups to not become closed-off from the Church, but seek to nourish others in their community and thus build communion through the intercession of Servant of God Pope John Paul II.  I am sure that it is his hope that devotion to him only serves to lead others to a closer devotion to Christ and the Church. 

John Paul, pray for us.

 ”You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger (Lk 2:12).
The Child laid in a lowly manger: this is God’s sign. The centuries and the millennia pass, but the sign remains, and it remains valid for us too – the men and women of the third millennium. It is a sign of hope for the whole human family; a sign of peace for those suffering from conflicts of every kind; a sign of freedom for the poor and oppressed; a sign of mercy for those caught up in the vicious circle of sin; a sign of love and consolation for those who feel lonely and abandoned.
A small and fragile sign, a humble and quiet sign, but one filled with the power of God who out of love became man.

Lord Jesus, together with the shepherds
we draw near to your Crib.
We contemplate you, wrapped in swaddling cloths
and lying in the manger.

O Babe of Bethlehem,
we adore you in silence with Mary,
your ever-Virgin Mother.
To you be glory and praise for ever,
Divine Saviour of the World! Amen.

(From the Homily of the Holy Father at Midnight Mass 24 December 2002)

I recently set up a new website dedicated to assisting new JPII prayer groups.

Please check it out: www.benotafraid.faithweb.com

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us in regard to Saints:

“Their intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.” (#2683)

As evidenced by the miracle cure of Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre, John Paul II can be a powerful part of all the basic forms of prayer: blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise.

While not yet OFFICIALLY recognized by the Holy Catholic Church as a Saint, our certainty that JP is in heaven with Christ allows our private devotion to him.

Ask our beloved friend John Paul to intercede on your behalf, and through grace uniting us to Christ in active love…

YOU MIGHT BE HIS NEXT MIRACLE.

I have had a link to this page since I started this blog, but I thought it was important that maybe more people would visit.

The site has many great areas: a biography, the official text of the Edict, testimony from the nun who was miraculously cured by JPII, and a way request a holy card.

Please explore this wonderful site dedicated to Servant of God Pope John Paul II:

Cause for Beatification and Canonization