Called to Serve

Servus Servorum Dei

Servant of the Servants of God
(Title of the Pope)
Commissioning
 Then Jesus approached and said to
them, “All power in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go, therefore, and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with
you always, until the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20)
Freedom for Service
 For you were called for freedom,
brothers. But do not use this freedom as
an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve
one another through love. (Galatians
5:13)

 Whoever is without love does not know

God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Our Neighbour
 Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself,
your neighbour is the holiest thing
presented to your senses. If he is your
Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost
the same way, for in him also Christ…the
glorifier and the glorified, Glory himself, is
truly hidden. (The Weight of Glory)
Love the Lord
 “But be very careful to observe the
precept and law which Moses, the
servant of the Lord, enjoined upon you:
love the Lord, your God; follow him
faithfully; keep his commandments;
remain loyal to him; and serve him with
your whole heart and soul” (Joshua 22:5)
Ultimate Sign of Service
 “This is my commandment: love one
another as I love you. No one has greater
love than this, to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends. You are my friends if you
do what I command you.” (John 15:12-
14)
Martyrs
 Martyr is Greek for witness

 People today put more trust in witnesses

than preachers, in experience than in
teaching, in life and action than in
theories. The witness of a Christian life is
the first and irreplaceable form of
mission. (Pt.42, Mission of the
Redeemer)
Begin with Prayer
 In the first place, beg of Him by most
earnest prayer, that He perfect whatever
good you do begin, in order that He who
has been pleased to count us in the
number of His children, need never be
grieved at our evil deeds. For we ought at
all times so to serve Him with the good
things which He hath given us…
(Prologue, Rule of St. Benedict)
Created Things
 It means making good use of created
things: faith in God, the only One, leads
us to use everything that is not God only
insofar as it brings us closer to him, and
to detach ourselves from it insofar as it
turns us away from him. (CCC 226)
Use Your Gifts
 As each one has received a gift, use it
to serve one another as good stewards of
God’s varied grace. (1 Peter 4:10)

 “I tell you, to everyone who has, more will

be given but from the one who has not,
event what he has will be taken away.”
(Luke 19:26, Parable of the Ten Gold
Coins)
Use Your Gifts
 His master said to him, “Well done, my
good and faithful servant. Since you were
faithful in small matters, I will give you
great responsibilities. Come, share your
master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:21, Parable of
the Talents)
Joy
 “If you keep my commandments, you
will remain in my love, just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments and remain
in his love. I told you this so that my joy
might be in you and your joy might be
complete.” (John 15:10-11)
Greatness
 “But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great
among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you
shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of
Man not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for
many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)
Beware
 Idleness is the enemy of the soul;
and therefore the brethren ought to be
employed in manual labor at certain
times, at others, in devout reading.
(Chp.48, Rule of St. Benedict)
Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Prayer of St. Francis

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal
Life. Amen.
Ways of Serving
 So many and different
 Devotion & Prayer
 Formation & Teaching
 Works of Charity

 Instructions for good works (Chp.4, Rule

of St. Benedict)
 Called & Gifted program
Prayer (St. Nicholas of Flüe)

My Lord and my God, take from me

everything that distances me from you.
My Lord and my God, give me everything
that brings me closer to you.
My Lord and my God, detach me from
myself to give my all to you.
Amen.