Servant of the Servants of God
“Amen, Amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.” (John 13:6)
“Amen, Amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.” (John 13:6)
“Servant of the servants of God” is one of many titles for the pope. As we received the news of a new pope last week, this comes to mind when reading this portion of today’s Gospel. Jesus humbled himself as a servant while still leading those around him. The pope does the same– humbling himself as a servant of the Church while leading her.
It is far too soon for anyone to rightly develop strong opinions of our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, and we ought to be praying for him instead of worrying about what he is going to do, changes he will make, or encyclicals he will write within his papacy.
In reading the transcript of his first homily as pope, I was struck by his expression of a desire to truly serve. He said:
“[Ignatius’s words provide] an indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority. It is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), to spend oneself to the utmost so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”
Christ is greater than I. How can I serve others so as to help lead them to Christ?
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to give us a perfect example of service. Please help all of us to remember that it is in serving others that we lead them to you. Amen.
Brittany DeHaan grew up in San Antonio, Texas and attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for college. She taught at a Catholic elementary school in Iowa for a year before moving to Florida in 2021. She taught at St. Paul Catholic School in St. Petersburg for two years before joining the pastoral center where she is currently the Communications Coordinator. She is passionate about her faith and loves to be involved in the diocese. She loves music, art, playing sports, and livestreaming GeoGuessr in her free time.
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