54. How does the new evangelization make a claim on our charismatic vocation to service? Our spirituality calls us not so much to specific kinds of service, but rather to do everything in a spirit of service.
To evangelize as Servants, then, includes the following:
to evangelize humbly , not as master but as messenger and servant of the Word (EN 78);
 – to evangelize faithfully , for what is asked of the servant is fidelity (see 1 Cor 4, 2);
 – to evangelize obediently , accepting promptly to go where the Word sends us;
 – to evangelize joyfully , for the Lord is to be served with joy (see Ps. 99, 2) and without murmuring (see Heb 13, 17 and 1 Cor 10, 10);
 – to evangelize without demanding anything , according to the Lord’s command: When you have done all you were supposed to do, say, “We are useless servants” (Lk 17, 10).

55. But of whom are we the servants?
– We are servants of the Good News proclaiming in Christ Jesus the gospel of grace and liberation (Lk 4, 18-19).
– We are servants of prophecy courageously decrying every kind of oppression and preaching the advent of a world where all are brothers and sisters whose love brings joy to the Father’s house.
– We are servants of life standing alongside all whose existence is threatened, from the unborn to the aged.
-We are servants of the poor helping them to free themselves from the burdens of hunger, ignorance, sickness and untimely death.
-We are servants of peace trusting in the power of gospel meekness and loving self-sacrifice and overcoming every feeling of hate and revenge.
– We are servants of the glorious Virgin offering her daily praise and drawing inspiration from her example in all our service.

56. On the other hand we refuse categorically:
– to be servants of the mighty by taking their gifts and supporting their indecent interests;
– to be servants of modern society’s idols : pleasure, success and fame;
– to be servants of ideologies aiming to blur our vision and keep us quiet, taking away our freedom to think and to say the truth;
– to be servants of any and every human institution that tries to dominate and manipulate us;
– to be servants of injustice and sin that deprive of the “glorious freedom of the children of God (Rm 8, 21). We want in the end to be “free from everything in order to be “the
servants of all” in love (see Gal 3, 5), in imitation of Jesus Christ, Servant of Yahweh, and of Mary, Servant of the Lord.

Questions for community reflection
1. Which aspect of our charism of service would you highlight in the work of evangelization?
2. Which gospel cause are we especially called to serve today?
3. What most enslaves a Servant and suppresses all freedom to proclaim the Gospel?