About Us - Ignatian Spirituality

Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) was founded in the charism of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). The founder of the Jesuits is St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose spirituality - or way of living out his faith in God - invites us to become more deeply aware of our experiences in every day life, discovering the Divine in all things. As we do this, we become more conscious of God's presence with us and more aware of how we might act in a God-centered way, especially in service to others. We are encouraged through Ignatian Spirituality to be "Contemplatives in Action."

Jesuit Volunteers (JV) are given opportunities to learn and share elements of Ignatian Spirituality during retreats, community gatherings and optional spiritual guidance sessions. Two forms of Ignatian Spirituality that are emphasized are the Examen, a simple daily prayer practice to listen for God's voice in our hearts, and the Spiritual Exercises, a brief set of meditations, prayers and mental exercises written to enhance and strengthen one's faith experience.

As founders and supporters of JVC Northwest, the Jesuits provide support and act as resources to many JV communities.

Some resources to learn more about Ignatian Spirituality include:

The Jesuit Connection

The following is an letter written by Joseph Carver, SJ, who served as a Jesuit Volunteer (JV) in Seattle from 1993 to 1994.

Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes, to discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of the times, to relish the things that are yours and communicate them to others. Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius. – Pedro Arrupe, SJ

I went to a Jesuit University and read this quote countless times as I entered Campion Hall a.k.a. “da caf.” I am across it again a few weeks ago as my classmates and I were searching for a quote to use for the program at our ordination. After one year as a Jesuit Volunteer, six years of living and working in Seattle’s non-profit world, and almost 10 years of training – I will be ordained a Jesuit priest. The impossible is possible!

There is no doubt that Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) Northwest was foundational to my vocation, a place that encouraged me to cast my lot with this eclectic group, with all their disparate voices, turmoil and profound love for Christ. My placement and my housemates awakened in me a desire for the magis. I didn't use that word then to describe my desire, I was caught by far more egocentric focus. I knew that I wanted "more" out of life, out of every experience, encounter and relationship. However, I also knew that in serving something deeper was stirred, a deeper need was met. I was gifted with time and I was led sometimes gently sometimes abruptly again and again to consolation and peace. So with the help of wonderful spiritual director I began to see how truly active and creative God was in my life.

"Behold, like the clay in the potter's hands, so are you in My hands” Jeremiah 18:7

Many of in the JVC community gave me a magnificent gift - you helped me define myself as a “Jesuit”. That is the name that was called forth, by all of you. As a community you were the potter’s hands modeling and shaping me, preparing me for ministry! Whether you knew it or not you were shaping our Church’s future ministers. To discover one’s own name is one of the most powerful abilities a person can have. I am convinced that the community of JVC offers a place to find your names; not just words by which you are identified but who you are most deeply as women and men. It is a place where you discover your own name, and living out that identity is what God desires for each of you.

I have so many vivid memories of this the JVC community: overnight shelter programs, candle making, lecturing the Easter Vigil, teaching catechism, sunset sails and a quiet 5:30 p.m. at St. Joe’s on Capitol Hill followed by hot soup and bread at the Surrogate Hostess, introducing many of you to my friend “Hemp” at orientation, and accompanying communities as a support person. My journal is filled with stories of all of you that sustain me, and some of you undoubtedly will be remembered in homilies in my future. What I found in JVC was a community that makes Christ present in the world. You all give Him a name, hands, feet and a heart. As you struggle and grow in your communities, you enter into the contradictions of our world. Somehow in these movements lives are brought together and made explicit, and we recognize that we are not whole alone, but that we that desperately need each other to give meaning to our lives.

So my "decision" to enter the Jesuits was no more cerebral than my desire to breathe. It was who I was; I simply needed to grow more sensitive to the longings of my own spirit – and that is what so many of you helped me do. To live the Gospel involves an ongoing conversion of the heart. A conversion where we discover that our little bit is more than enough. Personally, this conversion involves being in intimate contact with poor. This contact shifted my priorities. The poor and marginalized disarm us with their bold questions, and their stark reality. It is good that “the poor will always be with us” they force us to trust that our little bit is more than enough when we combine it with God. Ignatius of Loyola, when he missioned the first Jesuits, told them to go and set the world on fire. The match has been struck because it is in Him that I have found and continue to find the magis. I can say without reservation to all of you – JVC Northwest is a place to discover the "more,” more than you ever thought possible!