Fr. Jack Morris, SJ, co-founder of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps movement, visionary and inspiration to thousands of Jesuit Volunteers through the years, passed away early Sunday morning, September 30, 2012.
Arrangements are being made for services in Spokane, Washington, for either Friday, October 5 or Saturday, October 6. We will keep you posted with information as we receive it from the Jesuits regarding the services in Spokane, memorial services in other cities, and opportunities to remember Jack. We ask for your prayers for Jack’s family, his Jesuit brothers, and all his many friends in the Jesuit Volunteer family. As you remember Jack, we invite you to pray this beautiful prayer Jack was inspired to write on the occasion of his ordination fifty years ago:
“Mighty God, Father of all,
Compassionate God, Mother of all,
bless every person I have met,
every face I have seen,
every voice I have heard,
especially those most dear;
bless every city, town, and
street that I have known,
bless every sight I have seen,
every sound I have heard,
every object I have touched.
In some mysterious way these
have all fashioned my life;
all that I am,
I have received.
Great God, bless the world.”
Sincerely,
Jeanne Haster
Executive Director, JVC Northwest
We’ve witnessed the passing of a saint. I’m glad we were friends…
I wish I had known this great man. The Corps is a great legacy!
What a legacy! That is a prayer I shall memorize and repeat the rest of my years.
Thanks, Jack, for always dreaming big and for sharing your vision of a more peaceful, just world by encouraging thousands of us to get “Ruined for Life” through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and other ministries. Your friendship was, and is, pure gift. I am so grateful for the profound influence you had, and will always have, on my life.
Knew Jack most of my life, he was family. I will miss him dearly.
I saw the light of Christ in Jack’s eyes the first time I met him. It brings tears to my eyes every time I remember that moment. Thanks be to God for us to experience his spirit on this earth. My husband Fred Fulton and I cherish his blesssing everyday.
Over many Orientations I had occasion to hear Jack tell the story of the JVC. It did not take long to recognize the stories were not history, but spirit. Thank you Jack for your masterful talent of bringing alive the spirit on which the Corps was founded and for all the subsequent spirit you shared with us.
A great tree has fallen!