Understanding how JVC Northwest lives out its Jesuit roots
We all come from different backgrounds so, perhaps maybe getting to know JVC Northwest is the first time you have encountered the Jesuit tradition. Or, maybe you have been involved with Jesuit institutions for much of your life.
For some of you the words we use might be brand new, and that’s okay! For others, you might be familiar with the words themselves. But the way we use, understand, and live them out might be a different way of interpreting traditional concepts.
Spirituality is innate to the human experience. We all have a natural longing to understand our place and purpose in this existence, and there are many paths to that understanding. We all seek and make meaning, connect with something bigger than ourselves, and need to deal with our inner restlessness.
There are many definitions of spirituality, but no matter your religious beliefs, you have an internal life that we value.
No matter how you got to this page, we hope that this helps you to understand who we are, where we come from, what our programs are like and how you might most fully engage this movement as you are.
A note about how to use this page: this page is like a glossary. Reading it top to bottom will help you understand who and what before moving onto to concepts and practices, which are ordered to build on each other (for example, it helps to know what the Spiritual Exercises are before learning about the Examen because the Examen comes from the Exercises). BUT, this is not homework! So, you can also go wherever your curiosity takes you… in whatever order.
Who & What
(jez–ooo-it) – Put simply, to be a Jesuit means to be a member (Brother or Priest) of the Society of Jesus (more on that later!). You will often hear Jesuit used as an adjective, such as Jesuit-educated (people who attended Jesuit High Schools or Colleges/Universities), Jesuit tradition (in the tradition of the Society of Jesus) or Jesuit-affiliated (organizations related to the Society of Jesus).
(ig-nation) – This adjective describes anything coming from the tradition founded by St. Ignatius (back to him next). It is most commonly related to spirituality, but can also describe values, practices, tradition, and more. Explore Ignatian spirituality more here with the Office of Ignatian Spirituality, and below.
Also known as Ignatius of Loyola, born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola. Ignatius was a particularly vain Basque soldier who was injured by a cannonball during battle. Because he was concerned about his appearance and appeal, he opted for a more complex surgery to fix his legs so that it would look better. The recovery was long and excruciating. His boredom led him to read about the lives of the saints and about Jesus, starting a journey that took him deep into prayer, back into education, and eventually led him to form the Society of Jesus. He is perhaps most well-known for his Spiritual Exercises. (both a book and a retreat experience) which include imaginative prayer, diving deep into Scripture, building a relationship with Jesus, and more. Many of the values and practices described below are rooted in the Exercises.
Started in 1539 by Ignatius and his companions, Peter Faber and Francis Xavier, whom he met at the University of Paris. The Society was approved as an order in the Catholic Church in 1540. Jesuits are men who are members of the Society – priests, brothers, and those in formation (becoming priests or brothers). There are more than 16,000 Jesuit worldwide, who come from 112 countries and belong to 80 provinces. You will see “S.J.” or “SJ” after the name of Jesuits.
JVC Northwest was founded under the Oregon Province, which is now a part of Jesuits West. Learn more about how we started here. Jesuits are often known in the Catholic Church for their commitment to education, their mission work, and the integration of faith & justice. JVC Northwest continues to be in relationship with Jesuits West as social ministry collaborating with Jesuit schools, parishes, and other organizations to work for a more equitable and just Pacific Northwest.
Founded in Canada, committed to Ignatian Spirituality and rural education, the Sisters of St. Ann were the co-founders of the Jesuit Volunteer movement, supporting our earliest volunteers alongside the Jesuits. Read more about our history here.
Concepts
Ignatius experienced God in a cave, along his travels, from his sickbed and more. While experiencing God outside the church might make a lot of sense now, in Ignatius’ time, it was deeply counter-cultural. For Ignatius, bringing people’s attention to God’s presence in their daily lives – both the mundane and the extraordinary – was integral to how they could grow closer to God. This was revolutionary in his time, and depending on the context of religion today, can still be a concept that turns your world or spirituality upside down.
Ignatian spirituality makes space for God to be at work beyond the Catholic Church. This is perhaps one of the most challenging concepts of Ignatian spirituality. At JVC Northwest, and at many Jesuit-related organizations & schools, we believe that anyone can learn and grow from the gifts of the Jesuit Tradition, without becoming Catholic. We invite you to bring your full self to our movement, which means also bringing your spirituality, your religious identity, and your philosophies with you. Many of the people in our movement are Catholic or familiar with Catholic traditions. Many are not, and many find their spiritual lives change and grow as they serve and beyond.
Justice movements and Jesuit traditions often share solidarity as a common practice. To seek true solidarity with our communities isn’t to rely only on feelings or actions but is grounded in a shared belief that we belong to one another and are committed to our shared liberation.
“In today’s world, the sense of belonging to a single human family is fading, and the dream of working together for justice and peace seems an outdated utopia. What reigns instead is a cool, comfortable and globalized indifference, born of deep disillusionment concealed behind a deceptive illusion: thinking that we are all-powerful, while failing to realize that we are all in the same boat.” (Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship [Fratelli Tutti], no. 30)
Our Jesuit tradition calls us to seek justice rooted in solidarity. Check out Ignatian Solidarity Network to learn more, or to join advocacy efforts.
“Ignatian discernment is the spiritual practice of noticing the movements within your heart and soul, identifying the thoughts, desires, and emotions that motivate them, and using these insights to decide where God is leading you.” – Office of Ignatian Spirituality
In the context of our Jesuit heritage, discernment is rooted in the practices of the Spiritual Exercises. Discernment helps to guide us in how to live and make choices in ways that respond to God in the world as individuals and as a community. Discernment is used to find purpose and make difficult decisions in our own lives, and in our life together. Our admissions process for Jesuit Volunteers (JVs) seeks not to feel like a typical job interview, but instead to be a process of mutual discernment. JVs are introduced to discernment tools to use in community and in their personal lives. JVC Northwest staff frequently use tools of discernment in their work as well, particularly when it comes to making difficult decisions. We welcome tools of discernment you may already use and encourage you to share those tools with our community.
In our programs, we hope that you can try and test different practices for both kinds of discernment, no matter your religious tradition, personal faith, or worldview.
Want a deeper dive? Check out this roundtable on discernment from our Executive Director.
“Many people use the word vocation (from the Latin vocare; “to call”) in reference to the divine call to become a priest, sister, or brother. However, the Catholic understanding of vocation is much broader: Every baptized person has a vocation — a call — to love and serve God. How you choose to live out that vocation is what each person must discern.” – beajesuit.org
A quick internet search on “vocation” will often bring you to the religious vocations – becoming a priest, nun, or brother. However, we think about purpose, or vocation, in a much wider way than described above. “What is my vocation?” is a question that can be engaged with or without any particular religious tradition. Ask yourself – where do my gifts and skills intersect with the needs of my community? We all have a call to love, and a call to serve the common good.
Service is a particularly effective way to discern vocation, offering the opportunity to understand our gifts and skills, as well as the needs of the world in real time. Vocation will change over time, so our movement seeks to engage people in many different stages of their lives, whether actively in one of our programs, or as a former volunteer.
We have four core values: community, simple living, social & ecological justice, and spirituality/reflection. Read more about how we define them here.
A common question for those learning about Jesuit organizations is whether there is a “canon” of these values, a defined list that all Jesuit organizations share. Different organizations will emphasize and define the gifts of the tradition in various ways. JVC Northwest’s core values root us in our tradition, and call us to be adaptable to the current moment.
If you are in one of our programs, you will find these values embedded in your experiences in a variety of ways. How might your internet use be impacted by the values of simple living or community? How might residential JVs wrestle with community as a value as they consider their finances? How might reflection impact how JV EnCorps members serve? This is a short sample of values-driven questions volunteers encounter.
Our hope is that engaging with these intentional values in a program encourages you to deepen your ability to live a values-centered life, long beyond your time in a program.
Practices
The Spiritual Exercises are both a book and a retreat experience, which include imaginative prayer, diving deep into Scripture, building a relationship with Jesus, and more. Many of the values and practices described below are rooted in the Exercises. All Jesuits make a 30-day silent retreat with the Exercises during the first two years of their formation… and then will return to that retreat format throughout their lives. You don’t have to become a Jesuit to do the Exercises, they are open to anyone. But, even 500 years ago, St. Ignatius knew that not everyone would be able to take a month away from their lives. So, he also wrote what is called the 19th annotation – a version of the retreat that can be completed during daily life across about nine months.
Praying the Examen at the end of each day is a cornerstone of the Spiritual Exercises, but it’s not confined to the Exercises, quite the opposite! An examen is a way of noticing what is going on within yourself by reviewing what happened throughout your day. Want to learn more? Consider this deeper dive, with many, many examples to experiment with! Want to try it every day? Pray As You Go is an Ignatian website and app that can guide you.
JVs are introduced to the Examen in many forms during Orientation and will revisit the Examen throughout the year, including at retreats. JVs approach the Examen in different manners, adapting or practicing it throughout the year in ways that reflect their spirituality.
In 1973, Pedro Arrupe, SJ, then the Superior General of the Jesuits, gave a speech calling on Jesuit institutions (mostly schools) to educate for justice. You can read a version of this speech here. What started as a call to form “men for others,” at a time when most people educated at Jesuit schools were men, has become a much broader effort to realize how our formation as human beings must include seeking justice and solidarity.
“We have… been able to perceive the serious injustices which are building around the world of men and women a network of domination, oppression and abuses which stifle freedom and which keep the greater part of humanity from sharing in the building up and enjoyment of a more just and more fraternal world.
At the same time, we have noted the inmost stirring moving the world in its depths. There are facts constituting a contribution to the furthering of justice. In associations of men and women and among peoples there is arising a new awareness which spurs them on to liberate themselves and to be responsible for their own destiny.” – Pedro Arrupe, SJ
Our Jesuit Volunteers explore this Ignatian concept during the Fall Regional Retreat. At this first gathering with other JVs since Orientation, they are called to consider their first few months of their JV experience in community and at service with questions like: What have been moments that have stirred things up for you so far? What have you discovered about yourself? About others?
If we are living lives of service, seeking our purpose, pausing to reflect and notice what is going on inside ourselves, seeking God or good in the world, and integrating all these movements in our daily lives… we are Contemplatives in Action. The Jesuits were never meant to be a monastic order, deep in prayer, cloistered away from the world. From the very beginning, Jesuits developed their active internal lives of prayer, reflection, and relationship with God in order to follow Jesus out into the world. Check out how James Martin gives a quick introduction to this concept.
While some people in our movement are Jesuits, most of us are not. And yet, we still seek to be Contemplatives in Action. It is why our programs move between service and reflection, and back again to service. It is why we seek to pause and slow down amidst the intensity of seeking the common good.
Our Jesuit Volunteers explore this Ignatian concept during the Spring Regional Retreat. Nearing the end of their service term, they are called to consider how they will move beyond their year or two of service into new communities and environments as a person formed and informed by the experiences they’ve had as Jesuit Volunteer.
If you are really interested in moving between action and reflection with structure and analysis, then learn about the pastoral circle. Moving between experience or immersion, reflection, analysis, and response deepens how we seek justice. Some people describe it as a spiral, because with each experience and with each new response, a person or organization can learn, grow, and advance the justice and liberation they seek. The classic book on this subject is Social Analysis by Joe Holland and Peter Henriot, SJ. This Anglican reflection offers a summary and steps for applying the movements to your life. What could it look like if you incorporated the pastoral circle into your life?
Words You May Hear
Starting with On the Condition of Labor by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, a series of papal (written by the Pope), conciliar (written by a council), and episcopal (issued by bishops) documents have outlined what how to build a just society and how to live lives centered on God in modern society. As a whole, this body of documents is known as Catholic Social Teaching. Read a summation of the themes of Catholic Social Teaching by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Read the primary documents themselves using this index.
More Latin! Cura personalis is often defined as caring for the whole person. It’s a concept often used in educational settings to remind everyone that students (and teachers!) are so much more than their intellect and grades. For healthcare settings, it can remind everyone that patients are more than their illnesses, health, or bodies. At JVC Northwest, this concept calls us to a deeper care for one another and invites us into supportive community. This can look like JVs engaging with identity meet-ups at Orientation. It can look like a JV EnCorps Member baking for their group or sharing about their experience of service with people in their daily lives. It can look like the JV Program Team exploring how Trauma-Informed Care principles can impact their work. Are there ways cura personalis might change how you see those around you?
“Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.
This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor; she “groans in travail” (Rom 8:22). We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.
- Pope Francis, the first two paragraphs of Laudato Si’
Laudato Si’ is Pope Francis’ second encyclical (a pastoral letter written for the whole church) on the Church’s obligation to care for our common home. Written in 2015, Pope Francis lays out the problems of climate change as an urgent, common concern, as well as theological and traditional arguments for the Church’s obligation to act. Ultimately, he argues for a conversion of both heart and lifestyle. You can read Laudato Si’ in its entirety here. Laudato Deum is an follow up that was written in 2023.
Magis is simply Latin for more, but it is a word you will hear a lot in Jesuit-related circles. Everyone has their own way of defining it. Often at JVC Northwest, we describe it as “the deeper.” We are invited to ask: How can we keep improving or growing what we do? How can we stay in deep relationship with the communities we serve and respond to their needs? How can we listen to emerging concerns? Magis invites us to ask questions like these and to seek new questions to ask. The Jesuits of Canada offer this spiritual reflection on magis.
Our Jesuit Volunteers explore this Ignatian concept during the Winter In Locale Retreat. About mid-way through their service term, they’ll plan a retreat as a community that dives deeper into an issue that affects their locale directly and examine their relationship together as a community. The in locale retreats offers an opportunity to co-create meaningful reflective time as a community and pause from the day-to-day life as a Jesuit Volunteer.
Still have more questions?
You can always read about our mission & vision, our history, and our approach to equity on our website as well.
