Ramblers Practice Faith and Community during Jesuit Day of Service

“Every year the Jesuit Day of Service provides an opportunity for our students to live out the values of Ignatian spirituality—specifically, to care for the person and to be women and men for others,” says Loyola Academy Campus Minister Mr. Lyle Baier.

 

Cristo Rey hosted this year’s event, which began with Mass celebrated by Fr. Jim Shea, SJ; Fr. Stan Czarnecki, SJ (Loyola Academy); Fr. David Mastrangelo, SJ (Christ the King); and Fr. Paul Kalenzi, SJ (St. Ignatius) at Cristo Rey’s Chapel of The Sacred Heart.

 

Students were then assigned to one of eleven service sites including:

 

Latinos Progresando

Pacific Garden Mission

Sarah’s Circle

Gads Hill

Su Casa Catholic Worker

Our Lady of the Angels

St. Pius Soup Kitchen

Br. David Darst Center

Pilsen Wellness Center

Club One - Union League Boys and Girls Club

Pilsen Neighbor Community Council

 

In total, approximately 150 student volunteers worked at eleven service sites.

"As students, we often forget about the world outside of the Loyola community," says senior Tina Li, who spent the day at Boys' and Girls' Hope Club where she and other student volunteers helped staff with work around the building. "The Jesuit Day of Service gives us an opportunity to meet new people and share our gifts with others beyond Loyola. My favorite part included our conversations during lunch. We were able to connect and share stories with those that we met only a few hours before. I was inspired by the effort we put in and the experience we received in return."  

 

“I am always grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Jesuit Day of Service. It is a great reminder that we at Loyola are part of a much bigger network of schools that are equally dedicated to forming women and men for others,” says Social Studies Teacher Mr. Mark McGuire ’06, who served as a chaperone for the day. “It is inspiring to see students at all four Jesuit schools from every corner of our city come together, build friendships, and join forces in service to our community. Pope Francis stated last year that ‘God has decided that you should be for others’ and that your personal gifts ‘are not for you, but to share with those around you.’ In nowhere is that more evident to me than when I see what our incredible young men and women from Cristo Rey, Christ the King, Loyola Academy, and St. Ignatius are able to do when they unite their efforts.”

 

After a full day of service work, groups returned to Cristo Rey where student leaders offered reflections on the experience and the impact of service work. The day ended with a closing prayer.