Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
October 30, 2002
Senior volunteers may be retired from careers but not from service
Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corps. serve poor, reflect on Jesuit spirituality
By Julie Bourbon
WASHINGTON (CNS) — There are some for whom retirement means taking it easy, and then there are the people who give time to the Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corps.
More than 150 strong in six Jesuit provinces, these seniors have made at least a year's commitment to work with and for the poor in their communities and to reflect on those experiences in the Jesuit tradition.
More than simply trying to keep busy, they are motivated primarily by gratitude for the blessings in their lives.
"Where there is gratitude, there is generosity," said Jesuit Father Jim Conroy, founder of the program.
Father Conroy, along with Jesuit Father Charlie Costello, started the corps in Baltimore seven years ago. It has expanded to Washington, Philadelphia/New Jersey, New York City, central New York state, Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
While a novice director, Father Conroy had a conversation with a parent who expressed envy at the Jesuits' spiritual life. "He said, 'I want that kind of relationship with Jesus, but I don't want your vows,'" Father Conroy recalled.
From that spark came the idea for the Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corps.
With life experiences, work skills, talents and hard-won wisdom that set them apart from their younger counterparts, seniors seemed like a natural choice for such a corps. And spiritual reflection is an integral part of their volunteer commitment.
Each year the Ignatian volunteer corps adopts a theme, and this year's is "Eucharist and Justice."
Volunteers spend two days a week in service. They also keep a journal and participate in individual and group spiritual conversations about their experiences.
Service opportunities include outreach programs for the homeless, health care, AIDS and cancer hospices, prison work, refugee resettlement, job and life skills training, and tutoring programs for children, adult literacy or GED programs.
"I finally decided I should do something for the church," volunteer Tom Byrne, 79, of Bethesda, Md., told the National Jesuit News, a national monthly newspaper. "The spiritual benefit has been the greatest. It becomes more important as you get older."
In his third year volunteering at the Jesuit Conference in Washington, Byrne works with Jesuit Refugee Service, the Office of Social and International Ministries and the Woodstock globalization project. He brings his experience as a retired career foreign service officer and former ambassador to Norway and Czechoslovakia.
"I don't get my hands as dirty as working with the poor," Byrne said, with some regret. "Mine is a step away."
At a reflection session with other volunteers from the Washington area, Byrne joined his colleagues in a discussion of the faith that compels them to serve others. The conversation that day centered on accepting limitations — on one's physical abilities and one's ability to affect change.
"When we're younger, we think we're going to be changing the world," Byrne said. "Let's be honest — now I have trouble changing my socks!"
The line got the intended laugh, but the group got the point: Could it sometimes be God's intent that a person is called to help without, ultimately, being able to change the outcome?
"Sometimes the lack of response is difficult. When you're trying to help people and they're not helping themselves, it's a little difficult," said Kevin Kasunic, 68, of Olney, Md.
Kasunic, a retired economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, works at Crossway Community, a residential transitional housing facility.
He said the experience has been a mixed blessing. It is occasionally frustrating to give aid that is not always appreciated, he said. He finds it also challenging, as he struggles with his own need to succeed. The one-on-one spiritual direction he receives as an Ignatian volunteer has helped him deal with frustrations.
"It is a growing process. You come to the realization that it's a sacrifice," he said. "The rewards are not going to be there on a daily basis. I have this nagging hang-up about being successful, and just being there sometimes is the best help you can be."
For Mary Ann Wilding of Bethesda, a retired nurse, service work is not about "winning" versus "losing."
"It's about being companions on the journey. If you don't change the outcome, but you've made the trip better, you've won," she said.
As a member of the Ignatian corps, Wilding, 66, helps at a home for the elderly run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Outside her corps commitment, she also volunteers at Bread for the City, which serves the poor in Washington.
"I've learned more from the volunteers because I am privy to conversations of a breadth I've never experienced before," Father Conroy said. "Many of my homilies come from that experience. It's a pretty serious spiritual reflection process. It mimics the best in Ignatian spirituality — action and reflection."
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