For the past eight years, I have been offering spiritual direction and retreats to men and women who participate in the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC). IVC provides men and women aged 50 and older opportunities to serve the needs of the poor, work for a more just society, and grow in their Christian faith by praying and reflecting in the Ignatian tradition. Two Jesuit priests, Jim Conroy, S.J., and Charles Costello, S.J., designed the IVC program to bring together the needs of the poor and people over 50. The program offers volunteers the unique combination of service to the poor, monthly meetings with fellow volunteers, and a process for spiritual reflection. IVC volunteers work with a wide range of service organizations, providing outreach to the developmentally challenged, immigrants, and refugees, children needing educational support, the elderly, victims of domestic abuse, prisoners, the homeless, and the dying. I function as a spiritual reflector for IVC, providing one-on-one companionship to the individual volunteers. In these private conversations, the volunteer shares his or her experience of working with the poor in the light of faith. Through my work with IVC, I have gained some insight into the needs of the aging as well as strategies for ministering with them.
Read full abstract