Morning of Reflection to Celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

"The Pilgrim"
Ignatius of Loyola
1491-1556

July 31 ~  Celebrating the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola via a Morning of Reflection organized by the Ignatius Volunteer Corps of Chicago is fast becoming my annual mid-summer treat to myself.  I so enjoyed the first retreat hosted last year at St. Ignatius College Prep that I looked forward to attending this year; the theme was "Pragmatic Mysticism: Ignatius Loyola and the God of Now" led by Fr. Pat McGrath, SJ.  During the break it was a pleasant surprise to run into fellow Sacred Heart alumna, Sr. Mary Bernstein, RSCJ who currently is working at Josephinum Academy.  On a sunny morning in July it was a pleasure to enter the gate of St. Ignatius College Prep and walk past the beautiful flowers into Tully Hall. To learn more about this great venue with its meaningful location and why I like it so much click here.   

Kudos to Christine Curran, Chicago Regional Director of IVC and Jackie Fitzgerald, Program Associate and their many helpers who once again organized a very successful and enjoyable morning followed by a delicious box lunch. 

Celebrating the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola ~ IVC Morning of Reflection

Saint Ignatius

On Thursday, July 30th, the Ignatian Volunteer Corp of Chicago hosted a Morning of Reflection to celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola led by Bill Creed, SJ at St. Ignatius College Prep in Tully Hall.  

The theme: "Reflecting on our Images of God" drew 110 participants from all over Chicago and as far away as Naperville.  As we gathered in Tully Hall we began our morning with coffee and light refreshments.  This time gave us all an opportunity to meet and greet veteran and new volunteers, IVC alums, reflectors and friends of IVC.  A few representatives from Loyola Press were on hand too with a number of books and resources on Ignatian spirituality available for sale. 

Many thanks to Christine Curran, Chicago Regional Director of IVC and Jackie Fitzgerald, Program Associate who did an outstanding job getting this first (hopefully annual) retreat organized.  

The venue was very meaningful to me for a couple of reasons.  First, most every Sacred Heart alum knows that Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat's brother Louis was a member of the Society of Jesus. Many of those same alums with ties to Chicago have ancestors that attended the Academy of the Sacred Heart (now Woodlands) founded in 1858 which was located in Holy Family parish for over forty years. Today, many of our current alums from Sacred Heart Schools Chicago are students at St. Ignatius College Prep.

In small groups we gathered at our assigned tables to begin our morning with an opening prayer "Teach Me to Listen" (adapted by John Veltri, SJ) and then it seemed that the next few hours we spent with one another listening to Fr. Bill Creed and sharing in small and large groups went by all too quickly.  We concluded our day by celebrating the Eucharist followed by a tasty lunch.  The participants at my table all agreed that we enjoyed the time reflecting and in prayer with each other. We also look forward to IVC Chicago making this an annual event.

Micah 6:8: This is what God requires: Act justly, love tenderly, walk humbly with your God

A few photos of the beautiful St. Ignatius College Prep campus...
Note: The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is located in Holy Family Church

AASH Announces Joan Lueder Coffey Service Award with IVC and BEF

Sr. Marguerite Green, RSCJ (BC'43) and
Joan Lueder Coffey (BC'65)

    AASH BOARD ANNOUNCES NEW

JOAN LUEDER COFFEY SERVICE AWARD

                                                                                                                                                                                                   
The Board of Directors of the Associated Alumnae & Alumni of the Sacred Heart (AASH) announces the inauguration of The Joan Lueder Coffey Service Award.  The award establishes a new partnership with the Barat Education Foundation (BEF) and the Ignatian Volunteer Corps-Chicago (IVC).

The Award will be publicly announced at the Madonna Della Strada Chapel at Loyola University-Lakeshore Campus on May 8, 2013, 5 -7 pm.  All Sacred Heart alums are invited to attend the event.  For more info click here.

The award is named in honor of a Sacred Heart alumna of Barat College, Class of 1965.   Joan Coffey believed deeply in the values of education and service to the poor.  She passed away in 2003.

Dr. Coffey was a life-long educator and student. She was born in Chicago, and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree. from Barat College and her Ph.D. in History from the University of Colorado.

 She taught for many years in public and private secondary schools including Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, Lake Forest. IL. Dr. Coffey joined the faculty at Sam Houston State University in 1990, where she was Associate Professor of History at the time of her death.

 She is author of Leon Harmel: Entrepreneur on Catholic Social Reform, published posthumously by Notre Dame Press.

 The Ignatian Volunteer Corps is a national organization that provides retired and semi-retired individuals, aged 50 and older, opportunities to volunteer in poor and marginalized communities. IVC volunteers commit two days per week, 10 months per year – generally September-June – in direct
service to those in need.  Volunteers also participate in a comprehensive faith formation program in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. It is a one-year commitment with the option for renewal.

 The JLC Service Award will support the placement of an IVC-Sacred Heart alum in the Chicago region who volunteers at a school that promotes educational opportunities for students of limited means and/or at an IVC partner agency servicing the materially poor.


   IVC Chicago is a vibrant, growing program with 50+ volunteers serving across four counties and three dioceses in the Chicagoland area.  IVC members volunteer in diverse capacities from tutoring/mentoring at all levels of education; working at food pantries/soup kitchens; immigration advocacy; social service; hospital chaplaincy; prison ministry and beyond.

Volunteers meet monthly as a Christian faith community from September to June and participate in days of reflection and an annual retreat. Each member is matched with a spiritual reflector with whom he/she meets monthly to reflect on his/her service experience.

AASH is proud to promote the Joan Lueder Coffey Service Award and the Ignatian Volunteer Corps as a unique opportunity for retired Sacred Heart alums to continue living out St. Madeleine Sophie Barat’s vision of “social awareness that impels to action” and her commitment to ongoing personal faith development.

AASH, BEF, and IVC Chicago anticipate that this award will be a model for the establishment of other endowed “named” service awards in regions where AASH and IVC alums are working with the underserved.  AASH, a 501 (c) 3 organization, serves more than 60,000 Sacred Heart alumnae/I in the United States and Canada.

For more information on the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, please visit the IVC website at www.ivcusa.org  (click on ‘Chicago’). To attend an IVC information session in your area, register to attend the May 8 Madonna Della Strada Award reception, or inquire about endowing a named service award, please contact Christine Curran, IVC Regional Director, at 773-865-9810 or ccurran@ivcusa.org

The Barat Education Foundation is an independent 501(c) 3 organization, established in 2000 prior to the sale of Barat College to DePaul University. At that time, the Foundation was charged with the development and support of innovative educational programs and services that reflected the values and educational tradition of Barat College.

When DePaul University closed Barat College in June 2005, the Board of Directors voted
to perpetuate and build upon the Barat legacy of education, leadership and advocacy.  Today, the Barat Education Foundation is committed to continuing and adapting the heritage and legacy of Barat College to the 21st-century world.

For more information about the Barat Education Foundation, visit the BEF website at
http://www.thebaratfoundation.org.  ##