What is JVC Magis?
JVC Magis is a two/three-year service program for college graduates who are former Jesuit volunteers. Its mission is prepare leaders to advance the apostolic work of the Jesuits and the Catholic Church by serving Catholic and Jesuit apostolates in the Chicago area as well trained professionals.
JVC Magis Volunteers
JVC MAGIS provides a unique opportunity to former Jesuit Volunteers to live out the Jesuit ideals. As men and women for others, JVC MAGIS volunteers find great joy in knowing they are serving others. They are able to put their faith into action in both the apostolates in which they serve and the faith-based communities in which they live.
- Ideal candidates for JVC Magis are bright, enthusiastic men and women who feel called to do more. JVC Magis volunteers have completed at least one year of JVC service.
- Applicants should have a college degree. JVC Magis welcomes graduates from institutions other than Loyola, as well as those from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
- JVC Magis volunteers live a simple lifestyle during their two/three-year commitment. They receive a modest stipend, out of which they pay for rent, utilities, food, and other basic items.
Service and Graduate Studies
The essence of JVC MAGIS can be found in its four values: social justice, simple living, community, and spirituality. Participants of JVC MAGIS serve others as dedicated, full-time professionals. They attend graduate classes through a graduate program at Loyola University Chicago. Upon successful completion of the course work, participants earn a master’s degree from Loyola.
Community Life
All JVC MAGIS teachers live in community with other participants. Community life provides opportunities for professional support, personal growth, and spiritual development. Communities live in housing located by the JVC MAGIS program and are responsible for rent, utilities, and related costs.
Spirituality
An active spirituality is at the core of all aspects of JVC MAGIS. Volunteers share their own faith journeys with those they serve. Communities pray together and encourage the spiritual development of each member.
An active faith is at the core of all aspects of JVC Magis. Volunteers recognize that they are called by God to use their talents to serve others. Communities pray together and encourage the spiritual development of each member.
"Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost ..."
- from St. Ignatius' Prayer for Generosity
JVC Magis volunteers participate in retreats, days of reflection, spiritual direction and faith sharing.
Applicants need not be Catholic to apply. However, all applicants must be comfortable and willing to live and work in a Catholic environment.
Simple Living
JVC: Magis challenges each volunteer to live a simple, reflective lifestyle and to be intentional about the use of money, time, and material possessions. Simplicity is the emptying of self for the sake of personal transformation, presence to others in our lives, and service to the poor and marginalized members of our society. By simplifying our lives, we strive to remove those obstacles that inhibit our closeness to God and others.
A commitment to live a simple lifestyle involves focusing on people - others as well as ourselves - and on basic needs, rather than material possessions. The JVC Magis experience provides an opportunity to learn the difference between necessities and luxuries. By working with people who have immediate needs, volunteers become more aware of the basic needs that are not met for many and of over-consumption by others. Combined with working for and with the oppressed, a simple lifestyle is a living expression of a commitment to a just world where all people's needs are met.
Living simply is an individual, communal, and global challenge that continues long after JVC: Magis.
Social Justice
Jesuit Volunteers are motivated by faith to take an active part in the healing and reconciliation of a hurting and troubled world. This call to justice finds its roots in faith in God and belief in the dignity of all people.
JVC: Magis encourages and nurtures the empowerment of the poor by supporting programs that allow people to help themselves. Magis volunteers work with others who are dedicated to serving people and providing for the physical and spiritual needs basic to human dignity. Volunteers also work for peace and justice by examining the root causes of injustice and by becoming aware of how our attitudes and behavior affect others. We are called to change the attitudes and structures that create poverty, perpetuate injustice, and waste the earth.