Catherine McAuley—Ignatius Loyola Service Award
Please email completed application to mcauley-loyola-award@udmercy.edu by 2/28/2014.
APPLICANT INFORMATION
Name of Student Organization:
How many students are in your organization?
Please give the date(s) for the service event(s) that you will be writing about in this application.
How many members participated on this (these) dates?
REPRESENTATIVE INFORMATION
Name of Representative Submitting Application:
Position in Organization:
Phone Number:
Email:
Preferred Mode of Contact:
APPLICATION INFORMATION
The theme for the 2013-2014 Catherine McAuley—Ignatius Loyola Service Award draws on Mercy
and Jesuit values and traditions referred to in terms of Justice and of Compassion in the quotations
below.
Catherine's insistence on and provision of good
education for girls, middle-class as well as poor
children, was a direct challenge to the injustices
of her time. Her practical programs were
previously unheard-of social services which
broke the barriers of indifference, making
them give way to social caring and compassion.
Her sense of justice joined to mercy made her as
convinced of the quality of presence as of
performance; hence she stressed the how of
things rather than the why....Her congregation
was the canonical expression of her vision of
promoting social justice, of providing the poor
with the services she believed they needed and
had a right to, and of doing this on a
comprehensive and as flexible a scale as
possible.
Documentary study for the Canonization process of
Catherine McAuley. See p.26 of this online resource:
http://www.sistersofmercy.org/files/documents/mercy_spirit
uality_booklet.pdf.pdf
The integrating principle … [of] any
mission deserving of the name Jesuit
… should be “the service of faith”
and the “promotion of justice”
… A justice-based mission … seeks
to understand differing cultures on
their own terms; it is open to the
religious experience of people from
other traditions; … it learns from
women; it serves and enables others.
Taken from:
http://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/
jesuit-a-z/general-congregation34.cfm
ESSAY ONE
Consider the Mercy and Jesuit quotations on page one of these application materials. Then,
demonstrate how the service of your student organization exemplifies the Mercy and Jesuit values of
Justice and Compassion, by responding to the two questions below in the boxes provided. Limit your
responses to a total of 600 words or less (approximately two double-spaced pages.)
a. What is (are) the injustice(s) your group engaged while doing service?
b. The quote about Catherine McAuley says she “broke down barriers of indifference, making
them give way to social caring and compassion.” How does the injustice you engaged in your
service lead you (members of your group) to compassion? How did it make you (your
members) feel?
c. Think about how the Jesuit and Mercy quotes on the first page of these guidelines describe the
orientation of these groups toward justice. Then answer this question: How does the service in
which your group is engaging affect those most in need? Does your group relate to those in
need in a way that is similar to the Jesuits and Sisters of Mercy, or is it different? How so?
ESSAY TWO
The second is based on three additional values listed in the table below. These are shared by the Mercies and
Jesuits as indicated in the left hand column. Spend some time thinking about the questions in the right hand
column (labeled “Your Organization”) and write your response in 300 words or less. You do not have to
address each question separately, but should indicate some reflection on each of the three areas.
Jesuit and Mercy Background
Community: As members of religious orders,
Sisters of Mercy and Jesuits place particular
value on community life. In community we have
found that bonds of mutual care animate our
common commitment to service.
Reflection: St. Ignatius discovered the
importance of reflecting on experience. Jesuits
and Mercies continue this practice today.
Solidarity: Catherine McAuley always strove
to bring diverse groups together for mutual
benefit. In our Jesuit and Mercy ministries, we
have learned to value the formation of mutual
relationships with those we serve.
Your Organization
Community: How does the service carried out
by the members of your organization express a
common focus or address a common need? How
was “community” important in your learning
together or growing together from the
experience?
Reflection: How has reflection been an
important part of your organization’s service
experience? Give examples of how the
reflection helped your group gain the insights
that you share.
Solidarity: In what ways did you form some
bond of mutual respect with the people with
whom you worked in your service project?
STATEMENT
The information provided is accurate to the best of my knowledge.
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Signature
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Date