Welcome to the Center for Service & Justice
Mission Statement
To form transformative, dynamic, contemplative young people through service and advocacy experiences across diverse mediums to help foster compassion, a spirit of generosity, and the desire for a faith that does justice to become people for and with others.
The goals of our program are twofold:
– To provide opportunities for “metanoia”— a radical transformation of the hearts and minds of our young people.
– To provide an articulated sequence of service and justice opportunities that lead Cubs to experience a sense of solidarity with the poor and marginalized (Universal Apostolic Preference / Our Way of Proceeding).
Message from the Director
On behalf of the Center for Service and Justice at Loyola High School, welcome!
In his recent book, ‘The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness’, Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, ‘72 draws upon the language of the mystics to communicate the very essence of kinship. “Mystics,” he says, “replace fear with love, vindictiveness with openhearted kindness, envy with supportive affection, withering judgment with extravagant tenderness.” Over the course of the next four academic years, your son will embark on a mystical journey. He will witness and experience this mystical presence of cultivating a culture of belonging with open-hearted kindness and supportive affection here among this sacred space that is our beloved Loyola community and with his new family (the Class of 2026).
Mysticism is experiential; we connect with the presence of God through our relational experiences with one another. Service is all about relationships and as an integral component of the Loyola High School educational experience, the Service and Justice program invites (and challenges) you to experience, “what it means to labor for and with others in building a more just world.”
During each of your four years at Loyola, you will engage in an articulated sequence of service and reflection opportunities that lead you to experience a sense of solidarity with the poor and marginalized (Our Way of Proceeding, Standards and Benchmarks for Jesuit Schools in the 21st Century). This journey begins with your freshman retreat in October, followed by the annual Community Walk. These two requirements will mark the expectations for service during the course of your first year.
There are so many ways to become involved in our service program. Details outlining the first year expectations will be outlined in Canvas at the start of the school year. As an active member of CY1, you will become familiar with Canvas. On your student dashboard, you will find a Canvas Course card titled “Community Service 9.” This is what we use to provide information concerning Service and Justice expectations for your first year and various optional opportunities that you can participate in. There is so much to do, so take the first step and come visit our center (located next door to Cub Corner).
Welcome Home,
AMDG
Center for Service and Justice
Jesse Rodriguez
Director of Center for Service & Justice
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jrodriguez@loyolahs.edu
Emil Sol '18
Program Coordinator for Service and Justice
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esol@loyolahs.edu
Fr. Jerry Hudson
Facilitator
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jhudson@loyolahs.edu
Pat Salvaty
Administrative Assistant
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psalvaty@loyolahs.edu
A dominant theme of his pontificate, Pope Francis uses the term “encounter” repeatedly as a means to invite [urge] us to go out to the peripheries, especially to the poor and the marginalized, and encounter other persons. Cultivating a culture of encounter on our campus space is central for our students’ formation and awareness of those lives whose stories often reside on the margins of life’s histories. Informed by our Universal Apostolic Preferences, we have reflected on the ways we can continue to keep our young people connected to a faith that does justice while experiencing this ever-evolving reality that is our pandemic.
As a result of encounters and the ways people change in the contexts of deep relationships and profound encounters, we are challenged––once awakened; to educate (self/others) to JUDGE and research issues using interdisciplinary approaches.
This section provides the resources for our young people to explore the cultivation of moral imagination––to imagine what could be and to begin the process towards ACTING. Below are links to our annual justice summit, the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice and some of our community partners in advocacy.
– Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice
– LA Voice
