The Pillars
The life of a Holy Cross Associate is guided by four pillars: simple living, community, spirituality, and service. Associates seek to ground their experience by challenging themselves daily to live out these central tenets of a Christian lifestyle. It is the hope of the program that in grappling with the question of how to more fully integrate the pillars into their experience, Associates will gain a better understanding of themselves and a greater commitment to being witnesses of the Gospel.
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Community
The 2005-2006 Coachella Associates from LtoR: Katie Hall,
Shantha Ready, Matt Kuczora, and Mike Walsh
The experience of community is as integral to the program as the service. Associates usually live in households of 5-7 persons committed to the on-going process of building community. To share one's life and concerns with others; to respond to another's needs; to be willing to deal with issues which arise among the house; to be responsive to the challenges of living together and holding a house in common (cooking, cleaning, meetings, etc.); these are marks of how you are to live as an Associate. In addition Associates seek to build community with their neighbors and local communities. At each site the Associates are strongly supported by their local Holy Cross parishes, universities, and ordained religious.
Community life tends to bring one in touch with the real demands and rewards of the life-long processof trying to learn to love others in concrete, everyday ways. In our society where an ethos of excessive individualism predominates, the choice to live in community involves both risk and sacrifice. Living in community with others reveals to us who we are, in our strengths and in our weaknesses. Associates often, to their surprise, find the committment to live in community to be the most challenging but also the most rewarding aspect of their experience.
Service
Alison and one of the youth from Esperanza in
Coachella, CA enjoy a game of pool..
As an Associate, you will have the opportunity to put your faith into action and serve the needs of others. The program focuses particularly on ministry with persons who are poor and marginalized. Associates work in placements that empower the poor to begin to help themselves. While the Associates are called upon to serve the needs of the poor in a variety of ways, often it is the Associates who are "served" by the persons with whom they work. In discerning whether Holy Cross is the right program for you, it might be helpful for you to reflect upon the meaning of your present and/or previous service experiences.
Reflection on your service in the light of our faith and gospel commitment is an important part of the HCA experience. Associates often reflect together on the underlying causes of poverty and social injustice and the gospel call to respond. Though not usually working in Church affiliated placements, they are challenged to view their work in terms of ministry and their own spiritual journey, rather than as "just a job." Our hope is that the HCA year becomes an important milestone in a lifelong process of spiritual growth and commitment to the poor, no matter what career path the Associate takes after his/her year.
Few Associates enter the program with extensive prior training or experience in ministry or social service; however, a willingness to learn and a basic desire to embrace caring and compassionate relationships will be enhanced by on-site training at the placement sites. The particular work that is done is arranged by the program based on your interests, experience, and the need of the various sites; however, HCA cannot always guarantee the applicant his or her first preference for a placement. Flexibility regarding work placement is important as you contribute to the group mission of Holy Cross Associates and respond to the present needs.
Spirituality
The Colorado Springs, Phoenix, Coachella, and Portland
communities pray over each other before departing from
their annual Thanksgiving visit to Colorado Springs
The Holy Cross Associates experience is an opportunity to explore God's action in one's life. Faith, often, is the foundation that Associates rely upon throughout their year. Associates devote both personal and community time to strengthen their relationships with God, understanding that they must seek to know Christ themselves in order to be Christ for others in their service placements and in their communities. As a result, Associates develop a greater consciousness of God's presence in the people that surround them. A willingness to share your questions, insights, and reflections about your faith is at the heart of Associate living, and each household meets regularly in some expression of group prayer and reflection.
It's expected that some Associates will have questions and struggles with their faith, but the HCA program presupposes a basic involvement in the Church and commitment to explore individually and with others the spiritual dimension of one's life. You will be encouraged to have a spiritual director/mentor, someone with whom you openly and regularly share your questions, fears, hopes, and faith issues. The Co-Facilitators of your local community will assist in the process of locating a qualified, experienced person for you.
Simple Lifestyle
The Arizona Associates demonstrate
one way in which Associates travel
simply:
the Greyhound.
The Gospels present a universal call to service of others, but especially to a "preferential option for the poor." In recent years the Church has re-emphasized this commitment in word and action. As an Associate you will grapple with trying to understand structural causes of poverty and injustice. You will be working directly with persons who are poor, economically, or otherwise. You, or others in your community, will be working with persons suffering physical and societal hardships. You will come to know some of them as friends and learn from them as you become parts of one another's lives.
Awareness and sensitivity to the problems of the poor lead to a reflection on our own style of living. It makes us question our tendencies toward consumerism and its effects upon ourselves and others. You will live on a break-even budget. Money from your work goes into a common fund that is used for food, rent, utilities, personal needs and other living expenses. The budget is tight, but there is provision made to meet your needs.
This attempt at living simply in a communal context requires you to participate in the group decision-making process. It begins when you make plans to travel to Orientation; decisions have to be made about what and how much accompanies you. It continues into the year as individually and communally you reflect not only on how money is spent but also on how your choices reflect a commitment to the poor. Associates have found this process of examining and simplifying their lives to be freeing and transforming.