Volunteer Commitment Is Transformative Experience

Nov 7, 2022

Kara McNamara

By Kara McNamara, Precious Blood Volunteer Alumna

I have always been an avid reader. One of my favorite books is “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë. When I first read it in high school, I was focused on the dramatic romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester at the center of the Gothic story. Over the years, as I’ve revisited the book, other important themes emerged: autonomy, social class, the hospitality of strangers, mental health, and morality. I have been delighted by the ways in which a story can continue to have new meaning, even when the words remain the same. Every time I read the story, I am different and the lens through which I view it changes.

Kara and fellow PBV, Leah on the Navajo Nation

The same is true for the meaning and impact of my time as a Precious Blood Volunteer! I have enjoyed the presence of Precious Blood people and Precious Blood spirituality in my life for nearly 10 years. It amazes me that what started as a six-month commitment as a volunteer on the Navajo reservation has become a formative, transformative experience and way of looking at the world. In that time as a volunteer, I learned so much about myself, spirituality, ministry of presence, and the inherent dignity of the human person. Ten years later, I continue to pursue growth in those areas and to find connections in my everyday life now, long after I left Crownpoint, New Mexico.

This formational time as a volunteer and the resulting connections with Precious Blood members and Companions taught me to recognize and follow “the cry of the blood.” That cry felt (and still feels) like a personal and irresistible invitation from God to be present to the needs of others.

I followed that call into working with youth in the nonprofit sector for several years before returning to graduate school for a master’s degree in counseling. It was obvious to me that in order to further pursue the call to support and serve others, I had some things to learn! I worked as a high school counselor for a few years, and with my professional focus on mental health and trauma-informed care for my students, I truly felt that the tenets of the Precious Blood Volunteer program to walk with those who suffer and to build community lived on in my work. The high school where I worked also implemented restorative practices, and I was extremely interested in the pursuit of reconciliation in that context.

“It amazes me that what started as a six-month commitment as a volunteer on the Navajo reservation has become a formative, transformative experience and way of looking at the world.”

Kara with her husband, Jack, and their daughter, Clare

This interest led me to my current work for the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, which provides training and support to those who minister to people affected by incarceration or detention. I am the communications manager for the organization, which means it is my work to invite people to discover their own call to seek reconciliation, be present to the needs of others, and work for justice.

In doing this work, I truly have felt the ordinary transform into the sacred. I may be working away on a laptop at home, but I am listening to the needs of people, I am helping to train the next generation of prison ministers, and I am working toward the creation of a justice system that upholds the dignity of every human person. It has been simultaneously grounding and energizing.

As an added bonus, after years of following the impact of the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, I enjoyed the experience of learning from Fr. David Kelly and Sr. Donna Liette through two (excellent) CPMC webinars earlier this year. I am grateful to have a job that aligns my personal values and sense of vocation with my professional tasks.

The story continues. I am grateful for the day I thumbed through the Catholic Volunteer Network catalog and found an opportunity that has brought so much good to my life. I never could have guessed all the joy and community that has flowed from that experience, including the sense of joy and community that is present in my personal life. I married my husband Jack four years ago with Fr. Al Ebach, C.PP.S., presiding. When we welcomed our sweet daughter Clare into the world this summer, we did so knowing that so many others were celebrating with us.

I am so grateful that God connected my story with this community and charism.

“We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.”

-Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre

Kara served in 2013 as a Precious Blood Volunteer at St. Paul Catholic Church in Crownpoint, New Mexico, Navajo Nation. She now works for Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition. Go to preciousbloodvolunteers.org to learn more about Precious Blood Volunteers. 

Bursting Bubbles

Nov 17, 2017

2017-2018 Volunteer Hector Avitia


By Hector Avitia, Precious Blood Volunteer 
“Oh man, I can’t wait to see their bubbles burst,” I said with a chuckle as I sipped my chicory coffee. It was a nice April afternoon in the Back of Yards Mexican restaurant La Cecina. Tim Deveney and I were discussing how the culture shock of working with marginalized populations was a “bubble” buster for many volunteers who just graduated college. The bubble symbolizes our world view based on our experiences. A lot of folks who have been fortunate enough to have had most of their needs met and only known about suffering through books and film, have their world view, or bubble, broken open when they meet suffering head on. As someone who had already been in the workforce for seven years and personally experienced poverty, discrimination, and fear of authorities as a child, I believed I was better equipped to handle the problems that the families of south side Chicago were going through. I was going to be the wise old man that guided the other volunteers through the landscape of suffering and sit back with a bag of popcorn as their bubbles burst into a million pieces.

Precious Blood Volunteers Hector and Leah on the International Day of Peace


Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR) is a place of hope, healing, and radical hospitality. In order to achieve these goals, we must establish strong, meaningful relationships with those we serve. It is a long road filled with tons of bumps and detours because the folks of these communities have been living through ongoing trauma almost all of their lives. Trust is a commodity in this place where even friends and family have turned on each other, sometimes culminating into gun violence. The natural response from the human mind when these things happen is to be cautious of whom to trust. When anyone new comes into their lives, even when their intent is to help, their automatic response is to be careful and put up walls to protect themselves. Because of my background, I believed I had a shortcut to this process of fostering relationships with the young men that I was to be case managing. I think PBMR should have a warning sign outside of the door that reads “This is a place of hope, healing, and radical hospitality… Please leave your ego at the door.”
After only a few weeks into the volunteer experience, I had to come to the harsh reality that my own “tough” upbringing is nothing compared to the struggles of the people to whom we are ministering. One of my firsts tasks at PBMR involved helping a young family get on the road to stability. In order to protect their privacy, I cannot say much more, but I can say that I was completely overwhelmed by the obstacles they were facing. I imagined myself in their situation and what I would do to get ahead. Surely, I could give them great advice by putting myself in their shoes-but immediately I realized how their and my own scenarios were so very different. Even though financial resources were not always there, I always had around me a consistent group of people that loved me and who would do anything for me if I was in trouble. I never had to use their help because I didn’t have an emergency, and I became blind to the treasure that was my network of family and friends.
So, there I am, sitting in a room with a young family that was relying on my help and guidance to avoid homelessness with their young daughter. I was like a deer caught in headlights, stunned and unable to act. And this was supposed to be the “easy” case, something simple that would help ease me into dealing with tougher cases. If I was no good for them now, how was I supposed to be helpful to the rest of the guys I was case managing? How was I going to develop relationships with these young men if my only “Ace up my sleeve” was my not-so-harsh upbringing? I was too concerned with other people’s bubbles to see that my own bubble didn’t stand a chance.

Hector and Leah with a Peace Circle Group


While things seemed dark in this extremely young journey of service, God’s grace found a way to shine through. Fr. David Kelly gave a lecture to a group of students and faculty at the University of Notre Dame. In his talk he mentioned how, despite his many years of leading PBMR and being involved in the lives of those he serves, he has only stories to share. They are stories, because he was not the one going through the suffering. He recognizes that he can be empathetic, but there is no real way to completely suffer the same pain as those he serves. It became clear that having a similar past to those we help is not a qualification to build a positive and long-lasting relationship with them. What matters is to recognize this limitation and to still be willing to give your time and effort to help those in need. I like to think that when we encounter new people with different perspectives, then it is up to us to decide if these experiences burst our bubble, or if they help us grow that world view to encompass more people.
Hector is a current Precious Blood Volunteer serving at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago. 
To learn more about becoming a Precious Blood Volunteer go to www.preciousbloodvolunteers.org.