Daily reflection from the CPLO and the Jesuit Institute for 26 July 2022
Published: Tue, 07/26/22
Daily Reflection
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Magis (the Ignatian word for “the more”) is “about
being the kind of person who contemplates who God is
and what God wants and who acts to be ever more
attentive and responsive to participating with God
in making this reality here and now.”
(Marcus Mescher).
One of the things that happened in the conversion story of Ignatius was a transformation of his desires. He was always an ambitious man. In his early years he wanted to win acclaim and honour. This was evident in his determination to continue to fight against all odds in the battle at Pamplona. As he lay reflecting on his sick-bed in his family home in Loyola,
his ambition and vanity led him to desire greater success than St Frances and St Dominic. Even though he wanted to serve God in those early days of his conversion, it was still very much with Ignatius at the centre. God must have smiled at his lack of humility and his ironic determination to be the very best of the saints!
But God gradually redirected Ignatius’ self-interest to the service of others. Over time as he deepened his relationship with God, he wanted to things for the greater glory of God. Ignatius lost the self-centred pride that had been so much part of his early life and focused on God.
He used a word that is important in Ignatian Spirituality – ‘MAGIS’ which means “the more.” There is a wholehearted generosity in this idea. Magis is not about working ourselves to burnout. It is a flow of doing things in sync with God with an energy and passion that spills over into the world. Magis happens when we are in partnership with God. When God takes our talents, experiences and longings and works in and through us. When we see what has happened, we know that God has allowed us to be
part of something bigger than ourselves for his greater Glory.
A wise spiritual director would often say to me “What God offers us is never less, but always more.” There is something about offering our gifts and our lives to God that allows us and those we interact with to flourish in ways we could never have imagined. The ‘magis’ comes when we let go of holding on too tightly to our own vision for our lives, and trust that God’s desires for us are more than our own.
Recall any ‘magis’ moments when, through God’s grace, far more happened than you could have imagined?
Have a conversation with God asking him to help you to offer yourself as well as your gifts for his greater glory?
Gracious God,
As you transformed the heart of Ignatius,
and allowed him to share in your desires for the world
You used his natural gifts and personality
to impact countless lives even beyond his life.
May I be open to your transformation of my heart
and live a life of “the more” to which you invite me. Amen.
Reflection prepared by Annemarie Paulin-Campbell
The Jesuit Institute
15 Molesey Ave
Auckland Park Gauteng 2092
SOUTH AFRICA
