Magis

The Jesuits use the term Magis, which means in Latin meaning "more" or "greater."  Some interpret Magis as meaning to accomplish or do more.  However, Magis is based on the other Jesuit Latin phrase “ad majorem Dei gloriam,” meaning "for the greater glory of God.”  Magis is to choose the action which gives the greatest glory to God.  

In reflecting I wondered if it is not about doing more, how do we determine what gives the greater glory to God?  My mind then wandered to contemplating humility.  Humility is defined as “a modest or low view of one's own importance; humbleness.”  Then I thought, shouldn’t we have joy and awe of our individual and collective gifts?  But I had to acknowledge a gift is “a thing given willingly to someone without payment.”

To give the greater glory of God, means to use our unique gifts for the love of God a force greater than ourselves and also in service of humanity.  It means not to disparage, discourage, or prevent others from using their gifts.  Humility is to practice excellence whether we are a craftsman, an artist, a teacher, a caretaker, a farmer, an engineer, a mother and father, a musician, an actor, a maintenance worker and share those gifts with others.  It means to be joyful in our individual and unique gifts knowing that we are all equal before the eyes of God.  Magis is when we maximize our gifts working in concert with each other knowing when we do, there are no limits to what we can accomplish with the grace of God.