When a soul falls in love with God there is a strong desire to do everything possible for His greater glory. A Latin motto of the Society of Jesus is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam which means, “for the greater glory of God.” The soul in love longs for his life to bring God glory, to attract people to His truth, beauty, and goodness, for their salvation and for their joy in finding His love, too.
A fruit of this desire is continually wanting to give God more. Magis, the Latin word for the more, the greater, is used by the Jesuits to describe this movement of the spirit to give God glory. But what is more? How can our lives bring God more glory? In what manner should we seek to pursue this more?
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (Jn. 10:10)
In a culture where we are surrounded by more of everything from noise to food to work to media to shopping and everything else, we need a better understanding of what more means in relationship to God, His glory, and our response to His love for us.
The abundance of Jesus is different from the world’s. The Jesuits pursue an abundance, a more that goes deeper. It means life lived more fully in God’s presence for the accomplishment of His holy will. It embodies a restless spirit of generous excellence that seeks to make decisions based on what will bring more souls to the glorious freedom of life in Him.
Magnanimity and the Magis
When we are faced with an important decision, Fr. Barton T. Geger, S.J. offers the framework, “which of these choices will give God more glory, will bring more souls to heaven?” Using a colloquialism to illustrate, Fr. Barton says that if we have pure intentions for our outcome, if we are disinterested or detached, we will choose the option that offers, a “bigger bang for our buck.” Here he means that there are choices that will bring more souls to God, give God more glory. When we make these choices regardless of our own personal preferences, which may be to the contrary, we are opting for the magis.
If we love to volunteer in a soup kitchen in a more hidden way, but a catechist is urgently needed, and we have the knowledge and skills, the choice that leans into magis puts aside our quiet preferences to directly pass on the Faith through teaching. As we choose the magis over our preferences, God develops our talents, and we become who we were created to be.
Happiness Is a Choice
Far from dooming us to always do what we do not want to do, magnanimity in decision-making follows the traditionally Christian and Ignatian idea that “happiness is a choice.” When we are freed from “Which choice will make me happier?” we are free to give God more. Detachment opens us to the freedom of choosing to be “happy” giving God glory.
Not About An Early Grave
Giving more to God is not about working ourselves to death. It is about trusting the God who created us for deep union with Him, and who knows the life that will lead us there. This life includes taking care of ourselves. St. Ignatius insisted his brothers took proper rest, went on regular retreats, and limited mortifications. Fairly modern in this thinking, he understood that we will give more to God over 80 healthier years than by going out in a blaze of (perhaps our own) glory at 35.
Our deeply lived lives give more glory to God than productivity, efficiency, accomplishment, or any other worldly marker. The magis is not necessarily different from what we are already doing. It may be exactly what we are already doing. The magis difference is the choice to be more present to it, doing it with more care, seeking the eternal in it.
This can be done by:
- being more present to the people we serve and live with
- striving for excellence in the tasks God gives us
- applying ourselves to our spiritual reading and prayers
- being more present to God throughout the day
We can also pursue this deeper excellence for God by subtracting.
Less is More
The famous phrase “Less is more” was popularized by influential modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Far from earlier forms of architecture that added decorative flourishes at every turn, van der Rohe believed more was achieved in design by removing unneeded parts to highlight simple beauty. With less distracting elements, the user of his designs notices what matters most, because everything that remains serves a clear purpose.
We can apply this principle to our lives by prayerfully removing activities which drain time and energy from our central purposes. A regular examination of our personal resources, especially time and energy, can provide contrast between those activities that truly serve the magis and those that don’t. Ruthless elimination of those that don’t can yield greater peace and ultimately help us to give more to the God we love.
Is Your Prayer Life Complicated?
Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off. (Coco Chanel)
What does fashion advice have to do with giving God glory? Ms. Chanel’s advice is another illustration of how we can maintain focus by regularly pursuing simplicity. Seeking the more in our prayer lives is challenging. Often, however, simple subtraction can lead to big freedom and deeper union with God. Consider:
Eliminating devotions that are not central to your spirituality and no longer inspire meditation. Many times, we continue something that is no longer fruitful in our lives out of a false sense of obligation. Letting these devotions go will free up prayer time for going deeper with the Lord, rather than just checking off our spiritual to-do list.
Not adopting other people’s prayer lives. When a dear friend (or sometimes even a stranger!) enthusiastically shares a new devotion that is setting his or her heart on fire and urges you to pick it up too, resist jumping right in. Take the question to prayer and see if the Holy Spirit is leading you to add the devotion, or if that false sense of obligation is showing up again in another form.
One in, one out. If you do choose to add a new devotion or prayer routine, ask yourself what it is that you will be removing from your limited time for prayer. We all have 24 hours in the day. Overcrowding our time with spiritual pursuits rarely yields deeper contemplation. Ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance and decide what existing practice needs to be eliminated to allow time for the new.
Far from placing a huge burden on our shoulders, St. Ignatius’ idea of the more can help us pursue our vocations, our work, and our spiritual lives with more freedom and more joy because we are following the plan of the God who created us for both. By keeping an eye on our human needs and limitations, our more will not weigh us down, but instead will give us wings to fly to God.
Photo by Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash
