Dr. Thomas Reynolds, Regis University
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“SEARCHING FOR THE MAGIS”
Some reflections on the “Magis” and its meaning for us:
In his glossary, Do You Speak Ignatian, George Traub, S.J. says about “Magis”—The “Continuous
Quality Improvement” term traditionally used by Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits, suggesting the spirit
of generous excellence in which ministry should be carried on. (Like all definitions of complex ideas, this
one has some limitations, esp. the management buzzword quality of “CQI.”)
Some other “limiting” understandings include its literal translation as “more,” which can be heard by
people as adding more, more, more on top of an already packed work load, or as a need for ever
increasing productivity, as in doing more with less, again an attempt to graft elements of Ignatian
Spirituality onto management-speak. The term “magis” also doesn’t neatly fit into a marketing
campaign tag line or a text message acronym (consider students use of MFO or MWFO).
Some considerations from Ignatian Spirituality:
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Perhaps “Magis” is more appropriately translated as “better,” in order to get at the sense that a
choice or new direction may be a better or best choice among other good options. Or perhaps
“deepening” of awareness or understanding about the work we do might be more accurate than
merely “more, more, more.”
“Magis” flows from a careful understanding of discernment, which does not lead merely to a
destination or decision, but which connotes a continuous process of action, reflection, and reengagement. In other words, we are invited by God at many different times in our lives, and in
more than one way at any one time, to consider the best way to contribute to the greater good-as people who work, who care for our families, and who engage in the community.
In the Spiritual Exercises, one becomes conscious of one’s gifts and limitations, not to be held
back or propelled by them (or to be “unfree”)—but rather to respond generously out of a spirit
of gratitude/awareness of God’s gifts and generosity toward us. This gratitude makes us desire
to respond freely, rather than through “oughts” or fears.
We are invited to partner creatively with God in making a good world (or a very good university)
even better. In particular, we are invited to contribute our own best individual and institutional
gifts. Similarly, we are invited to consider what leads best to the flourishing of the human
relationships we are uniquely responsible for, whether personal or institutional.
The process of discerning the “magis” for ourselves and our students is a continuing vocational
discovery in which God invites us to find our deepest hopes and determine the best way among
many ways to live them out. As we engage in this ourselves, we can help our students do
likewise.
A quote from Frederick Buechner gets at some of the complexity of finding the “magis” in
vocational discernment: “Vocation is from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the work a
person (or organization) is called to by God.
Dr. Thomas Reynolds, Regis University
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There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem
is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of society, say, or the Superego, or selfinterest.
By and large a good rule for finding out is this: The kind of work God usually calls you to is the
kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done. If
you really get a kick out of your work, you’ve presumably met (a), but if your work is writing
cigarette ads, the chances are you’ve missed requirement (b). on the other hand, if your work is
being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time
you’re bored or depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a, but probably
aren’t helping the patients either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where
your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
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As part of the conclusion of the Spiritual Exercises, called the Contemplation to Attain Divine
Love, Ignatius invites the retreatant into a deep sense of gratitude and awareness that all is gift
from God (the genesis of “finding God in all things”)—and that we are invited in our turn to
respond generously (leading to the famous prayer, “Take, Lord, receive . . .”)
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How am I hearing this invitation into the deeper response of the “magis?” What part of my
reaction flows from gratitude? How is God at work in my reaction right now?