MAGIS is a Jesuit word in Latin means “more” and is equated with such feelings as generosity, magnanimity and selflessness. The concept of Magis is derived from the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola, and focuses more on the way we make choices.
When we choose, it should not be “What’ s in it for me”? but what more will it contribute towards making our lives one of love and services. A person needs to ask “Given my responsibilities, my gifts and talents, my weaknesses and limitations, how can I best embrace this desire to be a man or women for others”?
It is further explicated in the motto of the Jesuits “Ad Majorem Dei gloriam” [AMDG] which means “for the greater glory of God”. Magis refers to the philosophy of doing more for God, and therefore others.
It is an expression of an aspiration and inspiration. Ignatius Loyola would encourage people around his time by asking,
“What have I done for God?
What am I doing for God?
And what MORE can I do for God?”
AS A STUDENT I NEED TO ASK MYSELF:
- What MORE effort do I need to put into my studies, so that I could contribute MORE to God, life and humanity?
- What MORE do I need to achieve MORE excellence in all things?
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Founder
Ignatius gathered a group of young men who shared his vision, at the University of Paris. He eventually founded the society of Jesus, an influential and dynamic religious order. He was an organizational genius. He dedicated the last sixteen years of his life in governing, in finalizing the Constitutions of the Society, in enormous correspondence and in guiding the expending order. He died at the age of 66, on 31st July 1556.