Category: St. Ignatius

The More and Muchness

 
 
 
 
 
A couple weeks ago, I mentioned my quest to learn more about the Spiritual Exercises developed by St. Ignatius, so today I wanted to share a little more.
 
His mission statement for himself and the Jesuits was “Ad majorem Dei gloriam” (which translated means “To the greater glory of God.”)
 
Another Latin word associated with his vision for followers of Christ was “magis,” which means “the more.”
 
St. Ignatius would ask himself, “What have I done for God? What am I doing for God? and What MORE can I do for Him?”
 
When I discovered the concept of “magis,” my mind turned to words in English that might come from this root, like majesty, magnificent, and magnitude. Anything more that I could do for God, would have to be in response to His majesty, magnificence and magnanimous love.
 
This idea of giving more to God can seem daunting and may even feel like pressure, but I am not thinking of obligation, but rather adoration, like the woman who wept and washed Jesus feet with her tears.
 
The more I comprehend His great love and my great need, the greater my expression of love will be.
 
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”(Mark 12:30).
 
In a commentary that compares the various times this command is quoted in both the Old and New Testament, the author explains that the word for strength translates as “muchness,” which made me smile.
 
What does loving God with all my muchness look like? It sounds a lot like what St. Igatius was aiming at with his “Ad majorem Dei gloriam!” Or as a famous hymn writer once wrote: “To God be the glory!” Loving God with all our being brings Him such joy.
 
And Jesus doesn’t ask us to stop there. He asks for more. He wants us to love one another as He loves us. That’s almost too much for me, I scarce can take it in. How about you?
 


Posted on by kelrohlf 0

Mission: The Act of Sending


Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8 NIV)
 
 
 
A mission can be as simple as an assigned task for the day. Or as complex as a mission to Mars. Or as dangerous as a military strike force attempting to subdue an enemy.
 
A more common association with the word “mission” is religious in nature. And the root word for mission comes from the Latin verb, mittere, which means to send. Lest you think I’m a genius, I just gleaned all this information from the handy dictionary on the Merriam-Webster website (www.m-w.com).
As a dictionary aficionado, I sheepishly admit that I am using the online versions more often than my compact dictionary or the faithful red Webster’s, I purchased years ago. I have dreamed of owning the complete Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which may be accessed as a hard copy at a local library. And our library has an online version, with free access for card holders.

Both refer to the etymology of a word, that is, its origin and usage. At www.m-w.com  you find the word origin, the date of the first known use, the word used in a sentence , rhyming words and even synonyms and antonyms at the end of each entry.
Until recently, I never paid much attention to the first known use date. When I was compiling my seven desires list, I started noticing a similarity. All of the words were first known to be used between the 14thand 16th centuries, with “mission” being the youngest of my words, first used in 1530. I know some of you are saying: “So what?” But when I find a commonality, my mind wonders if there is a connection.
Once I saw this pattern, I wondered what historical context they might have in common. I started thinking about St. Ignatius, whom I discovered last summer. He lived from 1491-1556. His spiritual journey culminated in a profession of religious vows with six other men on August 15, 1534, thus forming the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, which literally means “Jesus followers.” His history coincides with the dates of some of my words.
I don’t think it is any coincidence that the word “mission” was just starting to be used around the same time that God called St. Ignatius to his vocation. And I am certain that day, when I was brainstorming about my desires for 2013 that God was smiling, knowing I would make the connection.
My mission is to write words in whatever context God gives me. This little adventure in the dictionary confirmed to me that I should study the Spiritual Exercises developed by St. Ignatius. It probably won’t surprise anyone that The Ignatian Adventure by Kevin O’Brien, SJ, caught my attention, when I was looking for additional texts to inform my study.
As the year unfolds, I will bring along my dictionary and these texts to see what develops. It’s so like God to keep me on the Advent{ures} of following Him through words.

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Posted on by kelrohlf 3