Saint Ignatius of Loyola: Will Back-to-School be More or Magis?

The last hurrahs of summer are underway. Where I live, it’s only two weeks until the school bell rings. Back-to-school banners hang in stores and illuminate websites, reminding us of this new beginning right around the corner.

Backpacks, pencils, and sneakers are being checked-off of shopping lists. Extra-curricular activities are being blocked-out on family calendars. As we gear up for school and prepare for the effort and pace that comes with doing more, this is also a time to pause and set our spiritual intentions.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s feast day—today, July 31—lands in our back-to-school countdown. The present day gift of his 16th century Spiritual Exercises is the invitation to ask ourselves: will back-to-school be ‘more’ or ‘magis’?

Magis is a concept emerging from the Exercises and is Latin for ‘more.’ Magis is a spiritual tool that helps us ‘find God in all things and all things in God’ and leads to joyful service. It is God’s invitation to go deeper in our experiences and relationships for the greater good, which includes our own. While the word is ‘more,’ it can often mean that we do less to experience God’s more—magis. It is distinct from the ‘more’ which we may be bracing ourselves for or chasing after.

Before his conversion, Ignatius knew more. More wealth, more travels, and more swash-buckling adventures. Of noble birth, he was ‘a man given over the vanities of the world,’ as his biography in Lesser Feasts and Fasts states. Those who knew him as a young adult would never have guessed that he would found the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits.

A serious injury sidelined him in his life of ‘more.’ During his recovery, a profound spiritual experience occurred. Ignatius responded by intentionally focusing on his spiritual life, eventually writing the The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. In our ramped-up, achievement-oriented, electrified society, Ignatian spirituality can help us live deeper, fuller lives of real connection with our loved ones when we are at risk of becoming casualties of these other kinds of ‘more.’

FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out, is real. The powerful pull of perfectionism is difficult to resist. Growing income inequality turns the pursuit of education into a new type of salvation we are seeking for our children. FOMO, perfectionism, and fear of being economically left behind or never catching up is causing great anxiety today. That anxiety is often the driving force behind the type of ‘more’ we can find ourselves chasing after and pushing our children towards. Only to discover we are far off track. Magis is a compass that can help us find our way again.

My youngest child, now a young adult, recently challenged me toward magis. ‘Mom, I know one of the ways you show your love is through making your lists and buying me clothes, but don’t mistake that for providing me with what I really need — which is you.’

‘What I really need is you.’ Hear the invitation away from more to magis.

As things gear up for school, let us not mistake attending to tasks and other frenetic efforts as authentic time with our children. My love-language may be organizing, purchasing, and keeping a tidy house. But ultimately that falls into the category of more when it comes at the expense of true, vulnerable relationship with my family, others, and with God. As one Jesuit aptly described, it is the difference between jet-skiing and scuba-diving. Life requires some jet-skiing, but if that’s all we’re doing, then we deprive ourselves of a whole world of experience and love that God desires for us.

In these last days of summer, bring a critical eye and a loving heart to discern priorities with the goal of God’s more for us — magis. Add to your lists and block out time in the family calendar for activities that deepen relationships: cooking together and dinner around the table (without television), unstructured play time (resist cleaning while others play!), evening family prayers, and participation in your church community and worship.

This may mean subtracting other activities, some of which are also good. Therefore, part of the discernment is clarifying why you chose these activities. What is the motivation? Anxiety or authentic goodness? These questions can cull unhelpful habits and distractions from our lives and get back on track — for the greater good.

Sharpen your pencils. Set out your clothes. Say your prayers. The first day of school is coming. It is a new beginning. Set your intentions: will it be more or magis this year?