I often look for ways to elevate the discussion of our schools with others, and in this respect, I continue to be edified by Pope Francis, who has a way of saying things both simply and powerfully. Not too long ago, he said this off the cuff to an audience of Albanian and Italian elementary and high school students:
Following that which St. Ignatius teaches us, the principle element of school is to learn to be magnanimous. Magnanimity: this virtue of the great and of the small, that makes us always look to the horizon. What does it mean to be magnanimous? It means to have a big heart, to have a great spirit; it means to have great ideals, the desire to do great things to respond to that which God asks of us, and exactly this doing of daily things well, all of the daily acts, obligations, encounters with people; doing everyday small things with a big heart open to God and to others. It is important, therefore, to tend to human formation aimed at magnanimity. School not only expands your intellectual dimension, but also the human dimension. (Vatican Radio, June 7, 2013)
Great minds and great hearts to do great things for the Lord--what a powerful way to talk about our mission with others!
"Magnanimity" comes from two Latin words, "magna" meaning "great" and "anima" meaning mind or spirit. Thus "magnaminity" means literally "great-mindedness." St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa, defines it as a "stretching forth of the mind to do great things. " He contrasts it with "pusillanimity," from "pusil," meaning "small," such that a pusillanimous person is a small-minded one, without great aspirations or ideals. It makes sense, then, that in modern parlance, pusillanimity is a synonym for cowardice, since those without large vision or ideals are not moved to action and are inclined to "play it safe."
Aquinas argues the reason people tend toward pusillanimity is that deep down, they don't believe they have the "qualifications" to be magnanimous. They believe that magnanimity is a virtue for the spiritually elite-- the saints, perhaps--but not for us, we who are ordinary. It's as if we tell ourselves, "if we aim low, we won't be disappointed."
And in fact, we live in a culture that consistently aims low for our youth: "We don't really believe you're capable of virtue or of chastity, so practice safe sex." "We don't really expect you to be committed to scholarship, so we'll inflate your grades." "We don't think you're capable of handling disappointment, so we'll be sure that you and everyone else gets a trophy." And the sad thing about this consistent messaging is that teenagers begin to believe these things about themselves.
But that's not our vision in Catholic schools! We are children of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, infused with God's grace to do great things with our lives for others! We are all called to holiness! We are all called to become saints!
I believe teenagers are hungry, deep down, to be challenged. They are utterly bored and uninspired by an accommodating, "lowest common denominator" approach to life. Instead, they want their lives to matter; they want to be challenged by the gospel, to believe that such a life is possible, and they are powerfully attracted to people that seem to be living as if it were.
Magnanimity, then, needs to be the consistent theme of our schools, calling our students to do great things. "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me" (Phillipians 4:13) is the Scriptural message. And even in doing the lesser things, Mother Theresa remarks: "We can do small things with great love." May we consistently remind our students they are powerful, strong, and capable of doing great things for others.
