A Magnanimous Life!

A few years back, Pope Francis said this to an audience of elementary and high school students:

“The principle element of school is to learn to be magnanimous. What does it mean? 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 hearts and great minds to do great things for the Lord--what a powerful way to talk about the mission of our Catholic schools!

"Magnanimity" comes from two Latin words, "magna" meaning "great" and "anima" meaning “mind” or “spirit.” Thus magnaminity means literally "great-mindedness." St. Thomas Aquinas defines it as a "stretching forth of the mind to do great things. " 

He contrasts it with "pusillanimity," from "pusil," meaning "small.” A pusillanimous person is a small-minded one, without great aspirations or ideals. It makes sense that 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 believes the reason people tend toward pusillanimity is deep down, they don't believe they have the "qualifications" to be magnanimous. They believe that magnanimity is a virtue for the saints, perhaps, but not for ordinary people, like us. “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 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 can handle disappointment, so everyone will get a trophy."

But that’s NOT the message of Catholic schools! 

We say: “You are a child of God”, “a temple of the Holy Spirit”, “infused with God's grace to do great things with your life for others!” “You are called to holiness! You are called to become a saint!”

We believe children are hungry, deep down, to be challenged. They are utterly bored and uninspired by an accommodating, "lowest common denominator" approach to life. They want their lives to matter; they want to be challenged by the gospel, to believe that a heroic life is possible, and they are powerfully attracted to people who believe and live that way. 

The culture of optimism and faith in our Catholic schools is contagious! Our children are told, over and over, “(They) can do all things in Christ who strengthens (them)“ (Philippians 4:13). 

Let us never despair of the transformative power of God’s grace, working through our schools, to form magnanimous, happy and holy children!