![]() ![]() God, in His infinite goodness, wisdom, mercy, and generosity, gave me the grace to return to Him here where He has welcomed me back like the prodigal son. Fortunately, many years later after my wife died, events prompted to move to another country, but a third-world county. Like a few who commented above, I gradually but definitely turned my back on God in pursuit of the mundane trappings of the “good life.” I remained a spiritual person but not a religious person. In retrospect, that retreat was the experience of a lifetime. Ignatius of Loyola, with the final week concentrating on the contemplation of finding God in all things, the Comtemplatio ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, a variant of AMDG. While reading Rebecca’s exposition, I was moved by her simple, since eloquence about the entire Ignatian experience that profoundly shaped her life, and in a very real way, has shaped my life as well.Īs Jesuit novices, we all make a 30-day retreat following the Spiritual Exercises of St. Having spent 8 years in the Jesuits in training as a Scholastic, I left the Society because, in honest retrospect, I was not sufficiently mature to have realized the treasure that God had entrusted to me. Castro under ( CC BY-SA 2.0) (cropped and lightened). One family, working together to realize heaven on earth.Īnswering the call to serve and to glorify, in all ways, Releasing the ego into the bosom of the Creator.Īnd the joy of knowing Love beyond words.Ĭalled together at one table, unity in diversity, To be unattached to any outcome except that which God wills, To seek Him and to find Him in all things, people, circumstances, One with the harmonious resonance of all creation praising God. Who demands only that we abandon all status and privilege. To be aware of our place as privileged children of a living God To see through a lens that sees the good and the possible To rise to this challenge-for the glory of God alone. To see the humanity in all those discarded by economies and policies. To welcome the stranger, the nationless, the outcast, It is a complete inability to be unaware of injusticeĪ Spirit-driven determination to find a way to right the wrongs, It is a call to respect the dignity of each human, To those impoverished in mind, body, and spirit. That approaches the liminal without hesitation,Īnd seeks to proclaim His glory in all that we do. ![]() To live Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam is to lay claim to a legacy of “other-ness”Īnd puts us at ease with any culture or people,Ī completely integrated other-ness that seeks to make all things whole, Weighed, all for the greater glory of God. Thought, every deed, every action and inaction-all is contemplated and To live Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam is a way of being that permeates every Today, when I’m asked what “ AMDG” means, my answer is a little longer. Amidst the greatest of atrocities, this family of Ignatian Volunteers, Jesuit Volunteer Corps members, and brothers and sisters of varied religions, cultures, and ethnicities works together daily to realize the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. I have learned even more about what it means from my co-workers in refugee resettlements over the past decade and a half. Ignatius’s writings in college that I was more able to comprehend what Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam means. It wasn’t until I embarked on my own journey through St. “It means, all for the greater glory of God.” My high school friends saw the new plates and asked, “What does ‘ AMDG’ mean?” Not knowing exactly how to define it at the time, I would just reply with the literal translation. A second-generation Jesuit grad, my dad is all about living Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. I remember the summer my father received his personalized “AMDG” license plates. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |