The Spirit of the Magis

"For I tell you, if your uprightness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5: 20)

In Ignatian spirituality, the spirit of the magis is the intense desire to do more and not less for Christ. If we live this spirit, in everything we do, we do more than is strictly required and never less. Magis means going to the extra mile for the love of Christ Jesus. This is the spirit that impelled St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits to desire to conquer all the Far East for Jesus Christ in the 16^th Century.

Christ says in Matthew 5: 20 that the mediocre spirituality of the scribes and Pharisees will not be enough in the new dispensation. O Holy Spirit, teach me the principle of the magis.