I AM so happy that The GUIDON changed its #MagisUpdate to #OBFUpdate that I just had to write this column. For those who do not follow The GUIDON on social media, #MagisUpdate used to be posted when students won competitions or the Ateneo performed well in licensure exams or rankings.
I was bothered enough by the use of magis in the branding that I wrote to The GUIDON Twitter account in the past to suggest they change the branding. When it popped up again recently, I wrote directly to the Editor-in-Chief who was also my former student. I was so happy when I learned that he agreed with me and even happier when I saw the first OBF update.
I was really bothered with the branding because I did not want the community to associate magis with achievements. As it is, there are already so many misconceptions about magis, and this branding just reinforced those misconceptions.
I think the problem is that magis has been interpreted in the dominant context of a neoliberal culture, which presumes that more is better and this is understood as more effort, more productivity, or more achievements.
But magis, as an Ignatian concept, must be understood in the context of the First Principle and Foundation, which states that “The human person is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by so doing save his or her soul” and should desire and choose “only what leads more to the end for which we are created.” In the adaptation of Fleming, SJ, the last line reads as “I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me.” For those who are agnostic or even atheistic, maybe the question could be, what is the more loving thing to do? Magis should not be taken out of those contexts.
As such, sometimes magis means doing less, not more. I was recently telling some student leaders that for those of us in leadership positions, magis may mean that we are asked to do less so that we can have a bird’s eye view of the situation, where we can see when coordination is not working and where the gaps are, sending people there to fill in the breach.
When I was a young teacher, I realized that magis was not necessarily staying up all night to work. It was to order my life (and maybe to do less) such that I do not have to stay up all night to work so I can do things better.
During the age of online learning, I was telling colleagues not to require discussion boards because that would mean more requirements and more checking, which would be bad for both students and teachers. Because of online learning, I realized that students learn more when there are fewer requirements.
Of course, sometimes magis does mean more—serving more people, raising more resources to do more good, etc. What magis is in a particular context is always a product of discernment.
Is an achievement then never an example of magis? It depends on the context, and a news story or much less a breaking news alert could not capture this context. In those cases, what is highlighted and associated with magis is the achievement itself.
On the flip side, a seeming failure could be an example of magis. I think of Gandhi and his followers and their active nonviolence, being beaten up without resistance as they defied the Salt Tax. That choice of nonviolence was the more loving option. And we need to look no further than Christ crucified, obedient unto death, to realize it is a grievous mistake to associate magis with worldly achievement.
Hardly any of us are called to be beaten up by security forces and there is hardly any crucifixion now, so the question each one of us must ask is: what does magis mean for me today? How am I invited to love others and myself better? So thank you, The GUIDON, for changing #MagisUpdate to #OBFUpdate. Maybe one day, I will write about why “One Big Fight” does not necessarily mean winning, but for now, at least, we have spared the word magis from further misunderstanding.
Leland Joseph Dela Cruz is Assistant Vice President for Social Development, Environment, and Community Engagement of the Ateneo de Manila University and handles Development Studies as an excuse to teach students about life.
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed by the opinion writer do not necessarily state or reflect those of the publication.
