Greatness
May 6, 2009
I’ve been pondering this gospel reading… the one about the two brothers, James and John, who approach Our Lord and ask Him to bestow on them the honor of sitting on His right and His left when He comes into His glory.
When told that they would have to endure what Jesus would endure, (Drink the chalice) the two men readily agreed to it.
As a youth, especially a teenager, I would always become annoyed at these two brothers. Much like their fellow disciples, I would regard their sentiments with ridicule, as mere selfishness and utter absurdity that they thought they could undertake the kind of suffering that Christ endured. And all for what? Glory. Fame. Recognition.
Bah.
It wasn’t until I started to read Magnificat that this gospel reading took on a whole new meaning for me. Sometime in the last 6 months or so (I wish I had kept it!) there was a beautiful reflection on this gospel that introduced to me the virtue of magnanimity.
Magnanimity is simply defined as a greatness of soul.
(from the Latin; magna-great; and animus-soul… sorry couldn’t help it)
This greatness of soul comes about when the Holy Spirit inspires us to do wondrous things. To take on what seems to be impossible and to do it with a resounding yes. It’s what moves us to accept more children into our already over-flowing homes. To make a meal for someone else even though our calendars are jam-packed with sporting events. To listen for the thousandth time to what Smee said when Captain Hook gave orders to his crew.
I used to be afraid that my desire to help my fellow-mom was borne from a place of selfish pride, a “look what I can do, aren’t I great?” type of attitude. While there may still be some of that in there, I am so happy to learn that this can actually be cultivated into a virtue. And those wonderful women I know and am proud to call my friends, have this virtue in abundance. It makes my heart sing to realize that this sentiment of eagerness to help is actually a greatness of soul.
And while I know I still have a long way to go, it has made my heart lighter to allow my soul to expand.
Megan is an independent contributor to MetroCatholic publications. She publishes the blog Life in a Nutshell under the Pseudonym “Nutmeg”. She describes herself as a “Catholic Mama” who can be found most days with her hair in a bandana, bare feet on the floor, teaching her 5 little peanuts.
“I need quality time with my friends, especially my best friend, my Dear Husband… almost as much as I need the sweet southern rays of the sun. I keep sane by…frequent adoration, listening to my favorite music, reading, and playing soccer. Who says there is only one path to heaven?”
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“I used to be afraid that my desire to help my fellow-mom was borne from a place of selfish pride”
“And while I know I still have a long way to go, it has made my heart lighter to allow my soul to expand.”
In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. – Eph 6:16
Way to go, again!
Magnanimity might be a virtue that our modern world doesn’t get. You don’t hear about it much. Tolkien understood it: it was a chief characteristic of several of his characters (Aragorn, for example). I’d say one of the chief problems with Peter Jackson’s films was that he didn’t portray magnanimity very well. Aragorn, for example, is played as a pusillanimous self-doubter whose lady has to tell repeatedly him to be a man.