So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1Cor. 10:31
If you read enough books by Jesuit authors you will sooner or later come across the acronym A.M.D.G., which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. It is a Latin phrase meaning “for the greater glory of God,” which is a key notion of Ignatian spirituality.
The concept itself is easy enough to understand: that everything we do, think or say should be for the increase of God’s glory on earth. But what exactly do we mean by this?. And how do we know which options truly lead to God’s greater glory on earth?”
Living according to the “greater glory of God” is not necessarily understood as more works, projects or undertakings, but rather as whatever will produce a “greater” dividend for the advancement and deepening of God’s kingdom in us, and in the world. It is not about how much I can accomplish for God, but more how God can increasingly live and take initiative in and through me. As such, it implies more surrender on my part, more submission, more availability and more obedience to God’s immediate will in my life. The Jesuits refer to this as making yourself more “disposable” to God’s action in and through you.
This foundational objective of Ignatian spirituality is perhaps best summarized in the two prayers that follow. The first was written by Kirk Roberts, a student at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida. It expresses the basic premise of his life, as well as his need for God’s help in order to live that life to which he feels called. He prays:
Life is given to me for one reason:
That I might live for the greater glory of God.
Yet I spend most of my life unconcerned with this;
I waste it on petty things.
God, please grant me clear vision,
The vision to work for the greater glory of your name.
Please help me to wake up each morning with this in mind.
Help me to clear my mind of minor details that only distract me from my purpose.
Keep away the indifference that fogs humankind.
Point me to where your people need help
So that your vision for me may be fulfilled.
Such radical “disposability” to God’s action is exemplary for any of us. We see a similar disposition expressed in Ignatius’ “Suscipe” (“receive”) prayer found at the end of The Spiritual Exercises. It is a prayer of self-offering—the victorious prayer of someone who has conquered within themselves all resistance to God’s claim on their life. Giving himself as fully as he can to God’s service Ignatius prays,
- Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. All I have and possess, you have given to me. I return it all to you and surrender it wholly to your will. Give me only your love and grace for that is sufficient for me.
How given are we to God’s initiatives in our day? How do we love? How do we serve? And how do we allow God to extend, through us, His presence in the world? In other words how are we living our lives “ad majorem dei gloriam?” These are good questions with which to begin the new year. Let them provide opportunity for us, at the threshold of this new chapter, to renew our act of offering as we give our lives more fully, through Christ, “for the greater glory of God.”
Rob Des Cotes
Imago Dei Christian Communities
FOR GROUP DISCUSSION:
- What choices have you made in the past year that were motivated by a desire to do whatever was “for the greater glory of God?” What choices perhaps diminished the possibility of God’s initiative in or through you?
- How can you, in the coming year, make yourself more “disposable” to God’s action in and through your life? What changes would you have to make in order for this to be so?
- Take time, alone or in a group, to write a prayer of self-offering to God, acknowledging both your desire as well as your need for God’s help in order to live the spiritual life you feel called to.
FOR PRAYER: Use the two prayers in this meditation as the basis for your own prayer—one that expresses your desire and needs, the other that represents the radical self-offering of your life to God.