|
Jesuit Heritage
The Magis: John Carroll's Academy
and "the greater glory of God"
Ignatius grew throughout his life in his awareness of God's deep
love for him, not just the general love of God for all people,
but a personal, intimate call by Christ to follow him. This call
filled Ignatius with great zeal and enthusiasm to serve God in
whatever ways would give God greater glory. Ignatius was motivated
by a restless desire for excellence grounded in gratitude for
all that God was doing for him. He was forever asking, "What
can I do for Christ?"4 Appropriately, Ignatius and his fellow
Jesuits chose as their motto, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, a Latin
phrase that means "for the greater glory of God." The
word "magis" is a Latin term for the kind of greatness
to which Ignatius aspired. These terms are found around the top
of Georgetown's own Gaston Hall and in the university's mission
statement, which commits Georgetown to creating and communicating
knowledge "for the glory of God and the well-being of humankind."
The establishment of Georgetown by John Carroll is an example
of the Jesuits' commitment to the magis. As a result of their
desire to exert the greatest possible influence for the sake of
the common good, Jesuits have traditionally worked in centers
of politics and commerce. In the fledgling republic of the United
States, Carroll founded the first Catholic college in the country,
drawing up plans for Georgetown in 1789. Two years later, just
as Georgetown welcomed its first students, the federal government
also chose to make its home along the banks of the Potomac and
moved here in 1802. Carroll had experienced the effects of religious
intolerance as a boy in the colony of Maryland. As a result, he
was sent by his parents to Jesuit schools in Europe. Upon his
return as a Jesuit priest and later as the nation's first Catholic
bishop, he intuited that among the greatest ways to serve the
young nation he loved was to found an academy open to students
of all social classes and of every religious profession. Carroll's
vision was also cosmopolitan. Intended in 1789 to cultivate citizens
who would preserve, protect, and defend the nation's brand new
Constitution, Georgetown also recruited students from around the
world by publishing its first catalogue in three languages other
than English. Carroll's revolutionary, inclusive, and international
vision of greatness, grounded in the spirit of St. Ignatius, has
animated Georgetown for more than 200 years, and it continues
to mold the university as it moves into a third century of learning,
faith, and freedom.
Next Page >>
1 | 2
| 3 | 4 | 5
| 6 | 7
| 8 | 9
| 10 | 11
| 12 | 13
| 14
|
