The virtue of magnanimity

 

 

The virtue of magnanimity, closely related to fortitude, consists in the disposition of the spirit toward great things, and St. Thomas calls it "the ornament of all the virtues. This disposition to undertake great things for God and for others always accompanies a holy life. The serious commitment to strive for holiness is already a first manifestation of magnanimity. The magnanimous person sets high ideals and does not shrink from obstacles, criticism or scorn when he has to endure them for a higher cause. He does not allow himself to be intimidated by human respects or by an adverse environment, and he has little regard for murmurings. He cares much more for the truth than for opinions, often false and partial6.


The saints have always been persons with a great soul (magna anima) in planning and carrying out the apostolic enterprises they have undertaken, and in judging and treating others, whom they have seen as children of God, capable of great ideals. We cannot be fainthearted (pusillus animus), short and narrow souls, with a shrunken spirit. "Magnanimity: a great spirit, a broad soul in which there is room for many. It is the strength that disposes us to go out of ourselves, to prepare ourselves to undertake valuable works, for the benefit of all. There is no narrowness in the magnanimous person; there is no stinginess, nor selfish calculation, nor self-interested trickery. The magnanimous person devotes his strength unreservedly to what is worthwhile; that is why he is capable of giving himself. He is not content to give: he gives himself. And then he succeeds in understanding the greatest demonstration of magnanimity: to give himself to God". There is no greater manifestation than this: giving oneself to Christ, without measure, without conditions.


Meditación diaria