U.S. Jesuit Chaperone and Students Discuss What Magis 2011 is All About
The 3,000 Magis pilgrims have now fanned out across Spain, Portugal and North Africa for their 100 unique Magis experiences. In small groups of about 25, the experience teams are composed of people from different countries which gives the pilgrims an opportunity to work with people from other cultures and backgrounds and who share in their faith.
The 100 experiences range from working amongst the poor, with immigrants, traveling along a religious pilgrimage “camino” or volunteering with the infirm. Accompanying the pilgrims are Jesuit chaperones like scholastic Michael Rossman, who is currently in his First Studies as a Jesuit at Loyola University Chicago, and is chaperoning a group of pilgrims from Marquette University.
Before they departed from Loyola, Rossman and three Marquette students shared what Magis 2011 is all about.
U.S. Student Reporters Tweet Their Experience at Magis 2011
Caroline Davis, a student at Saint Joseph’s University, shared this photo of Magis pilgrims departing Loyola via the Maryland Jesuits' Twitter feed.
“It’s hard to believe we’re in the airport! After signing up in Sept and meeting thru the year we’re really leaving!” exclaimed Fordham University junior Andrew Bevilacqua.
“Grateful we’ve all landed safely in Madrid. Currently resting at a cafe waiting for our bus,” reported Boston College junior Kimmi Vo. Later, from Loyola, she checked in with “Blessed with a beautiful day. Lots of fun kicking off #Magis2011 last night. Pumped for today!”
Caroline Davis, a junior at St. Joseph’s University, let everyone know she was “leaving Loyola after an amazing Magis experience. Met so many great people; pumped for Arenjuez!”
Twitter has given today’s Magis pilgrims a new way to communicate to their friends and family back home and to share with them their experience in real time – granted, in 140 characters or less! But, it was something that pilgrims just three years ago in Sydney, Australia would not have found possible.
Their short messages, using the #Magis2011 hashtag, have allowed other Twitter users to follow along with the pilgrims as they boarded planes, landed in Madrid, took buses to the Sanctuary of Loyola and now have headed off to their 10 day Magis experiences across Spain, Portugal and North Africa before gathering together once more in Madrid to experience World Youth Day 2011 together.
You can follow along with this team of U.S. student reporters by following @MarylandJesuits on Twitter.
Jesuit Father General Celebrates Mass and Meets with the Magis 2011 Pilgrims
Magis 2011 officially started on Friday, August 5 with an opening ceremony on the grounds of the Sanctuary of Loyola in Azkoitia, Spain. More than 3,000 young people from 50 different countries gathered together on the grounds of the Sanctuary of Loyola where they were welcomed in their own official language and treated to a performance with dance, music, light and special effects. The performance, given by group of Jesuits and lay people from Portugal, was based on the Meditation on the Two Standards, a fight between good and evil. During the night prayer that followed this performance, the reading told of God calling Abraham to leave his home and begin his journey. Prayer finished at midnight with a procession of torches carried by young people from different parts of the world. You can view this video to see a summary of the opening events from that evening.
The next morning, pilgrims woke up to a morning prayer in different languages in the garden. The Magis 2011 coordinator, Jesuit Father Abel Toraño, delivered a speech to the young people giving thanks “to all the people who have been doing so much to make MAGIS come to reality.” He asked the young people “to be open to an encounter with ourselves, with others and with God during this weekend in the hometown of Saint Ignatius”.
Today, around 3,500 people attended Mass celebrated by Jesuit Father General Adolfo Nicolás, leader of the Society of Jesus, in the plaza of the Sanctuary of Loyola. The pilgrims celebrated this special Eucharist before being sent forth to their experiences, which will start tomorrow in more than 100 locations across Spain and Portugal. During his homily, Fr. General evoked the founder of the Society of Jesus in this significant place: “God is in the gentle breeze, in its peace and its refreshing calm. And Saint Ignatius tries to make us sensitive to that breeze, to the soft voice of God.” He also wanted to send a message to all the young pilgrims before they left on their experiences tomorrow, “If we are only worried about our welfare or success, we will sink helplessly. If we are worried about service and the suffering of others, where Christ lives… we will walk on the sea.” After Mass, Fr. General, accompanied by all the concelebrants, prayed in the Chapel of Conversion of St Ignatius.
Later, in an afternoon press conference, he highlighted the role of young people in facing the challenges of this globalized world. “The young people are the ones who can change our world”, but they need to be ready “to answer questions that we cannot even imagine,” Nicolás said. “As information increases, the capacity for reflection decreases”. Fr. General encouraged them to have “profound feelings”. He insisted that every person must find his/her own vocation, own path and own way to serve. According to Fr. General, if you find it, you will be what the world needs and you will be happy – and both things are important. The big challenge that young people face today is to fight against “the globalization of superficiality.” To counteract that, young people must choose to live with wisdom and depth. “Think about Ignatius and how he changed his dreams. He stopped dreaming the dreams of a small valley and started dreaming dreams of the world. Go and do the same,” Nicolás encouraged the pilgrims gathered to hear his press conference.
From there, the pilgrims set off for their 10 days across Spain and Portugal for their Magis experiences. There are six types of experiences: Pilgrimage, Social Service, Art and Creativity, Faith and Culture, Spirituality, and Ecology. These include visiting Fatima, volunteering in a prison, accompanying marginalized families, serving pilgrims at Lourdes and restoring a hermitage.
The video below showcases this last day in Loyola before the pilgrims were sent off by Jesuit Father General Adolfo Nicolás:
Magis 2011 begins today at the Sanctuary of Loyola
For the pilgrims arriving in Loyola today to begin their Magis experience, this is just the start of their 10 days of being “with Christ at the heart of the world.”
For the Magis volunteers, coordinators, Jesuits, lay partners and organizers, Magis 2011 has been over a year of planning, preparing and practicing. It has all been leading up to this day.
What is Magis?
Magis is a pastoral experience of Ignatian programs and events in the days leading up to World Youth Day for pilgrims from Jesuit institutions. The motto for this year’s Magis is “with Christ at the heart of the world.” The dates for Magis are August 5 – 15, 2011 and will be held in locations across Spain and Portugal.
Organized by the Society of Jesus and other institutions, the Magis initiative gets its name from the Jesuit phrase meaning “the more.” The roots of the phrase come from St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who encouraged those who follow Christ to examine their ability to do more for him and, in turn, for others. It is an expression of an aspiration and inspiration and is a tenet of Ignatian Spirituality.
This year’s Magis initiative will particularly resonate with Jesuits, their partners and those with an interest in Ignatian Spirituality as it’s taking place in the birthplace, homeland and at the sites where St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, underwent his spiritual conversion which ultimately led to the formation of the Society of Jesus and his writings of The Spiritual Exercises.
The Magis initiative was started in 1997 before the World Youth Day held in Paris, France. In 2005, in Cologne, Germany it was called Magis for the first time. In 2008, Magis was celebrated in Sydney, Australia and in 2011 it will be celebrated in Madrid in the days leading up to World Youth Day.
To learn more about Magis 2011, visit www.magis2011.org.
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