MAGIS is a group of youth (18-35 years old) who support each member to know, learn, and apply Ignatian Spirituality in their daily lives. This spirituality can guide them to understand what is essential in life and how they can spend their lives becoming meaningful persons through love, serving God, and serving others.
History
The program dates back to 1997 when Jesuits invited young people associated with them all over the world to take part in a pilgrimage directly preceding World Youth Day in Paris. At this event, the Society of Jesus became aware that we were given a unique pastoral opportunity that should not be lost. Taking advantage of WYD, various Ignatian routes through the city of Paris were organized, traveling where the first shoots of the Society appeared. Paris thus marked the start of an initiative that has continued as a feature in succeeding events of the WYD.
In 2005, the year of WYD in Cologne, the event took its final form as MAGIS. MAGIS is a Latin word that means "more" or "greater." It is related to “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” a Latin phrase meaning “for the greater glory of God,” the motto of the Society of Jesus. Therefore, MAGIS was inspired by Ignatian Spirituality and sought to aid each participant in reading one’s life through God's eyes; based on the actual experiences that they were to take part in: on pilgrimage, attending the sick in hospitals or visiting inmates in prison, amongst other experiences that were proposed.
Magis Thailand began in 2014 by Fr. Sigit Setyo Wibowo, SJ. In 2019, Magis Thailand organized the third Magis Asia Pacific gathering in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The activity was held from 26 December 2019 to 3 January 2020 with the active participation of all the Magis groups in the Asia Pacific. The theme centered on diversity and Ignatian indifference, with participants coming from Cambodia, Chinese provinces (Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China), Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Timor-Leste.
Vision
MAGIS is an invitation to experience a way of being through the Ignatian traditions of Spirituality, Service, and Companionship.
MAGIS seeks to accompany and support its members as they move into adulthood, helping them achieve fulfillment through a faith that does justice. Ultimately,
MAGIS aims to produce leaders - people with a sense of God's place in their lives and the capacity to build a better world.
Mission
Together, we explore the meaning and grow in our relationship with Jesus in the reality of today through...
1. Spirituality: MAGIS encourages and supports its young adult members towards a deeper spirituality in everyday life. MAGIS encourages a faith that is one of freedom, sees God in all things, and is lived in a spirit of Community. MAGIS is grounded in contemplation in action and has a particular focus on the love of the poor.
2. Service: MAGIS promotes the understanding and importance of being people for others. MAGIS assists young adults in identifying and addressing issues of injustice and needs, acting on those issues, and enabling positive transformation in themselves and others.
3. Companionship: MAGIS encourages young people to come together as a community. All MAGIS activities, whether they are one of service, reflective prayer, or social events, encourage a spirit of inclusiveness. In this context of peers serving together, leading each other, supporting each other, praying, and sharing together in solidarity, the community is created, nurtured, and developed. Enabling participants to be the very best version of themselves in a safe but challenging environment.
Values
Ignatian spirituality is taking your graces, your inspirations, and your holy desires to create together with God, transforming them into action in everyday life. Ignatian spirituality is a spirituality of choice at the level of faith. It fosters interior freedom and facilitates good life decisions by helping us develop our personal relationship with Jesus. Ignatius wrote down his spiritual practices in a book called 'The Spiritual Exercises,' which is still relevant in our contemporary world.
