Today, July 31st, is the Feast Day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. Having spent 10 years of my formative years as a Jesuit scholastic I remain ever grateful for this global brotherhood known simply as the Jesuits who have been instrumental in my development.
The formation of my heart and intellect by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) continue to serve the foundation of my desire to be a “man for & with others.” These days I find myself embracing even more my roots in Jesuit formation in my discernment process to run for political office. When asked why I’m sacrificing a career in academia to step into public service? Deep down I know my Ignatian Spirituality particularly in the motto of Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (AMDG)…All for the Greater Glory of God continues to be my solace, foundation, and aspiration. Everything I do aims to be for the greater glory of God. I am not perfect at it, but I continue to strive for it.
In the end, I prayerfully decided to leave the priesthood training to embrace my God-given calling to serve others as a married lay leader in the Church as an educator, consultant, social entrepreneur, and now a congressional candidate. In a way I simply embraced the life I used to invite my students at Xavier HS to lead through this quote I had on my office wall, “Who you are is God’s gift to you; what you become is your gift to God.”
Having earned my doctorate in education, I have many career paths at my disposal. But the AMDG in my heart invites me to choose the road less traveled…to invite my community to vote for my vision for service that benefits the least resourced members of our Northwest islands, i.e. the children and their education.
I love this poem by Rebecca Ruiz on the IgnatianSpirituality.com website. It touches the heart of this Jesuit motto and explains the inspiration that continues to guide me. If you should wonder what is behind my decision to run for office, this poem explains my desire to live the AMDG. Happy Feast Day brothers and sisters!
Living ‘Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam’
by Rebecca Ruiz
To live Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam is a way of being that permeates every thought, every deed, every action and inaction—all is contemplated and weighed, all for the greater glory of God.
To live Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam is to lay claim to a legacy of “other-ness” that sets us apart
and puts us at ease with any culture or people,
A completely integrated other-ness that seeks to make all things whole,
That approaches the liminal without hesitation,
Finds God in all things,
finds the Good in all things,
and seeks to proclaim His glory in all that we do.
It is a heritage of service
However, whenever, and wherever needed,
Of leadership in service
To those impoverished in mind, body, and spirit.
It is a call to respect the dignity of each human,
The splendor of all creation,
unencumbered by societal constructs.
It is a complete inability to be unaware of injustice
or impervious to inequality,
A Spirit-driven determination to find a way to right the wrongs,
To lift the downtrodden,
To bind the wounds,
To welcome the stranger, the nationless, the outcast,
To see the humanity in all those discarded by economies and policies.
To rise to this challenge—for the glory of God alone.
To offer one’s heart and one’s hands,
One’s whole self, a Suscipe,
In desolation and in consolation.
To give up even liberty
for the sake of the love of the other.
To be held to a higher standard,
To see through a lens that sees the good and the possible
in every impossible situation.
To be aware of our place as privileged children of a living God
who demands only that we abandon all status and privilege.
To be the voice for the voiceless
Responding to the call of the Spirit
One with the harmonious resonance of all creation praising God.
To seek Him and to find Him in all things, people, circumstances, and places,
Unafraid to speak Truth to injustice
To embrace the contradiction of Love
Clothed in the power
of the One who died naked and penniless.
To be unattached to any outcome except that which God wills,
Leaving behind comfort zones,
Releasing the ego into the bosom of the Creator.
Rooted in the confident security
and the joy of knowing Love beyond words.
Unattached to and surrendered to
none but that Love.
Called together at one table, unity in diversity,
One family, working together to realize heaven on earth.
Answering the call to serve and to glorify, in all ways,
The Love that always finds a way.
