Rethinking Magis - Dr. Trudelle Thomas - A Celebration of Excellence

Sep 29, 2026

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Rethinking Magis explores the Ignatian idea of Magis, defined as the more and a spirit of excellence, and examines how that pursuit operates under real workplace pressures. The speaker contrasts striving for quality with being overextended by work demands, family responsibilities, and constant information-driven interruptions. Through personal reflection—especially a drive spent praying and a close friendship exemplified by Barb—the talk argues that excellence can become perfectionism or a “lesser life,” unless attention, compassion, and intentional choices ground it.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Magis as a Spirit of Excellence

Tensions of “Why MORE?” in work and life

Reflection through prayer and personal experiences

How Barb embodies Magis

Rethinking Magis Dr. Trudelle Thomas I’ve been invited today to talk about Magis, specifically Magis (pron. MAH jis) in my own life ourney. All of you who have been involved in Ignatian Programs know the usual definitions. Magis means the more‖ or a ―spirit of excellence‖ or ―a generous commitment to quality‖. Today I plan to focus on how Magis plays out in work. I have to admit I have mixed feelings about Magis. We live in a time when many of us feel overextended. It’s tough to balance the demands of work with a second shift of family responsibilities at home. The new information revolution causes our cell-phones and emails to constantly clamor for attention. And Xavier is also amid great expansion and change that we all must adapt to—to diverse people, to new ways of doing things. (Influx of women into all levels of the university has raised many issues—that will not disappear.) All these needs make me ask why MORE? I already have too much on my plate. I spent time over spring break praying and thinking about what I could say today. I drove to rural Pennsylvania alone to spend time with my mother who is 77 and lives by herself in the home where I grew up. I was delighted to spend time with her, which included doing housecleaning that she’s not able to manage now. I scrubbed the bathroom and cleaned out the refrigerator. My final day at home, my old friend Barb called and mentioned that she was thinking of starting a cleaning service and might be able to help mom out. I’m embarrassed to tell you that my first reaction was ―A cleaning service! Surely you have better things to do with your time than clean houses!‖ Fortunately I didn’t actually say any of this. I thanked her and set out for the long drive back to Cincinnati. Long drives are good for thinking. Still musing over Magis, I thought back on that exchange with Barb. What was the source of that snooty voice in my head? Housecleaning can be tiresome but it’s essential to our well being. It has its own dignity. Surely cleaning isn’t beneath any human being—though my fifteen year old son thinks it is. Still thinking about Magis, I recalled all the hard work I’d done to become a professor at Xavier. After high school I worked my way through ten years of college and graduate school, always striving for straight As--then another fifteen years earning tenure and moving up the ranks as a professor. All the while I was being graded, and grading other people. Endless hours spent grading student papers, evaluating job applicants, evaluating other professors, evaluating others’ research. Grading and ranking became second nature. Striving to improve--and to help others improve--can be very satisfying, BUT can also become an enormous stress. Living in the shadow of a huge measuring stick is wearisome. It can make you perfectionistic, or over-critical, or rushed. A person can feel she’s never doing enough. That measuring stick can also creep into your personal life, so that you begin to judge things you have no business judging. Unchecked, the measuring can actually undermine the true spirit of excellence. It can create what economist Sylvia Hewlett calls a lesser life‖—a narrow, joyless life. I certainly had no business putting down Barb’s offer of housecleaning! As I continued my drive, the thought came to me that my friend Barb herself is an embodiment of Magis, of excellence. She’s been adear friend since first grade, and still lives in the same zip code where we both grew up. She married soon after high school and raised three children. Since they’ve been grown, she’s had several different jobs and now has a clerical position in a community mental health clinic. She’s had heartaches, including a son with alcohol problems. But she also has a deep spirituality, formed mostly by involvement in a Twelve Step Program. The difficulties in Barb’s life could make a person bitter, but they have only served to deepen her qualities of soul. Paper presented at the Xavier U

FAQs

What does Magis mean in the presentation?

Magis is described as meaning “the more,” and as a spirit of excellence and a generous commitment to quality. The talk centers on how this plays out in work and daily life.

What challenges does the speaker associate with pursuing Magis?

The speaker links the pursuit of “more” to feeling overextended, trying to balance work and family responsibilities, and being constantly pulled by phones and emails. Over time, striving can become perfectionism, critical judgment, and stress.

How does the speaker illustrate Magis through Barb?

Barb is presented as embodying Magis through attentive compassion, respectful presence in crisis and counseling settings, deep spirituality shaped by a Twelve Step Program, and intentional living after major life changes.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Fahsai