Magnanimity
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The Gospel passage for this weekend will seem quite strange to someone who buys into today’s “what’s in it for me” mentality. People nowadays are quick to identify how they have been wronged and to demand swift justice; to insist that they get what is due them. Parents often hear the retort – “that’s not fair!” – from a child when a sibling gets a break. We live in a world quick to demand what is owed to us.
The Gospel passage for today calls Christians to be magnanimous. The term magnanimous is defined in secular dictionaries as: “behaving kindly and generously towards someone, especially after defeating them or being treated badly by them. Being generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness.” St. Thomas Aquinas defined magnanimous as “stretching forth the mind to great things.”
Jesus in the Gospel passage for this weekend calls us to be slow to demand our due. To be patient with others, generous in giving and even tolerant of some undeserved mistreatment. He invites us to love those who may not deserve our love. To love our enemies and those who persecute us; to even pray for them.
A magnanimous person does not demand his or her just due if they have been wronged, but aims to combat mistreatment with kindness. Magnanimity shows a generous and forgiving spirit and avoids petty demands. Someone who is magnanimous strives to be the “better person,” morally speaking; to go the extra mile, be quick to forgive and slow to count the cost.
Jesus calls us to be magnanimous, to strive for moral perfection in imitation of God’s own merciful and compassionate character. Psalm 103 shows us the divine example to follow:
Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always accuse, and nurses no lasting anger; He has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.
Psalm 103:8-10
With the help of God’s grace, we can become magnanimous and strive after the perfection of God’s love, mercy and kindness.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life,
