Magis: Kingdom of Love

A year ago this time and for the next four days, I had the incredible opportunity to go on a retreat called Magis, which is Latin for "more." I not only got to experience the retreat with a number of my fellow classmates, but I was privileged to be on the team of ten people who led all the retreaters on St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises. The whole Magis retreat is based on these exercises that are a large part of Jesuit Catholic tradition. Despite the fact that I'm not a Catholic, I gained a different perspective of how to examine one's spiritual life by dedicating six months of my senior year in preparation for this retreat.

By the time the retreat came, I was ready. Each team member had a specific exercise to focus on. Throughout the four days, we all shared our personal stories and lives with our class. After each talk we had 45 minutes of silent time and then a small group discussion time. The 45 minutes of silent time over the days got less and less silent; I found that chatting with a fellow classmate about it seemed more beneficial. I also found that when you study God's word together with someone, you grow very deep very quickly. Although my small group was diverse, I appreciated their openness that eventually came after meeting the first couple times. As much as I was a leader, I also got to experience the retreat, too, as a retreater.

The collaboration of digging deep with the small group and digging even deeper during the so called 'silent time' resulted in a very overwhelming experience. I had never examined my relationship with Christ so intentionally. I definitely found the 'Magis' in my life -- I was encouraged and disciplined more than ever in regards to the examination of my own spiritual journey. I learned how to carry on that search for solidifying that deeper person in me. I am forever thankful for this amazing experience.

And now, Team Magis 2010 will embark on their journey this afternoon, and all the retreaters will follow this evening and be engulfed in a environment where they can take four days to dig deep and create healthy conversation about things that matter the most. I want to keep the team and all the retreaters in my prayers and thoughts for their experience, that they may be open and have the comfort of sharing and supporting each other as they retreat together.