Rev. Paul Scalia on
magnanimity (like prudence, a forgotten virtue). I like the interesting take he has on the Sons of Thunder --namely that they were right to aspire to great things and the apostles wrong to be wroth with them.
We may mistake magnanimity for pride, as in fact the Apostles did: “When the twelve heard this, they became indignant at James and John” (Mk 10:41). Magnanimity denotes a certain aspiration of spirit, a stretching forth of the soul to great things — a holy ambition. The word itself comes from the Latin for “great soul” (magna anima). But magnanimity differs from pride in this: it operates not in
consideration of a man’s own worth, but in consideration of the gifts he has received from God. Magnanimity is anchored by humility, which gives a man the sense of his own insufficiency. The two virtues must travel together, keeping one another honest, lest humility become pusillanimity and magnanimity become pride.
It also makes other good qualities better:
Magnanimity (as the word implies) also “magnifies” the other virtues. It gives increase or added strength to all of them. Think of it as a magnifying glass held up to the other virtues. By magnanimity we stretch out to greater charity and aspire to higher hope. We desire to perform greater works of mercy, to make the Lord even better known, to do the more difficult thing for the glory of God.
Does that mean James & John were right in seeking the absolute highest places in heaven for themselves? Not necessarily...but better their mistake than some others:
the man cultivating magnanimity may sometimes outrun the virtue and need to be reined in. Our Lord had to do this on occasion, and in particular with James and John (cf. Lk 9:54-55). But it is an easier thing to harness ambition than to stimulate indifference. And how much more inspiring magnanimity is than the current state of mediocre spiritual aspirations. Our culture permits ambition in all areas — in sports, careers, finances, politics, etc., but not in religion. There we must be moderate, lest we be labeled “fanatics.” Even within the Church, unfortunately, we often reduce the goal to just being nice, a basically good person, a “good enough” Catholic (as some have actually encouraged).
RTWT. Those two words "good enough" are the reason for the vocations crisis and the decline in the practice of religion generally if you ask me. People need an aspiration big enough to be worth difficult sacrifices. Celibacy, for example, can be worth it if it's the cost of something great: holiness, the salvation of many souls, etc. But to offer it just to put on your jeans, ladle soup at the local hospice and come home to watch t.v.? Not worth it --and no great-souled man or woman will give it.
