AMDG

Since I have been the proud recipient of 10 years of Jesuit education, I have been deeply formed by the Society's most central motto: AMDG: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam: For the Greater Glory of God. I knew this phrase was made popular by the Jesuit's founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola. But I did not know that it was a phrase incorporated into the signature of Pope John Paul II. Or that J. S. Bach wrote the phrase on all his compositions.

Speaking of good company, in today's Second Reading (1 Corinthains 10:31-11:1), St. Paul issues us this exact challenge:

Brothers and sisters, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God ... Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

So we are left with a simple question today: Whose glory do you live for?

Sure, this is a big-picture question. It frames why we live and how we live. But I think sometimes AMDG is even more valuable when we take it small-scale. It can shape our habits and interactions such that, when in class, at work, in the grocery store, at the gym -- and dare I say it, on the road, in the car -- that we truly aspire to live for the greater glory of God.

When I was in high school, I wrote these four letters on my papers and in my notebook. And in nearly every email I send, I write these four letters under my name. Maybe it can get trite that way, but my hope -- especially in taking the time to type the letters (and not just include them in an automatic signature line) -- is to shape even my emails for the greater glory of God. I have to tell you, I've changed the content of some of those notes just to keep it congruent with what those letters mean.

And that's what AMDG and today's reading are about: a reminder about WHY we live and HOW we live it. Let our prayer this day be that all we think, say, and do will be for the greater glory of God.

Amen!