Media Release

Mangaluru, Apr 30: At the international level, MAG+S began in France (1997), as an initiative of the Global Society of Jesus to prepare young people for the World Youth Day celebrations, but it was in Cologne Germany, (2005) that it got its name, becoming an official gathering. Later in Spain, MAG+S developed the robust and lively format that has been used in the subsequent gatherings of Ignatian Youth and Youth Animators.

The Karnataka Jesuit Province has brought MAG+S to Mangaluru this year, and the hosts at St Aloysius couldn`t have been happier. Fr Felix Victor SJ the campus minister and co-ordinator from the college expressed how a whiff of excitement filled the air the moment he began setting up his core team. The word MAG+S with a (+) sign indicates the element of Generosity very central to Ignatian Spirituality. It stands for More in the pursuit of Being as well as doing. A common catchphrase pilgrims have developed is ‘Be Alive – Be MAG+S’. It also draws our attention to the cross of Christ, a banner under which St Ignatius of Loyola served for the Greater Glory of God. This year serves as the Quincentenary of the spiritual transformation of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order. A nobleman whose search for more meaning in life took him from the court of earthly kings to the pilgrim pathways whereby one discovers God in service to the anawims of society.

Being a pilgrim and going on pilgrimages are metaphors for the spiritual journey each person undertakes during one’s lifetime. This requires courage – courage to leave the familiar for the unknown, trusting in the goodness of others and the providence of God. It becomes an encounter of persons and places, putting up with difficulties and inconveniences which invariably leave lifelong lessons. Moreover, the journey requires sharing and support: sooner than you know it, strangers turn into companions…. And so, MAG+S Karnataka is meant to be that pilgrimage where hundreds of young-adults from different parts of the state undertake a spiritual journey to encounter the divine.

MAG+S is also a time where the one gets a chance to experience Ignatian spirituality in a way that they haven`t before. This spirituality is a powerful way to live one’s life and faith in a deeper way, to make better choices, and to have a greater sense of walking with the outcasts of the world, with heightened ecological sensitivity, and with discerned choices in the creation of a hope filled future.

The inaugural of this three day residential program will take place in the exquisite chapel dedicated to the heir of the Marquis of Castiglione St. Aloysius Gonzaga (patron of the youth). Bishop of Mangalore Dr Peter Paul Saldanha and the provincial of the Karnataka Jesuit Province will be there to inspire the youth. In the days that will follow, pilgrims will be introduced to the 5 pillars of MAG+S through which they will carve their own pathways to God. These 5 pillars are crucial to MAG+S which according to Fr Joyson Vas SJ, one of the co-ordinators is ‘not an event but an experience’.

- Morning Offering – Based on the Ignatian method of Imaginative prayer is the pillar of prayer
- The Ignatian Immersion – Where pilgrims will reach out to others in service is the pillar of Action
- The Holy Eucharist – where one encounters Jesus as the centre of lives is the pillar of relationship
- The Examen – An Ignatian method of deepening ones daily encounters is the pillar of reflection
- The MAG+S circle – where pilgrims listen without judgement and share their joys and sorrows is the pillar of dialogue.

What had started in 2011, as an assembly of Catholic Youth and Youth Animators in the South Asian Assistancy, has now become a flagship Ignatian Youth movement, locally inserted, and drawing each one to see all things new in Christ.