“Magnanimity by its very name denotes stretching forth of the soul to great things” (St. Thomas Aquinas).

I have felt called for some time, and I suspect some of you have, too.

This calling sometimes manifests itself as a gnawing sense that there is something more or something different that I should be doing. Even with an already full calendar of business meetings, philanthropic commitments, and caregiving responsibilities, do you also experience that feeling?

While watching the 2019 commencement address Bishop Robert Barron gave at Thomas Aquinas College, I heard something that caught my attention, and I think I learned what my calling is about. The theme of the address was the virtue of magnanimity, as explained by St. Thomas Aquinas about 800 years ago.

“Magnanimity” was a word that I could not define and could not pronounce. Then, I heard the saint’s moving description of it: the “stretching forth of the soul to great things.”

His words resonated with me.

Stretching Forth

We understand “stretching forth” in physical, mental, and emotional ways. It’s the sprint we didn’t think we still had in us before we rounded the last turn and saw the finish line. It’s the countless hours we spent after closing time analyzing balance sheets and forecasts. It’s the patience we exhibit to people who seem not to heed our direction and create more work. We know how to stretch forth in uncomfortable ways: It’s when we dig deep.

They all can be hard things, but what about “great things”?

Great Things

St. Thomas Aquinas tells us a lot about great things in his “Summa Theologica.” For starters, they are great moral acts. More specifically, they are acts for which a person would rightly deserve honor, because they are particularly difficult to perform.

In his commencement address, Bishop Barron offers some examples, such as living up to the dignity of our calling, performing corporal and spiritual acts of mercy, sanctifying our families, and being what the Church is supposed to be in the world. It sounds to me like this is the “hard stuff” — the stuff that is easier to turn away from.

Perhaps there is something that will help us grow more comfortable with doing the hard stuff, whether we spend most hours in a relatively quiet office setting (these days, it may be in our homes) or in a bustling hospital emergency room, where there may be multiple opportunities to test one’s ability to do great moral acts.

The Saints Explain Love

Throughout his life, St. Thomas Aquinas never stopped asking the question, “What is God?” We know that “God is love” (1 John 4:16), which leads us to the question, “What is love?”

“Love is willing the good of the other as other,” St. Thomas Aquinas answers.

This love is not the love we give to others because they are similar to us or because our business interests align. It is the Biblical, challenging love that pushes us to extend a hand when we would rather leave, to speak gently even when we are frustrated, and to speak the truth when denial would be so much easier.

“I don’t do great things. I do small things with great love” is a quote commonly attributed to St. Teresa of Calcutta. In her humility, she may have denied having done great things — but we know that, in sum, they were. Similarly, St. Thérèse of Lisieux (after whom Mother Teresa chose her name) said, “What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love.” If a young woman living a quiet life in the late 1800s could inspire thousands after her, including Mother Teresa, great things may be at hand for each of us.

Furthermore, we can see from Scripture that even if we perform the highest moral acts, we cannot answer the call to live a magnanimous life if we do not include love: “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). Great things are only great if they are done with love.

Start With the Everyday Acts

We can start by adding love to the regular acts we engage in professionally and personally. Although these everyday acts, such as how we communicate and negotiate with others, may not seem to amount to much, consistent practice will ultimately make a difference.

This practice will prepare us to meet those moments when being able to act with love, the giving-when-we-don’t-want-to-give kind of love, is necessary in order to do something that is particularly difficult, such as to forgive, to grant mercy, and to sacrifice.

Live Magnanimously

Bishop Barron concludes his address with the direction to go out with confidence using our tools, such as education, business experience, communication skills, family support, saintly models, and Scripture, and live magnanimously.

Having now learned what “magnanimous” means, I keep in mind the stirring image of the soul stretching forth. Since we are “meant for the journey into God,” as St. Thomas Aquinas said, it is natural that we hear the continuous call to do something more, something different — to do great things with great love.

Linda A. Burrows is an attorney specializing in trust and estate law in southern California. She studied journalism at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and law at Pepperdine, and is currently pursuing a masters in tax law at Georgetown. Linda is the founder of Soul Soda, a non-profit with the mission of refreshing faith in those, particularly Catholics, who are feeling disconnected from their religious roots. She is a wife and mother of three teens. Linda’s Confirmation name was that of St. Gabriel the Archangel.