Thursday, June 19, 2008

A Beautiful Gift

For those who may not know, I entered the Catholic Church this year during Easter Vigil. It was a wonderful experience and I had the opportunity to meet many people who were able to enrich my knowledge and help me grow in my faith. Throughout the experience, I was given many gifts from the church and from individual people. Rosaries, scrap books, medals, books, plants, scapulars, etc. etc. etc. were some of the many gifts that I received during this time. I am so grateful to everyone for their generosity. But my favorite gift of all is my subscription to "Magnificat" magazine.

Although I am sure that many of my fellow Catholics are familiar with it, I had never heard of it until I was given a copy by one of the wonderful women who were helping to teach RCIA. I LOVE this little magazine. For those who are not familiar with it, it is so small that it can easily slip inside your purse but it contains SO MUCH information to help you grow in your prayer and faith life. There are entries for each day the contain a morning prayer, hymn, psalm readings, OT and NT readings, Gospel Readings, Intercessions, Mass section, Meditation of the Day (kinda like a Homily)and Evening Prayer and Saints of Today and Yesterday section. WOW!!! It is a powerful tool.

I know that one of the criticisms of Catholics by some of our Protestant brothers and sisters is that we do not spend enough time studying Scripture. I have to be honest. I do not spend as much time reading my Bible as I would like to. I have a million excuses - children, husband, home, yard, cats, dogs, work, cooking, shopping, illness, etc. That is why I love and value the Liturgical Calendar. (IMHO, I think that those Christians who don't follow a true liturgical calendar are missing out on alot. But again, that is only my opinion.) As long as I follow the Liturgical Calendar, I can make sure that I meet my basic spiritual needs. The Magnificat Magazine makes following the Liturgical Calendar so incredibly easy for me as a busy wife and mother. If I don't get to read everything for the day and I have a doctor's appt. or something like that, I can easily slip it into my purse. It's like having a copy of the Bible, "Chicken Soup for the Soul", and a prayer book all rolled into one portable little book. I strongly encourage you to try the Magnificat if you haven't already. A one-year subscription is a bit pricey (apx $40.00 I believe) but it is really worth it and I will be continuing my subscription after my gift runs out.

Have a wonderful Day!! :)

4 comments:

a soldier's wife said...

I love Magnificat :) Even though my children are older, since we are still learning, they have magnifikids as well....in fact, I confess to reading that one too and liking it.

When I first joined the Catholic Spitfire Grill, it was suggested to me, and it's great for daily reading too for me!

KitKat said...

Oh I haven't subscribed to Magnifikid yet for my kiddos but I was REALLY thinking about it. I think that I am going to go ahead and get it for my kiddos. My (currently) youngest DD is going into second grade, so I am sure that she would love it. And my soon to be 4th grader reads my Magnificat, but I am sure that she would like something geared more for kids too. Thanks for the tip! :)

Tracy said...

I think I will get this for my husband (and me too) he joined the church in April of this year!! Sounds like a wonderful little book that would be beneficial to both of us.. thank you for telling about it, I had never heard of it:)

Erika S. said...

I really like the Magnificat Magazine. I have not been a subscriber since moving to Japan as I do not know if it would reach me in time. I am also happy to Welcome you to the Catholic Church! What a great thing!
Pax Christi,
Erika