The Devotional Struggle
For most of my life as a Christian I struggled with how to best achieve a regular, meaningful devotional time:
- Several times I read through the Bible in a year. The Bible tells a story, and it is a wonderful blessing to read that story from beginning to end, but that is not a realistic approach year after year.
- I read spiritual books. Again, every Christian should regularly do this, but it wasn’t really what I considered a devotional time.
- For many years I used a small daily devotional guide called Our Daily Bread, which each day provides a verse or two followed by a short meditation by a variety of Christian writers. I really liked it, but it lacked any continuity between the readings, so it was basically just random thoughts on the Scriptures, and it only took a few minutes to complete.
- After I became a Catholic, I learned about the Liturgy of the Hours used by deacons, priests, and religious throughout the world. I tried it, and found it is so complicated I only lasted one day.
The Solution - Magnificat
When a friend introduced me to the Magnificat publication, my devotional life exploded. The core content is the readings and prayers for the Mass that day. I am a visual person, so I get much more from reading something than from hearing it. The Old Testament, New Testament, Psalm, and Gospel readings all relate to each other, and I often discern connections at home that I might not get during the Mass. When I have read the readings and prayed the prayers at home, I get much more out of them during the Mass.
So Much More!
In addition to the daily readings and prayers, Magnificat offers an amazing variety of inspiring content that greatly helps me with prayerful meditation:
You can purchase the current edition of Magnificat at most Catholic parish gift shops.
Subscribe at Magnificat.net
Paper and Digital $49/year
Digital Only $19.99/year
Digital access starts immediately, while the paper edition starts a month or two later.
Trial Offer - https://bookstore.magnificat.net/trialoffer
3 Months of Paper and Digital for $10
This is a great way to give Magnificat a try to see if you like it!
For most of my life as a Christian I struggled with how to best achieve a regular, meaningful devotional time:
- Several times I read through the Bible in a year. The Bible tells a story, and it is a wonderful blessing to read that story from beginning to end, but that is not a realistic approach year after year.
- I read spiritual books. Again, every Christian should regularly do this, but it wasn’t really what I considered a devotional time.
- For many years I used a small daily devotional guide called Our Daily Bread, which each day provides a verse or two followed by a short meditation by a variety of Christian writers. I really liked it, but it lacked any continuity between the readings, so it was basically just random thoughts on the Scriptures, and it only took a few minutes to complete.
- After I became a Catholic, I learned about the Liturgy of the Hours used by deacons, priests, and religious throughout the world. I tried it, and found it is so complicated I only lasted one day.
The Solution - Magnificat
When a friend introduced me to the Magnificat publication, my devotional life exploded. The core content is the readings and prayers for the Mass that day. I am a visual person, so I get much more from reading something than from hearing it. The Old Testament, New Testament, Psalm, and Gospel readings all relate to each other, and I often discern connections at home that I might not get during the Mass. When I have read the readings and prayed the prayers at home, I get much more out of them during the Mass.
So Much More!
In addition to the daily readings and prayers, Magnificat offers an amazing variety of inspiring content that greatly helps me with prayerful meditation:
- Dear Friends: Each Magnificat opens with a greeting from editor-in-chief Father Sebastian White, O.P., addressing an important aspect of that month's Magnificat.
- Editorial: An insightful article of spiritual significance by Fr. White.
- Blessings: Centered on the liturgical season or a significant feast within the month, special blessings and prayers are provided to enrich your daily prayer.
- Hymn of the Month and Marian Antiphon: An ancient hymn, presented in Latin and translated into English, to share the Church's rich tradition of chant and liturgical music, accompanied by a Marian Antiphon, also presented in Latin and translated into English.
- Prayer at Night: Traditionally a short prayer with fewer variations than the Prayers for Morning and Evening, people often pray it immediately before retiring for the night, and families/groups can pray it together.
- Daily Prayers for Morning and Evening: Prayers inspired by the Liturgy of the Hours – the prayers recited by deacons, priests, and religious throughout the world. This is a simple way to join the Church's daily rhythm of prayer with psalms, hymns, canticles, readings, intercessions, and prayers – all adapted to the liturgical seasons and feasts.
- Meditation of the Day: A meditation on the Gospel or the theme of the day from Fathers of the Church, saints, great spiritual writers, popes, and contemporary authors.
- Art Commentaries: Each month Magnificat provides two art commentaries—a short reflection on the cover by founding publisher Pierre-Marie Dumont, and an in-depth art history article detailing a second piece of art presented in the back of the issue.
- Saint Who? This is one of my favorites! Each month has a topic, such as: Saints who heard a call late in life; Saints who were artists; etc. I read this just before I am going to turn out the light and go to sleep. While some of the great saints are included, I am especially inspired by the stories of the saints I have never heard of before, and the many ways our endlessly creative God calls people to serve His Kingdom for His Glory.
- Essays: These are spiritual writings from monthly contributors such as Bishop Robert Barron, Father Richard Veras, Professor Anthony Esolen, blogger Heather King, and more, who share their personal experiences or give us a deeper insight into the beauty of Catholicism.
You can purchase the current edition of Magnificat at most Catholic parish gift shops.
Subscribe at Magnificat.net
Paper and Digital $49/year
Digital Only $19.99/year
Digital access starts immediately, while the paper edition starts a month or two later.
Trial Offer - https://bookstore.magnificat.net/trialoffer
3 Months of Paper and Digital for $10
This is a great way to give Magnificat a try to see if you like it!