Magificat: My Review and a Giveaway

Isn't that a beautiful picture? A picture of that painting is on the cover of the July issue of Magnificat, a monthly prayer magazine sent to me by the Catholic Company's review program. Not only does each issue have lovely artwork on the cover, but each issue also contains an article about another masterpiece. July's article is about Tobiah and the Angel, and it is timely because the Book of Tobit is being read at mass this week.

However, Magnificat is not about art, it is about prayer. This issue (and I assume all of them) contains a center section with the Order of the Mass (and it not only has the prayers in English but in Latin as well) and with ligurgy for Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction. Most of the issue however, is devoted to prayers for each day. These daily prayers come from, but are not identical to the Liturgy of the Hours. (See my previous post if you are not familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours). The day's mass readings, as well as the mass prayers that change daily, are there as well. Following the mass readings is a "Meditation of the Day". Each day's section concludes with a section titled "Saints of Today and Yesterday". Today's saints are Vietnamese martyrs who died in the mid-1800's.

My only complaint is that there is too much there. I took my copy to adoration tonite and read through today's section. It took me over 30 minutes without stopping to ponder. That can be a good thing if you are looking for a resource that lets you pick and choose--mass readings today, morning prayer tomorrow, meditation the day after.... or if you want something to use throughout the day and to be able to join your voice with that of the Church. It is a handy size to tuck in my purse to pull out when I have a minute.

GIVEAWAY: If you'd like to see if Magnificat is the resource for you, send me your name and snail mail address (US only) before June 15 and I'll have a free copy sent to you. If you like it, please order a subscription from the nice folks at the Catholic Company--the price is the same as ordering it from the publisher and we want to support Catholic bookstores, right? My email is ruthjoec (at) aoldotcom.