Review of Magnificat Magazine - May Issue

I was recently privileged enough to be given the opportunity to review books for The Catholic Company. The first review I chose to write was on Magnificat Magazine. For the uninitiated, Magnificat is a monthly publication that contains the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Morning, Evening and Night Prayers of the Church, as well as the Mass readings for every day of the month. It also contains the order of the Mass so it functions as a wonderful missal to take everywhere. In this issue there was also a lovely meditation on the Holy Family based on a piece of artwork.

I absolutely loved the format of the book. It is incredibly easy to use with little need for flipping pages once you find the current day's prayers. It was edifying to see that some of the prayers were in Latin and that there was chant included as well. It is small enough to fit in a purse (or diaper bag) and while the cover is a big flimsy (my own was bent within a week) there are sturdier, permanent covers one can purchase advertised right in the book.

My hope was that as a busy mother of three I would be able to use this as a springboard for a better, more regular prayer life. My husband prays the traditional Divine Office and while I don't always find it convenient, I admire greatly his devotion and the quiet time he takes multiple times a day. Alas, it does not seem to be the prayer for me due to my own failings. I am a perfectionist and find it hard to settle into this kind of routine. If I miss a morning prayer, instead of starting later or just skipping to the next, I am likely to just scrap the whole day.

So while I would very happily purchase Magnificat for anyone interested in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, I am sad to say that I cannot overcome my own difficulty with this type of prayer.