I’ve tried a number of things in the years since I’ve been Catholic. I have subscribed to devotionals and done online retreats and readings. I have a Bible that has meditations in it, and I have many reflective books. There has been the sit-down-and-pray-the-rosary approach and the put-a-book-in-the-bathroom-to-read-while-I-get-ready approach.
Of all of these different tactics for accomplishing morning devotions, one thing has worked better than most. It worked so well, in fact, that I used it for years (and I’ve only been Catholic for going on six or seven years). So when I let my subscription to Magnificat lapse, using some silly excuse and justifying it by citing the many online resources I could surely use in the hours I spend staring at a computer screen, I wasn’t really worried. There was nothing to worry about; I was making a rational decision, saving us some money, and everything would be OK.
Except it wasn’t.
In the last few months since that subscription lapsed, I haven’t used those other resources with any consistency. One morning I might not have time to get online; another day I might forget. The morning might, in fact, start an hour earlier than usual, with screaming kids and frazzled me. Not having that little magazine (with the beautiful different-every-month art on the front) to lug along with me – in my purse, if need be – was a real hurdle to my morning devotions.
I’ve thought about subscribing again to Magnificat many times in the last few months. I just never have. Something has come up over and over or I’ve just plumb forgotten. But I’ve wanted to renew. Oh yes. I just haven’t.
Luckily, we had a baby to baptize late last month, thus necessitating a trip to the local Catholic bookstore (though there are as many gifts as books, so I could just as easily call it a Catholic anything-you-could-wish-for store). Wouldn’t you know, right there by the register, was a copy of the December Magnificat? And, though I still haven’t gotten online and renewed my subscription (that’s on this week’s to-do list), I have been enjoying being back in my routine of morning devotions.
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