Our Magnificat International Leaders' Conference is fast approaching and there is excitement in the air. Oh how we look forward to being with each of you. When we think of you we can't help but recall the Scripture which reads:

  

"We give thanks to God always for all of you remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father..."

1 Thessalonians 1:2

  

We are so grateful to you, chosen ones, for your commitment to Magnificat, and we so long to see each of you at the Conference. Safe travels. You are in our daily prayers. Come Holy Spirit!  

God bless you, 



Kathy MacInnis, Coordinator

Central Service Team

Office of Readings

Second Reading

From the autobiography of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, virgin

In the heart of the Church I will be love

Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of St. Paul in the hope of finding an answer. By chance the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand. Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace. 

I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will now show you the way which surpasses all others. For the apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind. 

When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognized myself in none of the members which St. Paul described, and what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favorably within the whole body. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realized that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting. 

Then, nearly ecstatic with supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly I have found my proper place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction. 

Fr. Kevin Scallon,  our CST Spiritual Advisor for the past 16 years, will be retiring from this role on October 4, 2017. We are very grateful to Fr. Kevin for his prayers and wisdom, for the Masses he said for Magnificat's intentions each week, for his inspiring Newsletter articles, wonderful Irish humor and too many other contributions to list! We can never thank him enough for his love and dedication to the ministry from the beginning, over 35 years ago!

We are delighted Fr. Kevin is one of the nineteen contributing authors in our second book in the Magnificat Proclaims series called Holy Orders, A Collection of Inspiring Clergy Testimonies. To read more about the life of this very special man, treat yourself to this amazing book which debuts at our Conference this October.

After much prayer and discernment, the CST offered this important role to  Msgr. David Toups, Rector and President of the St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, FL. Msgr. Toups whole-heartedly accepted the invitation to become our new CST Spiritual Advisor and will assume this role on October 5, 2017, feast day of St. Faustina and the opening of the Magnificat Conference. 

We praise God for both of these holy & generous priests and ask that you keep them in your prayers.

We are grateful to God for sending our ministry such a holy and vibrant priest as our new Spiritual Advisor. Monsignor David L. Toups, S.T.D. is the Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. Ordained in 1997 for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Msgr. Toups holds a B.A. in philosophy from St. John Vianney College Seminary, Miami; an S.T.L. in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome and an S.T.D. in theology from the Angelicum, Rome. He previously served as parochial vicar, seminary professor and dean of students at St. Vincent de Paul and served as the Associate Director of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. He is the author of numerous articles as well as the 2008 book “Reclaiming Our Priestly Character”, his doctoral thesis, published by the Institute for Priestly Formation. 

We are thrilled that he was born and raised in Houma, Louisiana, since Metairie, Louisiana, is the birthplace of this ministry. He is a “cradle charismatic” because both of his parents were involved in the Renewal early on and “life in the Spirit” was his way of life growing up. His mother’s favorite Scripture verse is Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” He recommends this verse highly, especially for mothers. After high school, his parents sent him on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje and Rome. It was in Medjugorje that he had a conversion or turning point in his life during the Sacrament of Reconciliation there. He said the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a huge fruit of Medjugorje. He feels his Baptism in the Spirit came during his pilgrimage. During college at Florida Southern University he started attending daily Mass and was feeling the call to the priesthood. He entered the seminary in Miami, FL “just to try it out." After years of theological study, confirmation from his superiors and fervent prayer and discernment confirmed his true calling to the priesthood, he was ordained in 1997. During his priestly formation, twice he was sent to Rome for studies. While there, he was blessed to be in the presence of St. John Paul II and also St. Teresa of Calcutta who frequented Rome. What tremendous blessings awaited him there! At the conclusion of his testimony at the “Christ Our Light” Palm Beach Chapter of Magnificat, he gave four points for the spiritual life. 1. Trust in the Lord, 2. Prayer, Mass, Adoration, 3. Marian Receptivity - Rosary, and 4. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. He concluded with a beautiful Scripture, Revelations 22:17. “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come.” We are so blessed to have this joyful priest as our new Spiritual Advisor!

Mother of the Word Service Team of Greenville, SC had been sensing for years a calling to invite teen girls and younger women to experience the Holy Spirit at a Magnificat Meal. They prayed and asked the Lord how to bring this prayer of their heart to fruition.

A year after their first meal, a Magnificat sister, suggested Brenda Sharman, a National Spokesperson for ‘Pure Fashion’, an international faith based program designed for girls 14-18 to help young women re-discover and re-affirm their innate value and authentic femininity. Pure Fashion encourages teen girls to live, act, and dress in accordance with their dignity as children of God. 

The Service Team listened to the CD of Brenda’s testimony from a previous Magnificat meal and the rest is history! They knew Brenda was the answer to their prayer. Brenda Sharman lives in Atlanta, GA, just three hours from Greenville, SC. 

The Service Team planned the “Mother-Daughter” meal around the beginning of the new school year. Many young girls would not be too involved with activities yet and could come to the Meal. They decided to make this a dinner event instead of a breakfast so the young girls could come. Though they knew the dinner would be more expensive, they kept the price the same as the breakfast so everyone who wanted to attend could indeed come.

Mothers and grandmothers brought their daughter and granddaughters. The speaker, Brenda Sharman, spoke to girls’ ages 12 and up, as well as to all different ages about modesty and preventing attachment to Social Media. She shared her testimony of her life as a professional model and Miss Georgia, USA, before and after becoming a Catholic. She inspired us with her inner and outer beauty by helping us to realize the gift of our femininity and the love that the Lord has for each one of us. 

The music by Wendy Curtis and friends led us all into a heart of worship and openness to hearing the message. Every table had young girls present. Some even brought two or three daughters. Many of these mothers were first time attendees. There was a positive response following the event from each of the daughters and their moms. They commented, “It was awesome!” “I really enjoyed it!” When asked if they would like to return, they responded, “Absolutely!” One girl even said if they decided to have a “Daughters of Magnificat” day, that she would love to share how the Lord had intervened in her life recently in a major way. Wow! We could not ask for anything more than that! 

Mother of the Word Service Team gives all the praise and glory to Our Lord, Jesus and His Mother Mary for all the mercies and graces that were poured out that evening. 

The Pittsburgh Chapter held their Magnificat meal this summer at the Historic ‘Omni William Penn’ Hotel. The meal coincided with the National Jubilee Conference, ‘Rivers of Living Water.’ held at the Pittsburgh Convention Center just a few blocks away.

The Pittsburgh Service Team did an outstanding job organizing the luncheon to a capacity of 350 guests, open to both woman and men. It was a packed ballroom. Many of our Magnificat sisters from around the country attending the National Jubilee Conference also helped at the meal with setup and as Hostesses, Greeters and Prayer Ministers. The CST members were also present. 

 

Susan Potvin from Steubenville, Ohio was the guest speaker. She is the leader of ‘Living Praise’ who provided the Praise and Worship at the meal, so we were doubly blessed. Susan asked the audience if any of their lives were touched by an addiction in their family and so many people raised their hand. Many were blessed to hear Susan’s story of her son and what they went through with his addiction. God was faithful and brought them through it. Susan’s story gave many people hope. Along with Susan’s invitation to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Tom Sparacino, the Chapter’s Spiritual Advisor, had a powerful prophetic word from the Lord. 

Mary Samsa, the Chapter Coordinator did a commendable job, condensing a three-hour meal into two hours, due to the Conference schedule. 

Many attended the Meal for their first time and several women said they would like to start new Chapters in their areas.” It was a wonderful day; the room was beautiful, the food was delicious, the music was heavenly, and the testimony was inspiring!”

Conference registration is close to maxing out.

As long as there is availability, registration will remain open until

September 23rd 

Click Here  for details and to register

Don't forget to book a shuttle to/from the hotel/airport

 using our conference discounts

  Click Here  to book your shuttle 

The conference room rate ended on September 5th,

but rooms are still available at the regular rate.

  Click Here   to reserve your room



Need help?  Contact Michelle Seghers at [email protected]

Our Central Office in Metairie has recently received a little do-it-yourself TLC with the help of family and friends. We prepared to move the Logo Store back from Texas and added part-time employee, Sheila Casadaban, to help Jill and Cindy with the added work. Welcome aboard, Sheila! Those of you attending the Conference will have an opportunity to meet her!

The office was updated by removing wallpaper, adding a fresh coat of paint, and adding new donated window blinds. We kept all of the special pictures that were hanging on the walls, such as the picture of Fr. Harold Cohen blessing the Divine Mercy Image and the large Our Lady of Guadalupe picture. We also decided to use the posters from all of the past conferences as a display through the halls, reminding us of all our past blessings. Finally, we added a special section for all of the logo items, making our store even more organized and efficient. We are so happy with the new look and the extra space. It makes our work days even more pleasant and serves as a tangible reminder of the beautiful work that continues to be accomplished through Magnificat.

Magnificat has been a daily companion to thousands on their spiritual journey, enriching their prayer life and helping them grow in love and knowledge of Christ and the Church. 

Every subscription to this lovely Mass and prayer guide directly benefits our Ministry domestically and worldwide. 

Regular Edition: first subscription $44.95; second subscription $35; and subsequent subscriptions $29; Large Print Edition: first subscription $64.95; second subscription $55; and subsequent subscriptions $49.

Magnificat  P. O. Box 822, Yonkers, NY 10702 

(866) 273-5215

www.magnificat.net/english/