8th General Retreat

My soul magnifies the Lord

Introduction to the General Managers’ Conference

In this time blessed by the Lord He strongly invites us to reflect on what it means to call ourselves Magnificat Community.

And just as we have contemplated Mary in these years as a model to be imitated, so now we want to listen to the prophetic word of the Magnificat canticle in order to ask ourselves again: What does this mean for the Community and for each of us? What do we need to do to put into practice what the Holy Spirit wanted to tell us by giving us this name?

For the Bible, in fact, the name characterizes the person, defines the essence of the person: to have a name is to mean something. The name distinguishes the person from others and becomes a significant part of his or her personality. When God gives or changes someone’s name, it has a prophetic meaning and means that he takes possession of the person’s life. By changing the name of Abram, Sarai, Jacob and Simon, God takes over their person, their life, in his plan.

When the Lord gave us this name He wanted to tell us our identity, our mission, His plan for us.

So let us continue our journey of contemplation, letting Mary guide us, step by step, and lead us to see our deepest identity, the one that God has always intended for us by giving us Magnificat as a name, so that like Her, we can rejoice and say My soul magnifies the Lord.