Magnify 90

The Journey Begins January 9, 2023!

Magnify is a 90-day retreat leading up to Easter. During this time, we actively work to empty ourselves so that the Lord can fill us up. It is often easy to be distracted or become busy in the world; this journey helps us to tune out all the noise and to make room for him. The asceticisms we offer up during this time bring us closer to Jesus by helping us grow in virtue. We journey with other women from all walks of life and grow in relationship with them as well.
Groups meet once a week to share their struggles and triumphs and to pray with one another. For those who wish to go even deeper, you can be paired with an anchor. The anchor is an accountability partner who you check in with several times a week, whether it be by going on a walk, meeting for coffee, or checking in over text.
In addition to daily readings from the Magnify 90 book, we follow a set of guidelines that include daily prayer, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, and going to adoration once a week. See below!
We hope that you will join us. For more information on Magnify 90 or to sign up for the upcoming session, please contact Jackie Shirley at jshirley@saintmichaelparish.org

Visit the national Magnify 90 site here for more on this transformative journey!

Guidelines for Magnify 90

Daily prayer of at least 30 minutes, including:

  • Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
  • Litany of Humility alternated with Litany of Trust or Rosary (mysteries, scriptural, or meditative)

Frequent sacraments

  • Monthly confessions

Daily Mass – as best as state in life allows

  • Weekly scheduled adoration
  • Listen to only uplifting, Christian, and classical music. Podcasts should only be ones that challenge you to higher virtue; if in doubt, choose silence.
  • No TV/videos except religious programming in moderation (such as formed.org)

Spiritual Activities

  •  Identify a person daily to offer your mortification for and pray for this person by name
  • Go out of your way to contact people that come to mind in prayer time. God brought them to your mind for a reason.
  • Go for intentional walks with a friend/husband/etc. — Jesus was always walking with others
  • Don’t consume sweets and alcohol, and don’t snack between meals.
  • Fridays are a day of meatless fasting (2 smaller meals).
  • No weighing on the scale (unless required by a doctor).
    When we weigh ourselves, with no true medical need, we are yet again chaining ourselves to attachments of this world. There may also be a temptation to see the Magnify 90 fasts as a way to lose weight…of course this wouldn’t be our motivation, but it should be seen as a silver lining. This is not what we want to have tempting us in the back of our mind! Stay off the scale.
  • Participate in no social media (discern if necessary for your job on a professional level).
  • Avoid non-essential purchases; stick to food and toiletries.
    No home goods, shoes, clothes, etc. that aren’t absolutely essential. Basically no unnecessary shopping.
  • No make-up worn on Wednesdays and Fridays; the traditional days of fasting. Simple appearance on the other days: minimal accessories/make-up.
  • Sundays and Solemnities may be lesser in self-denial. If there is a major life or sacramental celebration during the 90 days, prayerfully discern if God is asking you to take a brief reprieve or small allowance from your planned mortifications to be united in celebrating with others.

Credit: Brown, Kaylene. Magnify: Pursuing Virtue as a Feminine Genius, Mag90.Com, Lenexa, KS, 2020, pp. xiii-xiv.