By Thea Jarvis

Magnificat, a unique, person-to-person ministry for Catholic women, will make its debut in the archdiocese of Atlanta this spring.

Begun in the archdiocese of New Orleans with a breakfast gathering of 200 women over 10 years ago, Magnificat provides an opportunity for a shared meal, prayer, fellowship and a speaker who relates her own spiritual journey.

Olga Myers, who has been authorized by Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, to coordinate the ministry in north Georgia, attended her first Magnificat breakfast while visiting her sister in Florida in 1990. She said she was “amazed at the way (women) were moved” by the simple, straightforward experience, in spite of differences in age, background and spiritual direction.

“I knew any woman would feel comfortable there, no matter where she was in her spirituality,” she recalled.

A former teacher and director of religious education at Corpus Christi Church in Stone Mountain, Mrs. Myers spent 10 years interacting with children and their families, often hearing “the pain, the struggle” people faced in trying to live a faith-filled life.

The Magnifact meal is an effective outreach, she said, because it is welcoming, non-threatening, neutral ground, particularly for Catholic women who have been wounded in some way by the church or who no longer feel a close relationship with God.

“They haven’t lost their faith,” Mrs. Myers believes. They are “just directing it differently.”

She understands that the role Magnificat plays is essentially a Marian one of submission to God’s will. The breakfast does not claim to be a path to righteousness and salvation, only the ground where God can touch hearts.

“The whole thing is to help women grow in holiness,” Mrs. Myers said. “How (women) do that is up to God. All we do is provide a place for God to work. The rest God will do by his presence there.”

The first Magnificat breakfast, which will take place at All Saints Church in Dunwoody on Saturday, May 2, will follow a three-hour format. Tables of 10 women will enjoy fellowship, a buffet breakfast, time for prayer and remembrance of special intentions and the personal witness of Mary Welch Rogers.

Mrs. Rogers, a parishioner at the Cathedral of Christ the King, is a contemporary Christian music artist nationally known for her music ministry.

A maximum of 200 women can attend the first breakfast, one of several to be held this year. Too many gatherings are discouraged, Mrs. Myers explained, because it would take women away from their time in the home, church and workplace.

The sacrament of reconciliation will be available at the breakfast for those who have been away from the sacrament for some time. All priests of the archdiocese are invited to attend.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, a presentation tea at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Atlanta will introduce Magnificat’s Joyful Visitation chapter to the area. The tea will be offered for those who can give their time and talent to the Magnificat ministry. A Jan. 18 meeting at Corpus Christi Church is also planned for parish representatives and contact persons.

Magnificat is a solidly Catholic ministry, born out of the Catholic charismatic renewal, and has been a focus for unity among women in the church, Mrs. Myers said.

Its statutes were written in accord with canon law under the guidance of Monsignor John Amos, JCD, chancellor of the archdiocese of Mobile. The ministry was approved for the archdiocese of Atlanta by Archbishop Lyke, who appointed Father William Hickey as spiritual advisor.

Father Hickey, parochial vicar of Corpus Christi Church, appreciates the joyful approach of Magnificat ministry.

“It’s not inflicting guilt,” he said, but “meeting people where they’re at,” like Mary did when she visited Elizabeth.

He called Magnificat “marketplace” evangelization, with “a sense of greeting and hospitality.”

Mrs. Myers said she felt supported by the Church in moving ahead with local Magnificat, a process she said has been slow and cautious.

“The key to the whole ministry is prayer. It’s the only way you can know God’s will,” she believes.

There are currently 12 chapters of Magnificat in the U.S. and beyond its borders. Many more chapters are in the formation process, according to Mrs. Myers.

A wife and mother of three grown children, she is quick to emphasize that Magnificat can ease the burden both married and single women bear, and in so doing ease the burdens of their families.

“What happens to women through this ministry will have a great effect on men,” she said. Marriages will grow, family relationships will be bettered.

The recent history of the archdiocese and the current prominence of the area as site of the 1996 Olympics makes it an ideal place for God to work, Mrs. Myers said candidly. Her reticence to proceed on her own, without a firm foundation in prayer and discernment, means she is “really stepping out in faith,” trusting that the ministry is in God’s hands.

“Everyone has a story about how God has touched us,” she said. The Magnificat ministry rests on the belief that “God’s presence will radiate through each of us and reach out to another.”

“If you are a Christbearer, someone else will recognize the Christ in you and respond. Women are open to allow that to happen.”

To learn more about Magnificat or to inquire about the Presentation Tea or Joyful Visitation breakfast, contact Jan Nerone at 469-2085 or Olga Myers at 404/775-3783.

Magnificat The Song Of Mary

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant, and from this day all generations will call me blessed. The Almighty has done great things for me: holy is His name. He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. He has shown the strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.