The Magnificat Mindset

Time and time again I've found myself thinking, "Why am I like this?" Yes, the exhaustion, pain, loss, anxiety, and busyness were certainly real, but so were God, my family, my boyfriend, and so many other things I've prayed for. So when my word of the year for 2024 popped up as "Grateful", my reaction was one of, "ohhhh..... yeah. That makes sense." The attitude of pessimism needs to turn into an attitude of gratitude.

The solution to pessimism, discontentment, impatience, annoyance, busyness, and so many other things, is gratitude.

And the cool part? The word Eucharist means "Thanksgiving." Gratitude. Looking to Him is the solution to all of those things. Eucharist is just as much of my word of the year as grateful is, and I'm so excited to dive deeper into gratefulness and the mystery of the Eucharist.

I'm looking to imitate Mamma Mary's worship in my own. In her beautiful Magnificat, part of what Mary sings is,

"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. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name."

Mamma's worship and glorification of God flow from a place of gratefulness. She knows that nothing that is happening to her is for anyone but God and His purpose for her life and the world. This overflow of beautiful gratitude occurs when she is carrying Jesus, the Eucharist, present in her womb, His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. The same Jesus we receive at each Mass. Gratitude shouldn't just be a fleeting thought; it should be a song sung constantly, rejoicing in the mystery of Christ in the Eucharist, present in me.

Just as Mary's grateful song was born from the miracle within her, our own constant hymn of praise can begin at the altar. Following the example of St. Zita, who happens to be my saint of the year, we can bring a spirit of gratitude and worship into even the busiest days with quiet prayers of praise, turning every task, every challenge, into a whispered prayer of gratitude for the Eucharist we carry within us, just as Mary carried Jesus.

Zita spent her entire life as a maid for a wealthy family, obtaining holiness through her attendance of daily Mass and her dedication to her daily tasks. She is the patroness of homemakers, maids, and bakers. She once famously said, "A servant is not holy if she is not busy." With my upcoming (last!!) semester coming up and looking like it will be much busier than the last, St. Zita gives me hope that through everything I'm cramming into each day, God will work in me and use everything He can to make me holy. I think of Zita, working long, hard days, sustained only by her constant internal song of praise to the Lord who'd she received just hours before.

I hope you'll join me on this journey of gratefulness and worship as we enter 2024, and I encourage you to check out Jen Fulwiler's Word of the Year and Saint of the Year generators and discern where God is calling you to grow this year. May He bless you and your families as we begin this new year!