Tips for Magnify, Fiat, and Exodus 90

Some practical observations on deploying big-time penitential programs.

My sister called me up last week and asked, “Have you ever heard of Magnify 90?”

“Nope. But is it the girl version of Exodus 90?”

Bingo. Her parish is doing that pair of programs beginning Jan 1, which this year is precisely the start for an Easter finish. If you aren’t familiar with any of these, they are ninety-day plans of self-mortification and spiritual edification, designed to be carried out in a group or accountability-partner format.

My sister was looking for a partner, and I told her I’d do it (sight unseen) as long as she was good with me making tweaks to the prescribed plan as-needed. She agreed.

Since these rather ambitious 90-day programs are apparently popping up all over the place, I thought I’d run through a few practicalities to consider when deploying such a thing in a group setting.

Orthodox vs. Catholic Style Penance (These Days)

One of the challenges to a strict and extensive set of prescribed penances is that most Catholics don’t have much experience with them. We are used to an approach where the Church sets very minimal requirements, and it is up to the individual to add additional prayer, fasting, and good works, per his or her state in life.

In contrast, among my Orthodox friends, it’s the other way around: The general requirements for, say, a Lenten fast, are incredibly strict — but then you meet with your pastor and discuss your state in life, and receive a set of instructions on how you, personally, should observe the fast. Quite often this involves lightening the load, based on health needs, spiritual maturity, and any other concerns.

In adopting wholesale a major plan of mortification, you absolutely have to make the mindset shift. That doesn’t mean you can’t do hard things; it does mean that you have to get serious about discerning which hard things God is asking you to do, and which are valuable spiritual tools better undertaken by someone else.

In a group setting, follow the cardinal rule of Orthodox fasting: “Keep your eyes on your own plate.”

It’s absolutely imperative for spiritual health that group members and individuals don’t compare themselves either to each other nor to the program-as-written.

Nor is it even all that valuable to compare yourself to your own individualized plan — the metric you are looking for is: How am I growing closer to God through what happened today, both when I stuck to my plan and when I got off track?

Scruples: Get Thee Behind Me Satan

Scrupulosity is the tendency to see sin where there isn’t one, to exaggerate the seriousness of a sin, or to worry obsessively and fearfully about failing God.

If you struggle with scruples, what I would like to be able to say is: Talk to your spiritual director about any plan of mortification you are considering undertaking.

What I know from reality is that most of us don’t have spiritual directors, and that even if someone does currently occupy that position in your life, you may not have yet found the person best able to guide you through your struggle with scruples.

Therefore, in a parish or other group-launch of one of these plans of mortification, the group leadership should assume there are at least one or two members who are prone to scruples, and who will interpret every single thing you say through that lens.

So. Avoid statements that:

• Equate adherence to the plan with love of God.

• Describe getting off track as some kind of sin or lapse of faithfulness.

At all, ever. You cannot read souls. You cannot know how much someone else loves God, nor whether they committed any sin at all in their failure to stick to one of their spiritual goals.

Don’t Try to “Fix” the Program

So here’s a reality: Some of the mortifications in Magnify 90 are not, at all, mortifications for me. Wearing make-up? It would be a penance if I did wear make-up. So it’s tempting to be like, “Maybe I should substitute a different penance.”

No. There is no need for that. Some of the prescriptions in a given program are going to be effortless, some will be challenging, and some need to be dropped or significantly lessened because of your state in life . . . and that’s it.

If you already do most of the planned penances as part of your normal life? Great. This isn’t a huge spiritual workout for you, but so be it. Keep your eyes on your own plate and remember that for others these things are much more difficult.

If you have to pare back the plan significantly because of health, financial, relationship, or other issues? Hmmn. Isn’t that insightful? Thank the Lord for showing you how He has already built spiritual boot camp into the life that you have.

Allow the Plans to Be Imperfect

I’m not particularly prone to scruples, and I’m entirely confident of my sister’s common sense as an accountability partner, so I had no hesitation about jumping into a plan sight unseen. If there’s some moment when we’re going through the book and I see something wrong-headed in it, it’s not gonna wreck me. I have no problem taking what is valuable from any source and leaving the rest.

Furthermore: The host parish is too far away to be a problem for me. I’m not going to lose friends if it turns out I decide after trying it that the whole thing is stupid and horrible.

If you are a group leader, though, you need to be eyes-wide-open about potential pitfalls of whatever plan you are leading.

• Have you done it yourself in the past?

• Can you point out candidly and without embarrassment any areas where the program materials have weaknesses?

• Can you foresee the types of people who should not undertake this particular spiritual discipline? Do you have an alternative at your parish so they aren’t left with nothing if they don’t join the gang?

• Have you considered the group dynamics at your parish? Are there tendencies that might create fodder for dysfunctional responses to the program you wish to lead? If so, can you realistically counteract those tendencies, or would another spiritual action be a better choice at this time?

It’s important we not confuse the holiness of Jesus Christ with the tools we use to grow closer to Him. In leading any Catholic study, service, or spiritual effort, we should be cheerful skeptics, ready to benefit from what is good in a given apostolate or ministry, but also having no qualms recognizing that normal people are imperfect — even authors and program creators.

Vocation & Liturgical Life

First the obvious one: Ninety days of spiritual mortification will naturally overlap no end of feast days. My sister and I will still be in Christmas when we get started, for goodness sakes.

So. We have to consider each of our planned disciplines and ask whether some variations should be anticipated in order to stay in union with the rhythm of the liturgical year, both at the parish and in our family lives.

Probably you can still fully celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas without re-watching the entire Die Hard series; probably getting to Mass and Adoration will help you better sync your life with the liturgical year; and probably you are a terrible person if your idea of spiritual growth involves no cake on Epiphany. I’m sorry that’s just reality.

But what about that cake? You have choices. Say your chosen program includes abstaining from sweets: Just because it’s a feast of some kind, doesn’t mean you have to go off the rails. Maybe cake isn’t important at all in your case. Maybe it’s important to serve the cake, but not important that you personally eat any of it. Or maybe a single small slice will be something you savor all the more now that your plan defaults to zero sweets whatsoever.

I give that as an example, not a prescription. Have cake or don’t according to your best discernment.

Likewise, backing up into the larger picture: How do my planned mortifications fit into my wider vocation?

• Will skipping off to daily Mass mean dumping extra responsibilities on my spouse?

• Do I find that I’m so married to my planned prayer regime that I get bitter and grouchy with family members who dare interrupt it?

• Have I decided that if I can’t have cake then nobody gets cake? Ever at all?

All of these problems have solutions.

• Maybe there’s a different daily Mass that works better with the family’s schedule, or maybe I only go twice a week instead of every day.

• Maybe the family is long overdue for some upgrades in how we organize our time — what if I give the kids my undivided attention for an hour, and then they watch a show while I go take my quiet time with the Lord?

• Maybe the kids don’t need quite so many sweets either, and if I pare back on my buying and baking it will be no big deal for them to have a small treat while I jump up and leave the kitchen and do something else so I’m not tempted.

Again: It’s all deeply personal. For that handful of Fridays in Lent? Yeah, you can just roll with whatever your bishop’s conference has legislated as the norms for fasting, including the exceptions that might apply in your situation. In contrast, when we are talking about ninety days straight of following the ascetical plan of a total stranger who has no spiritual authority whatsoever in your life? You get to be the grown-up in the room.

Take to heart the perspective and experience of those who developed the program or have undertaken it before you. Be ready to learn from others. Be open to being surprised at the spiritual fruits of a discipline you might not naturally choose for yourself. But also cultivate some confidence in your spiritual decision-making as you discern, as best you are able, when you should adhere strictly to the plan, and when God has a different approach better suited to the life He has laid out for you.

Artwork: 15th century painting of the Annunciation, details here.