Throughout her life, Magdi placed great emphasis on retreats and on taking part in them. She regularly attended the retreats in Fűzfő organized by Father István Androsits. Each of these events shaped, formed, and strengthened her inner faith, which she was then able to radiate to those around her.
She was deeply influenced by József Hoss, then Abbot Parish Priest of Kaposvár; Cistercian monk and parish priest Ferenc Magyarász of Bakonykoppány; and Lazarist priest László Lovass. She resolved from then on to read only meaningful literature, gave up feminine vanities (as an act of self-denial), and made a general confession.
The parish retreats she had attended up to that point were so-called open retreats, after which participants returned to their usual environment. In 1941, she took part in her first “closed” residential retreat in Pécel. The Caroleanum building there was maintained by the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus as a retreat house. Her friend, Margit Laurenczi, drew her attention to the retreat, and they traveled together to take part.
It was a St. Ignatian retreat led by Ernő Strecke, organizing secretary of the 1938 International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest. The theme was The Crucified Christ – how much Christ suffered for us on the cross, and how we too must proclaim Christ. The aim of the retreat was to prepare spiritually for lay apostolic work. This first closed retreat made a profound impression on Magdi. She recognized and practiced the importance and necessity of lay apostolate, wishing to lead back to Christ those whose faith was uncertain or who had strayed. She chose Christ as the center of her life and offered Him her purity.
On October 26, 1941, the Feast of Christ the King, as a result of the Pécel retreat, she made a vow of purity because she wanted to see clearly and seek God everywhere: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). From then on, Magdi became a daily communicant. Together with Margit Laurenczi, she decided, inspired by the retreat, to become a saint – not a saint raised to the altars, but an everyday saint, unnoticed by others, doing nothing other than living according to the laws of Christ. In their own place, they would save souls and work for the Kingdom of God.
For Magdi, participating in the Pécel retreat – which would become so important in her life – came only after much effort. She had to persuade her father to let her go for a week. She had to set aside money from her wages to cover the cost of the trip and the retreat, doing so with her mother’s knowledge. Her workplace allowed her to go only on the condition that after the retreat she would also take night shifts. Until then, because of her young age and the distance between her home and the factory, she had been exempted from night work.