The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 106: He Sends His Spirit

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

Sometimes it feels like Jesus gets more attention than the Holy Spirit. Fr. Mark-Mary, with help from a reading by  St. Ambrose, dives into the role of the Holy Spirit in our prayer, and how we ought to worship the third person of the Blessed Trinity. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars with Renewal and this is the Rosary in a Year podcast where through prayer and meditation, the rosary brings us deeper into relationship with Jesus and Mary and becomes a source of grace for the whole world. The Rosary in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 106. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year or text R-I-Y to 33777. You'll get an outline of how we're going to pray each month and it's a great way to track

your progress. The best place to listen to podcasts is in the Ascension app. There are special features built just for this podcast and also recordings of the full Rosary. No matter what app you're listening in, remember to tap follow or subscribe for your daily notifications. Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the third glorious mystery, the descent of the Holy Spirit to Pentecost, with

help from a writing from St. Ambrose entitled On the Holy Spirit. And now our excerpt here. Who then can doubt of the Godhead of the Holy Spirit? our excerpts here. power. For how can there be a severance of power where the effect of the working in all is one? What then is that fire? Not certainly one made up of common twigs or roaring with the burning of the reeds of the woods, but that fire which improves good deeds like gold and consumes sins like stubble. This is undoubtedly the Holy Spirit who is called both the fire and light of the countenance of God."

The end of the reading. Thanks be to God. So we're going to go ahead and talk about the Holy Spirit. This episode might be a little bit more maybe theological than devotional At least compared to some of the other episodes up to this point. First and foremost, the Holy Spirit is not a placeholder for Jesus. He's not like a teacher's aide who's helping us while the professor is elsewhere. As St. Ambrose says,

there is no doubt of the Godhead of the Holy Spirit. And again, he goes on to say, by which evidence we infer not a diversity, but the unity of the divine power, one in the power of God. The Holy Spirit is God, sharing in the fullness of the Godhead, of the Most Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. The Holy Spirit fills us with theological faith and hope and charity. All of that is to say is that God dwells in us, and God filling us with his very self, inflames within us faith and hope and charity. The Holy Spirit is God, and worthy of worship and adoration. At Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit descends, it is the one

true God, anointing and flaming the disciples with tongues of fire. Here's what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about the Holy Spirit. Consubstantial of one substance, of one divine substance, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. The Spirit is inseparable from them in both the inner life of the Trinity and His gift of love for the world. The catechism goes on to say in one of my favorite sayings, when the Father sends His word, He always sends His breath. When the Father sends His word, capital W referring to Jesus, He always sends His breath, capital B referring to the Holy Spirit. In their joint mission, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the

invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him. I love that quote where the Father sends his word, he always sends his spirit. And I think the catechism of the Catholic church, it also touches on and kind of gets ahead of a potential sort of question or curiosity, doubt maybe we call it. Because it's clear, right, that Jesus gets so much more of our attention

than the Holy Spirit. And the question is like, is that a problem? Is that something we need to like significantly address? I think actually the answer is no, and here's why. What is true and needs to remain true is like the Holy Spirit must be worshipped as God. That's who the Holy Spirit is. But also I do believe it's part of the mission of the Holy Spirit to generally remain hidden and to keep our hearts and our minds focused on Jesus and focused on the Lord. I do believe it's part of the mission of the Holy Spirit to generally remain hidden and

to keep our hearts and our minds focused on Jesus and focused on the Father. Here's another quote from the Catechism touching on this. The Spirit who has spoken through the prophets makes us hear the Father's word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who unveils Christ to us will not speak on his own. Such properly divine self-effacement, like the Holy Spirit moves with the divine self-effacement, a divine humility and a hiddenness. Remaining hidden, not really trying to

draw attention to Himself, but keeping us focused on hearing the Word of the Father and continuing to unveil the Son to us, while also transforming us and bringing us in a greater and deeper union with the Son. So I'll say this, I can kind of in conclusion, is the Holy Spirit is God and it's so important for us to continue to come to the Holy Spirit, knowing His power, that He is consubstantial with the Father and the Son, sharing in the one divine mission, the one divine power. This is the Holy Spirit who is alive in us. So we worship Him and we adore Him as God. But at the same time, if a lot of our prayer is focused on Jesus, focused on hearing the scripture, the Father's word,

that's okay. That's actually the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in us. And so the Holy Spirit is going to continue to remain hidden, again, known more by His movement than the direct experience of like hearing His voice, seeing Him being manifested, etc. I do believe this is true and I believe this is confirmed by the catechism, which makes Pentecost, I'll say, like a particularly important mystery or moment for us to focus on the Holy Spirit and adore him. Again, he remains so hidden for most of his work and most of his mission. Here at Pentecost, there's a bit of a manifestation of the Spirit. Again, as he's revealed his tongues of fire, beginning this great movement in the church here as he sets a flame, like the apostles, particularly Peter.

So let's just go ahead and take a moment today as we pray and as we conclude with our time of prayer of just focusing on the Holy Spirit and just having a moment here of just worshiping the Holy Spirit, giving thanks to the Holy Spirit for the many ways in which He is at work in our lives, the many hidden ways in which He is bringing us to know and to be more conformed to the word to Jesus Christ. And now with Mary let us pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it

was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Alright, thanks so much for joining me and praying with Holy Spirit. Amen. All right. Thanks so much for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. All right. Poco Poco friends. God bless you.