The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 12: Deliver Us From Evil

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

We conclude our meditations on the Our Father with Fr. Mark-Mary delving into the parable of the Good Shepherd, the Fall in Genesis, and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, helping build our mental library as we pray the Rosary. As we pray these lines of the Our Father, we’ll have an opportunity to rejoice in the goodness of God. Today’s focus is “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” and we will be praying one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

I'm Father Mark Mary with the Franciscan Friars of the 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 12. 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 great way to track your progress. The best place to listen to the podcast is in the Ascension app. There are special features built just for this podcast and also recordings of the full Rosary with myself and other friars. No matter what app you're listening in, remember to tap follow or subscribe for your daily notifications. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us

from evil. I was praying with this. I really love the angle, the approach that I think the Lord kind of spoke to me or gave to me. And I want to look at this last of the petitions of the Our Father through the lens of God as good shepherd. The Lord is the good shepherd who leads his flock, who delivers, protects his flock, who lays down his life for his sheep, and who goes in search of his sheep. Let's go back and look at the Garden of Eden. Right, we know Psalm 23 already in the Old Testament,

the Lord is revealing himself to be a good shepherd and God, the good shepherd in creating us, He creates Adam and places them in the garden, in paradise and gives them all that they need. garden in paradise and gives them all that they need. Satan enters into this garden, and although they had access to all they needed to resist temptation, Satan is able to tempt them. He questions them.

He sows seeds of doubt and distrust of the goodness of the Good Shepherd. They sin." And this is what the Catechism says, paragraph 397, Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart, and abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in His goodness. The ultimate garden, the ultimate green pastures for Adam and Eve wasn't just the external realities. It was the internal, this internal home where they lived in union and harmony and total trust of God. And through original sin, this sin has been passed down to us.

And so we all share this wound. We fall into disobedience. We continue to sin. And what is the wound? We share this wound. We fall into disobedience. We continue to sin. And what is the wound? It's a lack of trust in His goodness. And Jesus comes like the good shepherd who leaves the 99 in search of the one.

And He comes searching for you and He comes searching for me to lay down His life for his flock. Yes, Jesus dies for our sins. He saves us by the shedding of his blood. But he also comes to deliver us at the Good Shepherd, to protect us at the Good Shepherd. How? By healing up that core foundational wound

where we lack a trust in God's goodness, by revealing to us the goodness of God. He reveals to us how good he is that even though we rebel against him in disobedience and sin, still he comes and loves us unto death. The passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is how he restores us and leads us to the green pastures, the authentic deep green pastures that are a sharing in his own relationship with the Father.

Where we live in this truth that God is good and worthy of our trust. And so, my brothers and sisters, as we are praying, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We are invited to meditate upon again the goodness of God. And it is in Jesus that we are being shepherded back to the kingdom of heaven, back to the authentic garden, which is a share in Jesus's own relationship with the Father.

And when we live here and we know his goodness, then it is here that we are protected from temptation and we are delivered from evil. In the Our Father and in these final petitions, we are asking again to encounter the truth of the heart of God, of who he is, and by grace to be shepherded back into this perfect relationship, this perfect communion, where we are protected

from temptation and delivered from evil by the dignity of a share in his sonship and as the Holy Spirit cries out within us, Abba, Father, Jesus Christ, our good shepherd, bring us home, bring us to the Father's heart, where we may know his goodness and find peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, how would 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 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 shall be world without end. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thanks, y'all, for joining me, praying with me again today. And we'll continue the journey Poco a Poco tomorrow.

God bless y'all.