The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 120: Be the One

Episode Date: April 30, 2025

Jesus suffered tremendously to show his love for us and to win us for himself. And yet, many of us don't receive this gift and continue to live our lives as if Jesus’ passion never happened. Fr. Mark-Mary reads from St. Faustina, who tells us that Jesus found consolation in her sincere sorrow for his passion. Today, we are called to be like St. Faustina, to be the one who remembers the depths of Jesus’ love. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Scourging at the Pillar 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 120. 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 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. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in a Year prayer guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings from Scripture, Saint Reflections, and beautiful full-page images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on.

Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the second sorrowful mystery, the scourging at the pillar. And to help our prayer, we'll be spending some time with a writing from St. Faustina and her diary. I'm guessing our saint today, St. Faustina, is going to be pretty familiar to our audience. She was born in the year 1905 and she died in the year 1938. At the age of 20 years old,

she joined the congregation of Our Lady of Mercy, where really her responsibilities, her tasks other than prayer were quite ordinary. We're talking cooking, gardening, porgaring. It's essentially the sister in the convent who like answers the door. And while there, while in the convent who answers the door. And while there, while in the convent, she received revelations from Jesus. And these revelations would have a particular emphasis on His divine mercy.

Under obedience guided by obedience, she would compile these revelations in the words of Jesus and what is known as the diary of St Faustina. Pope St. John Paul II would canonize St. Faustina in the year 2000, and he referred to it as the happiest day of my life. Certainly, I think one cause of joy for him in this day was the joy of canonizing a fellow countryman,

as St. Faustina was also from Poland. But also because of the way in which he himself was moved by the revelations about divine mercy and saw in the canonization of St. Faustina, like just an opportunity to really proclaim from the rooftops the good news of divine mercy, of Jesus' mercy for the world. St. Faustina is not a doctor of the church, but she is referred to as the apostle of the divine mercy. The emphasis of our prayer and meditation today is going to be, be the one, be the one. Be the one. Be the one. And now an excerpt from St. Faustina and her diary.

When I came for adoration, an inner recollection took hold of me immediately. And I saw the Lord Jesus tied to a pillar, stripped of his clothes, and the scourging began immediately. I saw four men who took turns at striking the Lord with scourges. My heart almost stopped at the sight of these tortures. The Lord said to me, I suffer even greater pain than that which you see.

And Jesus gave me to know for what sins he subjected himself for the scourging. These are sins of impurity. Oh, how dreadful was Jesus' moral suffering during the scourging. Then Jesus said to me, Look and see the human race in its present condition. In an instant I saw horrible things. The executioners left Jesus and other people started scourging him. They seized the scourges and struck the Lord mercilessly. These were priests, religious men and women, and high dignitaries of the church, which

surprised me greatly. They were laypeople of all ages and walks of life. All vented their malice on the innocent Jesus. Seeing this, my heart fell as if in a mortal agony. And while the executioners had been scourging him, Jesus had been silent and looking into the distance. But when those other souls I mentioned scourged him, Jesus closed his eyes. And a soft but most painful moan escaped from his heart.

And Jesus gave me to know in detail the gravity of the malice of these ungrateful souls. You see, this is a torture greater than my death. You see, this is a torture greater than my death. Then my lips too fell silent, and I began to experience the agony of death. And I felt that no one would comfort me or snatch me from that state, but the one who would put me into it. Then the Lord said to me, I see the sincere pain of your heart, which brought great solace to my heart.

See and take comfort. The end of the reading. Thanks be to God. And again, the emphasis of our meditation is going to be, be the one. I think it's one of the gospel passages that we all remember. It's when Jesus heals the ten lepers, but only one returns to give him thanks. And I think it's so memorable because it's also, in many ways, so relatable. Right? because it's also in many ways so relatable. Jesus healed 10 people of leprosy, a terrible disease, and nine of those cured, didn't even come back to say thank you.

Certainly this lack of gratitude, just like in general, it's heartbreaking, but even more so when it's shown to our Lord. Only one returned to give thanks. The invitation today is to be the one. This language of be the one, I'm taking it from Mother Teresa. And it's one of my favorite, if you will, exhortations of Mother Teresa to her sisters. She talks about how so many people just, they don't think of God, they forget Him, they don't show gratitude to Him.

They don't love Him in the distressing disguise of the poor. And they don't respond to His thirst for love, which He proclaims from the cross with these words, I thirst. And so Mother Teresa, she tells her sisters, be the one, be the one who quenches his thirst for love. Be the one that serves him in the poor. And be the one who returns and gives thanks. In Jesus' revelation to St. Faustina that we have today, who returns and gives thanks.

In Jesus' revelation to St. Faustina that we have today, we see the pain of ingratitude highlighted. And while the executioners had been scourging him, Jesus had been silent and looking into the distance. But when those other souls I mentioned scourged him, Jesus closed his eyes and a soft but most painful moan escaped from his heart. And Jesus gave me to know in detail the gravity of the malice of these ungrateful souls. You see, this is a torture greater than my death. My reflection on these words is this, certainly I think that what we can see here is that many of those sins and the types of sins that were mentioned, they begin with the sin of ingratitude. But I think ingratitude doesn't just hurt the heart of Jesus because it opens the door to so many other sins which come from forgetting what He has done for us.

But the ingratitude itself is a great source of sorrow to the heart of Jesus. In these words of St. Faustina, they note the pain that ingratitude causes to the heart of Jesus. It notes the sorrow caused by our lack of gratitude. When we don't receive the gift of his death for us. When we don't receive the gift of salvation won by his blood. Jesus, he suffered so tremendously to show his love for us and to win us for himself.

And yet many of us, we just miss it. We don't receive the gift and we continue to live our lives as if Jesus's passion, as if Jesus is scourging for us, like never happened. Poor ungrateful souls, we so often are. But in the midst of the sadness, there is hope and consolation. As St. Faustina writes, Then the Lord said to me, I see the sincere pain of your heart, which brought great solace to my heart.

See and take comfort. In other words, like I see dear Faustina that you understand. I see that you are receiving this gift and my heart is consoled. My heart receives solace. St. Faustina was the one was the one who returns to Jesus, was the one who returns to Jesus, was the one who remains with Jesus, who lived a life in gratitude to Jesus for the gift of His healing mercy.

One for us, like who received the gift of His passion and of His scourging. So today, my brothers and sisters, as we find ourselves before our scourge savior, we're offered two paths. Will we go about our business indifferent and ungrateful for what we have prayerfully remembered Jesus did for us and His passion? Are we going to go off like the nine healed lepers who didn't look back? Are we going to just go off in all sorts of sin, as those mentioned in our reading today? Or are we like Mother Teresa, like St. Faustina, like Our Lady?

Are we going to be the one, the one who always keeps the Lord before us? Who always remembers the depths of His love and the ocean of His mercy? Are we going to be the one who remembers the cost of our salvation and who responds by living a life of faithfulness and gratitude, lives that offer solace to the heart of Jesus. And proclaim and sing, if you will, a constant chorus with our tongues, but also our lives that never ceases to proclaim, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

And now, my brothers and sisters, let us pray with our lady. Let us bring comfort and solace to the heart of Jesus. And as an expression of our gratitude. 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 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. 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. Holding Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 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. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 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. Poco Poco, friends. God bless y'all.