The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 121: The Cost of Compromise

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

Pilate tried to compromise on truth. His concern was not justice, but instead self-preservation. Fr. Mark-Mary reads from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, emphasizing that we must not compromise on Jesus. We have to commit to the truth. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Crowning with Thorns and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Hi, I'm Fr. Mark Mary with 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 121. 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 preach month and it's a great way to track

your progress. The best place to listen to this 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. Today we'll be meditating upon and praying with the third sorrowful mystery,

the crowning with thorns, with help from a meditation by venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen from his book, Life of Christ. And the focus of our prayer today is going to be the true cost of compromise. And now a reading from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. Pilate tried to strike a balance between satisfying the Sanhedrin and his own conscience. But Pilate was wrong in thinking that the drawing of blood would calm their passions and melt them to pity.

Some compromises in the face of justice rarely achieve their ends. If guilty, Pilate should have condemned him to death. If innocent, he should have released him. Our Lord looked forward to giving his life as a ransom for sin. He had described himself as having a baptism wherewith he was to be baptized. John gave him the baptism of water, but the Roman soldiers now gave him his baptism of blood. After opening his sacred flesh with violent stripes, they now put on him a purple robe which adhered to his bleeding body. Then they plaited a crown of thorns which they placed on his head. How the soldiers cursed when one thorn plucked

at their fingers, but how they sneered when the crown of thorns crowned his brow. They then mocked him and put a reed in his hand after beating him on the head. Then they knelt down before him in feigned adoration. The end of the reading. Thanks be to God. Again, the focus of our meditation today is going to be the true cost of compromise. I find this line from the first paragraph today of Fulton Sheen to be so striking and true. He writes, if guilty,

Pilate should have condemned him to death. If innocent, he should have released him. But what happens? Pilate never sincerely asked this question. His concern isn't who is Jesus. His concern isn't is this man before him innocent or guilty. His concern isn't, is this man before him innocent or guilty? His concern isn't the truth. His concern is himself, right? His concern is self-preservation.

And so he turns Jesus into a political tool and a bargaining chip. Why does Pilate have Jesus scourged and handed over to those who would mock him, slap him, spit on him, and crown him with thorns? Why? Again, it's a political move. Pilate is using Jesus as a pawn in a game of social chess. That's why the king is crowned with thorns.

Why? Compromise. This was Pilate's logic. It is one of compromise and self-preservation. If we scourge him, if I have him scourge until near death, then will everyone be happy. And I find this kind of meditation kind of fed by Venerable Fulton Sheen's reflection on Jesus being crowned with thorns, like really moving and piercing to be honest.

Because for many years, like in my own life, I had really taken the same worldview here of pilot, you know, in my kind of late teens, I'd taken this disposition, like this worldview, like I want to be dynamic. That was my goal in life. That was sort of what I what I wanted from life to well-rounded, to be dynamic. I wanted to be in quotes, like good at everything and in every situation. So like what this meant is in part is, yeah, I would go to church on Sunday.

I would even go to youth group, maybe help out the poor here and there. Like why? Because these were socially acceptable things. Like these were actually socially good things. They like helped me in my desire to be dynamic, to be liked by all and fit in with all. And so the disposition, the worldview is this, like, you can have some religion in your life, you can have some Jesus in your life, but just don't go overboard. Like, don't be fanatic. On the other hand, like part of my being dynamic meant living Friday and Saturday night,

just like the world, just like my peers. I would fit into like all of these different situations and with all of these different people, including situations of sin. And so basically, like Pilate, I said, I'm going to do whatever it takes to just make everybody happy, to make everybody like me. I'd compromised with sin and with Jesus and I never even authentically asked the question, what is truth? What is true?

What's right? My conversion, like it happened actually pretty early on by grace of God, it happened my freshman year of college when through a moment of grace, I realized, I really believe. Because I believe it needs to affect like my whole life. And I realized that what I thought was being dynamic or well-rounded was in fact hypocrisy.

And that if Jesus was Lord, then the only response that made sense was to follow Him unreservedly. And to allow His truth to touch and to affect all areas of my life. In that moment, Jesus and Catholicism, it ceased being just a part of my life. It ceased being something that I can manipulate and use for my own like social standing. But in this moment, Jesus became my whole life. He became my King.

And you know, like, conversion's not a one-and-done situation. I still struggle with, like, wanting to compromise with Jesus for a variety of reasons, and I want to flirt with, like, temptation to maybe shake hands with mediocrity, with venial sin. There's just still a lot of pilot in me. And I think this is probably relatable. There's just so many different people and groups in our lives and even our own passions that like we want to appease. And we're willing to compromise our faith to appease. And how easily we can just stop asking the question, like, what is true? willing to compromise our faith to appease.

And how easily we can just stop asking the question, like, what is true? What is right? What is God's will? And instead, we ask the question, like, what's going to get me out of this jam? What's going to get me into someone else's good graces? Like, what's going to serve me the best in the most immediate way here possible. And some of these compromises might be big, you know, as they were, I would say, in my own life, where there was kind of whole areas, which I'd said were kind of off limits to Jesus. But also some of these compromises might be, I don't know, a little bit more nuanced or a little bit smaller. I think of, okay, you know what, like I go to church, I go to mass, but hey, you know

what, I know it's not the best show, but I'm going to watch this show. Or I know this isn't the best maybe music to listen to or the best podcast to listen to, but I kind of like it. Like I know I shouldn't compromise. I know I shouldn't gossip, but everybody else at work is doing it. And so I don't want to like make them uncomfortable. I don't want to stand out by not doing it. And these are little ways in which we can, if you will, share in the spirit

of Pilate, a spirit of compromise, and not one that just says, like, what is true, like what is right. But what I believe Jesus being crowned with thorns, it reveals, is it reveals to us the true nature, the true cost of these compromises. To compromise, really at its foundation, at its core, it is to mock our Lord. It is in our own way to crown Him with thorns, to make Him like a tool, a bargaining chip, a pawn. But Jesus is none of those things. The truth cannot be compromised, and God is not to be mocked. My brothers and sisters, as we pray today, let us allow this truth to provoke us, to free us, to strengthen us. day. Let us allow this truth to provoke us, to free us, to strengthen us. May be a source of grace for us, which gives us the courage to break any agreements or compromises

that we've made with the world, the flesh and the devil. Let's not bargain with Jesus or compromise the truth, but let us adore Him and enthrone Him as the King of our hearts, the one who is worthy of our worship, the one who is worthy of our whole lives. 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 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. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed it 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 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. Thanks so much for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Alright, Poker Poker friends, God bless you.