The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 136: We Must Receive

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

In today’s painting, The Healing of the Lepers at Capernum, Jesus has healed ten lepers, but only one returns to give thanks. In this mystery, the Kingdom of God is proclaimed to us, but just like the lepers, we have the option to receive and return with thanks or to ignore Jesus’ proclamation. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Proclamation of the Kingdom and the Call to Conversion and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. All of the Sacred Art we’ll be meditating with can be found in the Rosary in a Year Prayer Guide, for free linked in the complete prayer plan, or for free in the Ascension App. 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 136. 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 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 will be meditating upon and praying with the proclamation of the kingdom of God with help from a painting entitled Healing of the Leopards at Capernaum by James Tissot.

Now a brief introduction to our painting and artist. Our artist is James Tissot. He was born in the year 1886 and he died in the year 1894. He was born and died in France, but he lived in London for a time as well. Tissot's work, he combines in elements of impressionism and realism and even spent some of his time working as a characterist under a pseudonym.

Generally he focused on simpler subjects for most of his career, but he turned to religious art near the end of his life after experiencing a reversion to Catholicism. In this particular painting, Healing of the Leopards at Capernaum, its style is realism and guacce. Now a description of our painting. On a cobblestone street, a man in tattered bandages falls to his knees. His arms are upraised and he faces a group of men, one in a pure white garment, facing and placing his hand on the head of a young boy. Another in fine yellow clothes, staring, gawking at the drama of the bandaged man. A tree grows in the midst of the stone town, casting shade on the thruway. An older woman comes out of a humble stone home on the street, her posture exuding promptness

and care. The road is shadowed, but the home is bathed in light. And in the foreground is the solitary leper kneeling on a cobblestone street, reaching out, crying out to Jesus. Before getting into the painting specifically, let's go ahead and begin with a reminder of what we mean by the kingdom of God, the proclamation of the kingdom of God, right? It is God being God. It is the teacher teaching, it is the shepherd, shepherding, the savior saving, and the healer healing. What's happening in this painting, right?

It's entitled the healing of the lepers at Capernaum. The healer just healed 10 lepers, but as the gospel tells us us and as this painting depicts Only one returns only one leper returns to give thanks And here we encounter the foundational question Or were offered a richer understanding of Why we refer to the third lumus mystery as the proclamation of the kingdom of God and the call to conversion. The kingdom of God, it is going to be proclaimed, but we have to receive it. We have to respond to it. It can be proclaimed to us as profoundly as a leper being healed of

his leprosy, but it doesn't guarantee that we will actually receive it. It doesn't guarantee that we will actually receive it. It doesn't guarantee that we'll actually come to Jesus, to see Him and to repent from all the ways in which we are trying to enjoy the riches of the kingdom or the perks of the kingdom without relationship, loyalty and obedience to the King. And as God will be God, the Christian needs to be a Christian to, like this solitary leper that we encounter in our painting today, to come to Jesus, to give thanks to Jesus, to live with a heart filled with gratitude to God. God is going to God. But are we like the Christian going to Christian?

And by this I mean like we who are called to live in this kingdom of God, like we need to worship the king. We need to remain in relationship with the king, to be obedient to the king, to trust the king. Like he is God. He will lead us home, He will shepherd us, He will save us, He will have mercy on us. He will work for the good in all things if we let Him. But we have to repent and believe the good news.

We have to let Him. As we pray today, let's kneel down next to this solitary man just healed of his leprosy. And let us too raise our hands in our hearts in gratitude, in worship, in adoration, and surrender, and confident, and hope-filled dependence. Even today, the kingdom of God is being proclaimed in our midst. Let us repent. Let us run to Jesus.

Let us believe in the fullness of the gospel. Emmanuel, God is with us. And when we place our hope in Him, we never hope in vain. 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 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. 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 a Poco friends. God bless y'all.