The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 162: Carrying the Cross Together

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

Orazio Gentileschi’s painting, Christ Carrying the Cross, captures the profound strength and inner peace of Jesus’ suffering—His body straining beneath the weight of the cross, yet His face is calm. Fr. Mark-Mary contrasts the visible burden of the cross with Jesus’ promise of a “light burden”. He invites us to consider that what lightens the load is not its removal, but the strength that comes from perfect trust in the Father. We are encouraged to seek not just relief, but faith that rests in God’s presence and power, even when our cross feels anything but light. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Carrying of the Cross 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 in the Ascension App. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Ham Father 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 162. 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 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. 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 images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on. Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the fourth sorrowful mystery,

the carrying of the cross. With help from a painting entitled Christ Carrying the Cross by the artist Orazio Gentileschi. Now a brief introduction to our artist and artwork. Orazio Lomi Gentileschi was born in the year 1563. He died in the year 1639 and he was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative scheme of other artists.

After the year 1600, he came under the influence of the more naturalistic style of Caravaggio, and he received important commissions in Fabriano and Genoa before moving to Paris to the court of Maria de Medici. He spent the last part of his life at the court of Charles I of England, and he died in London. This particular painting was done in the year 1605. A few notes on the style of this particular painting. Our painting today of Christ carrying the cross, it reflects Gentileschi's

transition from mannerism to Baroque, heavily influenced by Caravaggio's realism and dramatic use of chiaroscuro. Gio's realism and dramatic use of Chiara's scuro. Our painting today from Gentileschi is an oil painting on panel. And now our description of the painting. The cross is wooden and weighty and makes a diagonal cross section of the painting. Its weight is apparent in the body of Jesus, who bends

under its force. His face yet calm and resolute. The weight of the cross is also felt in the face of a man lifting the cross with Jesus, who with rolled up sleeves, a pole to the top tip of the cross. Jesus wears a robe and in his long hair sits the crown of thorns. A woman in yellow faces Jesus closely, hair uncovered, gazing to his face close up and with devotion. Her hands are empty and open as if she's willing to lend them to help him carry, but cannot.

The face of another woman in blue is shadowed and in the deepest sorrow. As she gazes at Jesus ascending Calvary. OK, so there's a couple of ways to pray with this painting. I'll admit, I think that I'm most immediately drawn to the two women figures in the painting. I'm not sure, it's not definite, but it seems like the woman at the front is sort of like a Mary Magdalene figure, if not Mary Magdalene. And the way she's there

kind of before Jesus giving herself, receiving all that he's doing, right? It feels consistent with what we know about Mary Magdalene. And in the back in the dark shadows, this blue sort of covered figure, this woman of sorrows certainly seems to be Our Lady. covered figure, this woman of sorrows certainly seems to be our lady. And in my own prayer, I'm quite moved and drawn to just rest with her and her sorrows. What we'll do today is, is I'm going to look at Jesus and him carrying the cross from this lens. And what comes to mind are these words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11, which we kind of have to rest with in life. So this is the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter

11, starting at verse 28. This is what Jesus says. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light. But I feel like these words are hard to reconcile with what we see here in Gentileschi's painting of Christ carrying the cross. What's quite clear and accurate is like the weight of the cross.

It's a crushing weight. And we see this attested to, right? Witnessed to by the face and the forearm strain of the man, presumably Simon, like helping Jesus to lift it. He's at maximum strain and capacity while he's only bearing like a fraction of the weight. And we have to be honest and real here. And it's like, Jesus,

you say that your yoke is easy and your burden is light. Your burden does not seem easy and it does not seem light. And some of us then we like have this experience, right? Because Jesus has come to me and I will give you rest for my yoke is easing my burden of light. And to be honest, like it seems like the burdens we often carry in life are not light. And they're not easy.

And like, Lord, like we have come to you, but we are still heavy laden. And without rest, like we're beat up and we're tired. But also, let's do this for a moment. Let's remain before the face of Jesus in this piece of art. The artist, look how he's rendered Jesus' face. At least I receive it, interpret it as a face that is still filled with warmth and steadiness. And it really appears to me as if his lips are rendering a slight smile. And what I see is an artistic representation consistent with a spiritual interpretation of these events,

revealing a spiritual truth, internal reality. We know that Jesus was beaten, bloody, and profoundly pained by his passion. Like this is real. We can't water this down. And he was not immune to the suffering that he was undergoing. Historically speaking, he wasn't walking up Calvary, smiling and whistling. But I do believe he had an inner rest. A rest that no external pain

or circumstance could disturb. It is the rest of a life built completely on perfect and absolute trust of God the Father. There is a human physical emotion experience of heaviness, of being crushed by the cross, something many of us can relate to. But perfect faith and perfect knowledge and trust of God, absolute surrender to His power and to His timeline, it brings a strength, like a rest, even a lightness to the heaviest of circumstances because we know that the Father will come. He will save us. He will raise us.

He will work for good, even here. Redemptive suffering and our call to carry your own cross with Jesus to offer it up. It's all real and it's all true, but it doesn't mean everything here and now is going to be a walk in the park. Often it is quite the opposite. It's a slow, crushing walk to our own personal calvaries. In Jesus' embrace of the cross, it doesn't negate the heaviness of the cross, but the yoke he offers us. It isn't just the cross. It's his relationship with the Father, which also bears fruit in an ability to receive

and accept the circumstances of life, like with Jesus, with faith, and the interior rest that comes from a life built on the rock, right? This rock that is the truth, that God sees you, He knows you. He cares about you. He hears you. He always hears you. And His omnipotence, right? It extends even to your particular situation. Like His omnipotence means that he has an ability,

even here, even now, even in this, to bring about justice, mercy, newness, rest, and resurrection. But it's a supernatural gift and a supernatural work. As we pray today, let's not just offer up our crosses, right? Let's not just ask for our crosses to be taken away. Let's not just ask for our crosses to be taken away, but let us ask Jesus for an increase of faith, of hope, and of charity, that we may always make our journey through life with its crosses and also with its joys.

All of it, always with the strength of God's own life is grace at work in us, giving us a supernatural eternal perspective, not just a human temporal perspective, and giving us that divine rest, that grace given rest, that's not the absence of pain or work or effort, but the rest that is the fruit of knowing and believing that God is God and that God is good and that His goodness is for you, even here, even now, and that as He was able to work for the good through Jesus's cross, so can He and so will He through all of our crosses as well.

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 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 you all.