The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 176: Jesus is in the Boat

Episode Date: June 25, 2025

Mark chapter 5 doesn’t shrink back from the danger of the storm. The apostles’ boat is filling with water and they are in immediate danger. Rembrandt’s painting,  Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, shows us how real this threat is. And yet, Jesus’ response is to urge the apostles to have faith in him. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Proclamation of the Gospel and 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 in the Ascension App. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

I'm 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 176. 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 on behalf of myself and the whole team here at Ascension. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's helped support this podcast financially. Your support is so appreciated and helps us to reach as many people as possible. And if you haven't already, please consider supporting us at ascensionpress.com forward

slash support. Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the third luminous mystery, the proclamation of the kingdom in the call to conversion with help from a painting by Rembrandt entitled Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee. All right, a little introduction. We've already offered the introduction to to Rembrandt. This particular painting of his was done in the year 1633 and its style is Baroque with Rembrandt's signature tenebrism.

And he works in a dramatic caroscuro with like the stark contrast of light and shadow to heighten the emotional intensity. And there's a dynamic composition, right? The diagonal mass, which divides the canvas into unstable and stable triangles mirroring the narrative tension with the storm to the left, the calm to the right. And a little interesting fact about the painting is that it is missing.

Stolen from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. And now a description of our painting. A great wave swells amidst the black and temptuous sea. A boat rocks sideways, its mast tipping towards the right, cutting the dynamic sky with a diagonal axis. Within the wooden boat, several men put their whole weight into pulling against the sails. The left side of the boat is struck with white caps that glow in the light,

contrasting the remainder of the scene that is shadowed in tones of darkness. In the front of the boat, several men look to Jesus. One grasps his shoulder. Rising slightly from his recline, Jesus looks into the men's eyes. The expression of the voyagers vary. Some are immersed in the sailing. Others are paralyzed in their fear and despair at the circumstances. And three, praying and pleading.

Look to Jesus. To begin, I think it's just a good reminder that that which is simple is not always easy. The message from today's gospel, in many ways, it's similar to our theme from yesterday. It's very simple and straightforward. Like Jesus is God.

Jesus is in the boat. Trust. Trust. Hope. Have peace. Jesus says to us, like, I'm here, trust me. It's simple, it's straightforward. It's something we've heard again and again, but still we struggle. And I think the gospel of the storm at sea

in our painting today by Rembrandt, they both do a great job of depicting the reality of the threat without downplaying it. Mark chapter 4 says plainly, there was a great storm of wind and the waves beat the boat so that it was already filling. The disciples, many of whom were like boat people, right, as fishermen, they knew what they were seeing. Like they were not wrong in recognizing the danger. They weren't being dramatic. This was in fact a life-threatening storm, like potentially catastrophic. I think Rembrandt does a great job of portraying like a little boat

and a huge storm. And this little boat and those in it are holding on for dear life. Like the threat was real. The water already covering their feet was real. But where they messed up and why they received like the correction from Jesus, why are you afraid? Have you no faith? It's because they didn't submit the reality of the storm to the reality of Jesus.

Which is more real? Which is more real? Which is more powerful? Creation or the Creator? And I do, I wonder if Jesus was more focused on their lack of believing that He has the authority to say, Peace, be still to the storm, and it would in fact be still. Or the lack of understanding in their hearts when they asked him, teacher, do you not care if we perish?

They doubted both his power, but also they doubted his concern, his love for them. And again, I don't know if the problem is that they woke him up for help, but rather that they woke him up with doubt, like with that question, do you not care? And there's a long tradition of symbolizing the church as a boat. It's a boat which is traversing through tumultuous seas with crashing waves, high highs and low lows as the waves crest and crash. And it can be rough, right? It can cause seasickness as we see

with the one poor disciple in Rembrandt's painting. And that's all true. That's how it's going to be. But Jesus is in the boat. Jesus is in the boat. Jesus is here. And he promises we won't sink. The gates of hell will not be victorious.

The ship is not going to sink. And at any moment, he can say, peace, be still, and it'll happen. But he's not doing that. So we have to trust him, like his plan, his timing. And let's keep this before us. Like Jesus is God, the creator. Jesus is God, the Creator.

God is perfect. His ways and designs are perfect. His providence is perfect. His shepherding of the world and the church, it's perfect. Like his game plan is perfect. His captaining, right, of the ship. It's not just really, really good. It's perfect. He knows what he's doing.

And of course I get it. And Jesus gets it, which is why he gave us this gospel. It often feels like he's asleep. it and Jesus gets it, which is why he gave us this gospel. It often feels like he's asleep. It might feel like he's not paying attention. Like he's not doing enough soon enough. And I think it's so important that Jesus, in a way, like recognizing what we're going to experience, he gives us this like this gospel with this in mind, with him sleeping in the boat here.

And it can certainly can raise our minds to doubts of his goodness. And these are real doubts in his divinity. But Jesus. Is Lord and he's good, and he says, trust me. And we can bring it all to him, but we bring it to Him not doubting like, do you care? Can you do anything about it? We bring it to Him saying like, I know you care. And I know you can do something about it.

My brothers and sisters, let's not water this down, this matter of obedience from God that says, trust me. And let's not receive it as a cliche and just move on. And of course, like I've said before, like this isn't a negation of the storms in the world, the church, our own personal lives. It's not trying to reduce those. But Jesus is Lord.

And he says, trust me. It's simple. it's clear, and manyly, it's not always easy, but it is necessary, it is true, and it is the most real response to reality. My brothers and sisters, it is right and just for those who belong to the kingdom of heaven and our sons and daughters of the King. Bringing to the Lord the storms of our life and imploring him for the gift of trust with Mary we now 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, 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, everybody. Thanks 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.