The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 188: Gifts for Mary

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

In our final visio divina episode, we meditate on a fresco entitled Mary, Help of Christians, by Giuseppe Rollini. Mary is surrounded by rows and rows of saints, from all backgrounds and professions, and yet there is still more space in Jesus’ house. With Fr. Mark-Mary, we bring the gift of our prayer and present it to Mary, our Queen. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Coronation of Mary 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.

Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars 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 188. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit AscensionPress.com forward slash rosaryinayear 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. 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 generosity 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 fifth glorious mystery, the coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth with help from a fresco entitled Mary Help of Christians, which is in the church basilica Maria Auxiliatrix by Giuseppe Rollini. And now a brief introduction to our artist and artwork. Giuseppe Rollini was born in the year 1842. He died in the year 1904. He was born in Italy, trained at Turin under Andrea Gestaldi. He was a devout Catholic and protege of Don Bosco. And he specialized in sacred

art, executing frescoes andieces for Silesian churches. His work reflects a synthesis of Renaissance compositional rigor and romantic emotional intensity. This particular fresco we're gonna be looking at was done between the years 1889 and 1891. And we can see the art styles of academic realism, Baroque dynamism, and the use of a symbolist palette. And now a description of our final painting.

Amidst circular rows of heavenly courses, the blessed Virgin Mary sits on a golden throne, crowned and holding a scepter. The Christ Child stands on her lap, wearing a golden crown and bright green robe, arms outstretched. Close to her right side, St. Joseph gestures towards them with a lily in his far hand. Colorful angels float above and below the throne. In violet shadows and golden light, glowing rows of clouds fill the composition. Ranks of hundreds of saints from all epochs encircle the heavenly scene. From young girls to native tribesmen with nuns and habits, priests, investments, and soldiers waving banners, all echoing the

joy of the scene. At the top, God the Father stands, beaming forth bright light with a dove at His chest. With arms raised in triumph and rendered with a triangular halo, He presides over His creation with majesty. The great celestial procession of angels and saints stretches beyond the viewer's sight, ascending ever upward in this glorious depiction of the new heavens.

All right, and now our meditation. Friends, we've made it. We've made it. Take a deep breath and just take it in. This is our destination. This is where we've been headed this whole time. Looking at our fresco today of the coronation of Mary as Queen of heaven and earth, we see the Father and we see the Holy Spirit and we see the child King Jesus on the knee of Mary, Mother and Queen. Right next to Mary and to Jesus on the throne there, we have Joseph.

And remember the journey Saint Joseph was on. How he worked, how he sacrificed, how he suffered. And he's made it. He's in heaven. And even more importantly, those he gave his life to care for, to provide for, to protect, Mary and Jesus, they're there. They've made it safely home. St. Joseph, St. Joseph, you fulfilled your mission. Well done, good and faithful servant. Then we look around at the rows upon rows upon rows of saints, holy men and women who prayed, who served, who were obedient, who preached, who went off to far-off lands, who lived to be attitudes, who were

merciful, who were poor in spirit, who were meek, who were peacemakers, who mourned, who were pure of heart, who hungered and thirsted for holiness, who were persecuted. They're all there living in the fulfilled promises of the Father, living in glory, living the eternal blessed life. And there's room for more. In Jesus' Father's house, there are many rooms, and He has prepared a place for us. This is where we're going. And what a fitting end it is to what we have called phase three of the Rosary in the Year podcast.

And coming to this point, to be honest for me, is a big deal. Tomorrow we transition to the part of the journey called Finding Focus, and I'll explain what that's gonna look like. But what it means is that really the hardest part in some ways for me, the nearly year-long journey that I've already been on of researching and writing comes to a conclusion. And I love that it comes to an end

with this fresco of the coronation of Mary with the Most Holy Trinity with Joseph and all the saints. with the Most Holy Trinity, with Joseph and all the saints. Certainly the work, like especially praying, of assimilating these truths, receiving the fullness of this grace and being transformed by these mysteries is just beginning. In some ways, this is what we could call the real work. Nonetheless, I do experience, and hopefully you do as well, like a certain sense of arrival or of completion. I've done some extended, you know, like three week backpacking trips,

and you know, at the end of a certain leg, you get to the end. It's not the end of the whole journey, but you get there and you take your pack off and you look out at the beautiful nature and the mountains and the trees, and you look back at all the way you've come and there is, there's a sense of we've made it. We've completed something.

We're going to pick up the packs and continue to journey tomorrow, but let's just, we can find some rest here. But also like I hope is that there is a is a sense of today having a real gift to bring to Mary, our beautiful Queen. And for this moment, I'm going to ask you to join me here, to join me in this experience of arrival, right? As one arrives at a new campsite, though not home, but in some way it's a foretaste of the arrival home. Because for you to have made it this far on this journey with me and with so many people,

it is an amazing feat in its own right. And I invite you to join me in bringing to Mary today the gift of the discipline, of the commitment, of the sacrifices you've made to make it to this point on the journey. The Magi, right? They brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They brought these gifts to bring to the newborn king. We though, for our queen, we have these gifts to bring to her again of the sacrifices of the work you've done, of the fidelity along the way. Similarly, we remember that the Lord has not outdone generosity.

So we take a moment today to examine, to reflect upon, and to recognize the gifts that we have received from our Lord, that we have received through our Lady. Some of the reflections, some of the graces, some of the freedoms, hopefully some doors that have opened up, in our own personal prayer and encounter. And we give glory to God. We give glory to God because He is the one who makes any of this fruitful and transformative for ourselves,

for our loved ones, for the world. Tomorrow, we'll pack up camp. We'll begin again. But for now, let's take a moment of God-given rest, of a little Sabbath, and receive the gift of having made it to this point. And as we come to this, as we have this experience, and as we look at heaven, my hope is that this is a foretaste of our final arrival home, when we are no longer pilgrims on the journey but permanent

residents of our Father's house. If we abide in Him, if we remain in Him, by His grace and His mercy can take our own place among all the blessed, among all of the saints. And so with hope for the glory that will be revealed, tomorrow we'll begin again and freely say yes to our part in proclaiming the kingdom of God and sharing the sufferings of Christ, of living the Beatitudes, of making our own daily yes to the invitation to constant daily conversion. But for this moment today,

let's find rest in gratitude. And in contemplating the beauty of our God, the beauty of our Queen, of our Lady, and of all the saints. And today in this moment, I invite you all to simply taste and to see the goodness of the Lord. 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 for praying with me again today. And I look forward to continuing this journey with you again

tomorrow, friends. Poco a poco. All right, capo a sal.