The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 194: Beloved Sons and Daughters

Episode Date: July 13, 2025

Reflecting on the Baptism of Jesus, Fr. Mark-Mary emphasizes that our own baptism equips us with the identity and strength needed to face spiritual trials. Drawing from Scripture and the works of St. Ambrose, he underscores the Father's declaration of Jesus as His beloved Son as a source of assurance in faith and personal identity. He also reminds us that while the path of discipleship includes the cross, it is ultimately a journey toward resurrection and eternal life. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Baptism of Jesus and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Father Mark Murray 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 194. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit AscensionPress.com forward slash rosary in a year or text R-I-Y 233777. 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 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 first Luminous Mystery, the baptism of our Lord at the Jordan. And before going into our time of prayer here, just a little bit of a review of what we've discussed and what we have covered. So to begin, back at day 54, we talked about this idea that the waters of the Jordan must always precede the sands of the desert.

And we see that Jesus in His own baptism, it's after His baptism that He is then taken into the desert where He fasts and He is tempted. And then I think there's something here that Jesus is teaching us. That is, after the baptism, after he hears his father say, this is my beloved son, it's here that he receives what he needs, if you will, the defenses that he needs, the security that he needs, the weapons that he needs to go into battle. And here I'm using the words needs for our Lord, somewhat poetically or loosely,

it's not exactly how it happens. But for us, I think this is true. This is the example that he's giving to us. That it is at our own Jordans, at our own baptism, that we receive what we need to go into the desert, that we receive what we need to go into the desert, that we receive what we need to resist temptation. Primarily, right, this reminder of our identity and our dignity and who our Father is. That by baptism, we share in Jesus' own relationship with the Father.

And so, we ourselves can go back to our own baptism and in many ways, revisit it every single day, like before leaving home, before going out into the wilderness of the world, where we'll be tested and tried and questioned about who we are and who God is. Just as a reminder to be with Jesus at the Jordan, to see again each morning, even in our little rooms, the heavens rent and the fathers say, like, you are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter.

And this is our dignity by baptism, sharing in Jesus' own relationship with the Father. So today, this could be an invitation to just sit there, to hear the Father speak these words to you again. Secondly, in some of our introductory episodes, we looked at the Luminous Mysteries as a whole. Insofar as each of the Luminous Mysteries have some sort of revelation about the King of God now present in the very person of Jesus, something that's being revealed about Jesus. And in our reflection based off of St. Ambrose's writing, remember St. Ambrose wrote these words, Is there then here, referring to the Jordan, any room left for doubt,

when the Father clearly calls from heaven in the gospel narrative and says, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased? This illustrates just the certainty that we can have in faith because it's founded on the very words of God, the one who gives witness to the identity of Jesus that He is the beloved Son, that He is the Messiah, that He is the anointed one. They are the very words of God, God who Himself is truth, God who cannot lie. And so we can sit, if you will, at the banks of the Jordan. And if there's doubt about the identity of Jesus, just hear the Father say these words again.

This is my beloved Son. And related to what we already discussed, we can also be affirmed in our own dignity and our identity, because by baptism again, like we can hear the Father say these words to us, and it is the Father who has the authority to tell us who we are. And then lastly for today, just a reminder of that when we looked at the painting of the baptism, that's a fresco that's featured in the Church of Sun, Benedetto and Padua, the artists used like extensive shadows.

And we could see the crown of thorns, the nails, all of these foreshadowings of the crucifixion. And that what the artists are portraying is just this reality that Jesus saying yes, right, to His sonship, that Jesus is the Son, and He's going to show us what it means to be sons and daughters of the Father. But the nature of His sonship is going to include the cross. Just this reminder that the light of Christ is never far from the shadow of the cross, but will ultimately conquer and be victorious.

That which is permanent is the light. And so we're not men and women of the prosperity gospel, but we are men and women of the resurrection. And that we who are invited to share in Jesus' own relationship with the Father, this will also include in our own particular ways the receiving and theying in trust with the cross. In this life, there will be light, there will be shadows, but in eternity, light will conquer. And so as we say yes to this affirmation of our dignity, we also say yes to living our identity as Jesus himself lived this identity

with the hope in the Father's goodness, the Father's ultimate victory, and our own share one day in the resurrection. So now we'll just take a moment of kind of quiet stillness, receptivity, and go into our four Rs. So what is the grace, the truth, being revealed that you are invited to receive? How How can you respond? What is the grace you would like to request at the service of this time of prayer. And the grace is bestowed upon us. 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. Amen. 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, 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. 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. So thanks so much for joining me and praying with me again today. I look forward to continuing

this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco a Poco, friends. God bless you all.