The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 204: Transcending Death

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

The Resurrection was a transformation of life that transcended death, bringing hope, healing, and renewal to all of creation. Fr. Mark-Mary emphasizes that this new reality is not just a return from death but a glorified existence that calls us into deeper trust and faith. Through this mystery, we can be confident in Christ’s pursuit of our hearts and His power to bring light even into our darkest moments. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Resurrection and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Hi, I'm Father Mark Mary with the Franciscan Friars of Renewal and this is the Rosary in a Year podcast. We're 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 and this is day 204. 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 of 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 first glorious mystery, the resurrection. And now a review of some of what we have covered before we go to our time of prayer today. Let's begin by a reminder of what Pope Benedict XVI wrote about the resurrection. He speaks of the resurrection as a type of evolutionary leap, a historical event that bursts open the dimensions of history and transcends it. It is a brand new, entirely new form of life that is no longer subject to the law of dying, but lies beyond it. And it affects everyone and opens up a new kind of future

for mankind. So just a little reminder of the teaching, of the understanding of what has happened in the resurrection. The resurrection is not just about a corpse coming back to life. There's this, if you will, elevated, a new form of life. It's a change which touches, if we could say glorifies,

all of reality. And if you recall, in one of our episodes, we looked at the paschal candle, which is like the symbol par excellence of the entire liturgical season, because it isal candle, which is like the symbol par excellence of the entire liturgical season, because it is this candle which represents Christ, but also represents like the light of the resurrection. And we were reminded that there is no darkness which can overcome the light of that paschal candle,

the light of the hope and of the joy and of the truth of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. The darkness has not and will not and cannot overcome the light, particularly the hope that we have in our risen Lord. And the hope as it is extended to us is the hope that whatever happens in life, if we bring it to Him and if we journey with Him in it, like all of it, can be resurrected, can share in this glorified reality, can be healed, redeemed, renewed. There is nothing, nothing, nothing that Jesus can't respond to and bring new life out of, and bring healing out of, and bring light and hope out of.

So also kind of in this vein, in this space, we have this writing from St. John Christom. He wrote about Jesus. He destroyed death by enduring it. He spoiled hell by descending into it. He angered hell by allowing it to taste his flesh. Where oh death is your sting? O hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen.

And the demons are destroyed. Christ is risen and the angels rejoiced. Christ is risen and life is restored. There's so much in this world that is passing. We don't place our hope in this world and passing things, but in Christ risen from the dead. Even death itself does not have the final word. But Christ is risen. And we join the angels in rejoicing,

because Christ is risen and life is restored. And then lastly for today, we spent one episode one day with Caravaggio's quite famous painting entitled The Incredulity of St. Thomas. And during that episode, I focused particularly on the countenance of Jesus, who lovingly, gently, tenderly, you could say, guides Thomas's hand to touch his wounds. And his face, his countenance, his disposition is coming to Thomas, revealing that Jesus is willing to come to meet us where we're at and to help us make the next best step in faith in His resurrection. And what Jesus is like most worried about isn't that we get it right away, but that we get it.

And He's going to persevere in pursuing us and coming to us. Because, like what's most important is that we come to believe. We believe in the power of the resurrection and we respond through total fidelity, total trust, total gift of self, total adoration, worship of our risen Lord. And so there's this invitation to find ourselves before the risen Lord with His glorified wounds. And to have confidence that He is going to reveal Himself to us in a way that will allow us to get it. And so we hope in Jesus, we talk to Jesus, we're honest with Jesus, confident in His

patience and confidence in His seeking and His pursuit of us. So now we'll just take a moment of stillness, of a leisurely resting here. Now we'll go through our chosen roadmap of prayer for these episodes, the four R's. Today, what is the grace being offered? The truth being revealed that you are invited to receive. How can you respond? What's the grace that you would like to request particularly at the service of this response. And then rejoice. Give thanks to the Lord for this time of prayer, for the grace given, and the divine life shared. Now together 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. and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 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 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 again today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco Poco friends.

God bless y'all.