The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 205: With Us Always

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

Fr. Mark-Mary explains that the Ascension is not Christ’s departure, but the perfection of His presence with us. No longer limited by time or space, Jesus is now intimately present to each of us in a divine way. Through acts of charity and love, we follow in His footsteps and are drawn into deeper union with Him. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Ascension and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars with 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 205. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year, 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. No matter what app you're listening in, remember to tap follow or subscribe for your daily notifications. Today we will be praying with meditating upon the second glorious mystery, the ascension. So now a little review of what we have discussed and prayed with already regarding the ascension before our time of prayer today.

First, we noted a way to, if you will, traditionally understand what is happening in the ascension, is to see it as the fulfillment of Psalm 110. It's in Psalm 110 where the Lord says to David, The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right until I make your enemies your footstool." And in the ascent of our Lord, like His ascension, we see Him returning to the right hand of the Father. And Jesus' ascension, it's not a going away. Therefore, it's not a cause of sadness, but it is a cause of joy. Because through His ascension, Jesus is not absent to us, but there's a new way of His being present to us.

As Pope Benedict XVI wrote, in Jesus Christ risen from the dead, God is not in one space, along other spaces. Like, God is God. He is the premise and the ground of all this space that it is, but He Himself is not part of it. His presence is not spatial, but divine. But in Jesus' ascension, He's not just going into like a different space. He's going to participate in the Father's divine dominion over space. Right? Again, a presence which is not spatial, but divine.

If you recall, Jesus during his earthly life, he took on the limitations of like space and time. So, for example, he could like make eye contact with one person at a time. He can have a conversation only to those who are immediately in his midst, but now he is present to all of us in a new way, like a fuller way, a more intimate way, a divine way. And that there's no contradiction, but actually fulfillment of Jesus being Emmanuel, God with us, and Him saying, I will be with you even until the end of time, and His ascension. Again, not a contradiction,

but a perfection of His being with us for all eternity. And secondly, in our review for today, we looked at the writing of St. Augustine. in our review for today, we looked at the writing of Saint Augustine. In Saint Augustine, he wrote, Run with the heart of affection, journey with love, ascend by charity. Cleave unto Christ, who by descending and ascending has made himself the way. Do we want to ascend, we are to cleave to Christ, to remain with Him. And one way in which we do this is going to be through our acts of charity. And what I believe St. Augustine helps us to connect is not only charity and love of

God, but love of neighbor. For example, the corporal and the spiritual works of mercy. These are all ways in which we cling to Christ. These are all ways in which we are more deeply transformed by Christ. These are all ways in which Christ lives his life in us. These are all ways in which Christ lives his life in us. These are all ways in which we encounter Christ. And so, to remain in him, to cleave with him, to ascend with him, part of our participation in this, our response to this, is going to be through our acts of charity.

So we can experience through the writing of St. Augustine and in our meditation and praying with the Ascension. To share in this invitation as Jesus risen, as Jesus glorified, is more intimately united to us, is serving us and loving us in a more deep and intimate way that we ourselves are called to share in this love. By charity towards God, love of God, and charity towards neighbor, the love and service of our neighbor. And then lastly for today, if you recall our meditation with Bernardino Gandino's Baroque painting of the Ascension,

there was that little detail of the footprints of Jesus. And we looked at how there's like this ancient and venerable tradition that Jesus' footprints were left in the stone where He ascended into heaven. And then we talked about how this is a particularly moving symbol tradition to Franciscans, insofar as Saint Francis really had this devotion to following in the footprints of Jesus. And that Jesus, he reveals himself as the way. Right? He is the way to the Father. That if we want to go where he has gone, if we want to remain in Him and cleave to Him and rise with Him, we are to, here and now, follow in His footprints.

Not just in His wake, not just on the same path, but in His footprints. To live like Jesus lived, to love like Jesus loved, to remain in Jesus' truth, to have Jesus' mind. We have in the ascension, we have in this symbol of the footprints of Jesus left in the stone where he ascended, this invitation, come, follow me. come follow me. This following of Jesus may be paschal in nature. We ourselves may and maybe already are deeply experiencing the sorrowful mysteries. Following Jesus' footprints into the garden. Through the scourging, the crowning of thorns, through the carrying of our daily cross,

even through our own crucifixions perhaps. But if we remain in Him, if we follow His footprints, we will rise with Him and descend with Him. So we hear Jesus say as we pray today, Come, follow me, come, follow me. So now we can just kind of rest and linger here for a moment. We ourselves can already enjoy the fruits of the ascension as we, in our own places, wherever we are, can have this one-on-one time with the risen Lord already experiencing in this time of prayer the newness of Jesus' presence, Emmanuel with us, and we can experience Jesus' invitation, come follow me, which includes a cleaving to Christ through our works of

charity. So now we'll go ahead and go through our time of prayer with the four R's here. Today what is the grace being offered? How can you respond? What is the grace that you'd like to request, particularly at the service of this response? And And then rejoice, give thanks to the Lord for this time of prayer, for the grace given and the life of God that has been shared. And now together with Mary, let us pray. 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. 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, 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. 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 y'all.