The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 342: The Joyful Mysteries

Episode Date: December 8, 2025

As we enter into today’s meditation, Fr. Mark-Mary guides us through the Joyful Mysteries with reflections on grace, trust, and the hidden beauty of God’s work in our lives. We reflect on Mary’s humble courage at the Annunciation, the transforming joy of her encounter with Elizabeth, and the gentle invitation to draw close to Christ in the Nativity. We’re called to seek Jesus with the same relentless love shown by Mary and Joseph in the Finding in the Temple. God meets us in our littleness and invites us into deeper trust and wonder. Today’s focus is the Joyful Mysteries, and we’ll be praying the full Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

I'm Father Mark Mary with 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. This is day 342. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year, or text RII to 3377. 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 recording to the full Rosary with myself and other friars. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in the Year prayer guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to compliment this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings for scripture, saint reflections, and beautiful images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on. today we will be praying the joyful mysteries let us begin in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen i believe in god the father almighty creator of heaven and earth and in jesus christ his only son our lord who was conceived by the holy spirit born of the virgin mary

suffered under pontchipilot was crucified die and was buried he descended to hell on the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of god the father almighty from there he will come to judge the living and the dead i believe in the holy spirit the holy catholic church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and a life everlasting amen for a holy father his health and intentions our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come that 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 for an increase in the theological virtues of faith hope and charity hail mary full of grace the lord is with thee blessed are 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 are 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 are 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. The first joyful mystery is the enunciation. Let's revisit Henry Oswald Tanner's depiction of the enunciation. If you recall, Mary, as Tanner paints here, is just so young and so little, right? And then there's the angel, the angel Gabriel, depicted as this calm of light. We look at Mary, and Mary again is so, so in it. so vulnerable, so young, so little in this moment. Yet she trusted, and she was full of grace

and full of confidence in her Heavenly Father. Perhaps like Mary, we can feel quite little and unequipped in different parts of our life. But as we pray, let's invite the Lord into those places. And let's trust that our littleness is not an obstacle to God and His grace. Because as we know, he loves to lift up the lowly. 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 are thou among women and blessed it 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 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 are 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 are thou among women, and blessed is it. 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy sinners. 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. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. The second joyful mystery is the visitation. Remember our kind of like poetic reflection on poetry.

More specifically, looking at the story of the visitation, we see this movement from prose to poetry, and quite literally, right, that the story begins in Luke's gospel with prose and ends with Mary's Magnificat, right? Her song of praise, her poetic song of praise. Similarly, God enters the narratives of our lives in such a way as to turn the mundane into the magnificent prose into poetry and song, making our lives into something beautiful. Let us give thanks for what God has turned into song in our lives recently and meditate on the joy.

of Mary and Elizabeth. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallow 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. The third joyful mystery is the Nativity. Let's try for a moment to place ourselves in the story of the Nativity. Maybe you see yourself as one of the shepherds in the fields as the sky lights up. with angels rejoicing. When you approach the manger and you see the Christchild,

what is your reaction? As you behold, his littleness, his innocence, vulnerability, humility, how do you respond? Can you experience here an invitation to draw close to him? let us draw close to our newborn Savior, and let's find peace, stillness, and rest in his presence. 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 are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb jesus holy mary mother of god pray for us sinners now and at at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are thou among women

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, 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 are 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 are 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 sun and to the holy spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end amen o my jesus forgive us our sins save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven especially those in most need of thy mercy. The fourth, A Joyful Mystery, is the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.

As we ponder the mystery of the presentation, the temple, let's focus on the incredible witness of obedience that this mystery is. Jesus doesn't need to be purified. He's the pure one, he is God. and in fact Jesus is the one who will usher in the purification of the whole world yet to fulfill all righteousness to fulfill the law

he's presented in the temple what a beautiful example of obedience we have here of the Holy Family with Joseph and Mary and Jesus the pure one in the temple making this holy sacrifice of obedience. 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 women. our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 oh my Jesus forgive us our sins save us

from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven especially those in most need of thy mercy the fifth joyful mystery is the finding of Jesus in the temple When Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus is not with them, what do they do? Immediately they begin looking for him, tirelessly looking for him. This, my friends, this is how love searches. Sometimes it's in our prayer lives that we can feel that Jesus is missing. Like if that's how we're feeling lately, let us be comforted by this mystery. And take the example here that Mary and Joseph are,

feel to us, this encouragement, to seek him, to search for him tirelessly, to look for him, right? Like you love him. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallow be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this, they are daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive us. 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 are 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 are 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 are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb jesus holy mary mother of god pray for us sinners now and now and at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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 are 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. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. hail holy queen mother of mercy our life our sweetness and our hope to thee do we cry poor banished children of eve to thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears turn then most gracious advocate thine eyes and mercy towards us and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb jesus o clement o loving a sweet virgin mary pray for us most holy mother of god that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ let us pray oh God who's only begotten Son by his life death and resurrection is purchased for us the rewards of eternal life grant we beseech thee that meditating upon these mysteries the most holy rosary of the blessed Virgin Mary we may imitate what they contain and

obtain what they promise to the same Christ our Lord amen in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit amen you for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poca, poca, poca, friends, God bless you all.