The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 347: The Joyful Mysteries

Episode Date: December 13, 2025

Our meditations for today’s Rosary remind us of how God so often moves in unexpected ways. Fr. Mark-Mary reminds us of the prophecy shared with Zechariah and Elizabeth, concurrent with the Annunciation. Instead of the Messiah coming to a priest in the Temple, the Messiah is given to a hidden, lowly woman. Similarly, the Holy Family’s journey to Bethlehem was surely difficult, yet God was working through this to fulfill Micah 5:2. 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.

Hi, I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and this is the Rosary in the Year podcast, where through prayer and meditation, the rosary in a year 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, 347. 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 3,000. 7777 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 their 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 support 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 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 is conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, 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 life everlasting, amen. For Holy Father's health and intentions, 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

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. 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 in the gospel of luke we have two stories of annunciations by an angel and what we could call miraculous births. First, the angel comes to the priest, Zachariah, whose wife had become barren, right, Elizabeth,

and the angel announced that they would conceive and bear a child, this child becoming John the Baptist. And it really, like it seems to make sense that the enunciation of the Messiah himself would have come to a priest like Zachariah. in the temple offering sacrifice. It seems to kind of be fitting. Yet,

yet God sent his angel. He sent Gabriel to a hidden lowly woman to announce that she would be the one to conceive in her womb, the long for desired Messiah. And we see here something very unexpected, right? It's something new, something that invites you and I to allow Jesus to break into our lives in unexpected in new ways and to give him permission to come not as we think he should, but as he

actually desires to. So as we pray, let us say yes to the surprises of God and yes to the unexpected graces. Our Father, who art in heaven, howlode be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be 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 second joyful mystery is the visitation in his writing on the visitation of the blessed virgin st alphonsis lagori asks mary why she's going on such a long and painful journey to visit elizabeth and mary in his writing responds to do my office of charity. In the mystery of the visitation, Mary is telling us who she is and what her job is, like what her mission is her duty is. Her mission is to be a mother, to visit us, to console us, to dispense favors, to be an instrument of grace for us and our souls. As we pray this mystery, let's ask Mary, with confidence to direct this office of hers, this office of church, this office of

charity towards us, that she may be a mother to us in this moment, this day, and all that that entails. 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 God. 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 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. 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 out 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 third joyful mystery is the Nativity. The Holy Family could St. Joseph and Our Lady, who was carrying Jesus in her womb, were faced with an incredibly hard situation. They had to travel about 90 miles to participate in the Roman

senses right before Jesus's birth. And so right there's this worldly leader kind of doing something that he really shouldn't have been doing. And the result of that is them having to make this long journey. But then we recall Micah, chapter 5, verse 2, where we encounter the prophecy saying that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. And so, like, we recalled, right, there was all these, like, world affairs happening. And it gives the impression of, like, man and an even corrupt man being in charge and being the one who's pulling the strings and orchestrating history. But in the nativity, we see, like, the Lord reveals himself here to be the one who is in charge of all affairs. Like, he reveals himself to be the Lord and the king.

and he uses this Roman census to bring about the fulfillment of his plan, having the Savior be born in Bethlehem. This was something Pope Benedict XVI pointed out, and we see here in this mystery, God revealing that no matter what is happening, he is God. And there's this invitation anew to trust him and to trust that he is at work even through very practical and human realities and details and decisions, to bring about his ultimate and even perfect plan.

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 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.

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 fourth joyful mystery is the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Let's go ahead and meditate on Simeon's words. Now let your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation. If you can, maybe you remember the story I shared of one of the men in the homeless shelter named Ray who was blind and who would pray these words as part of night prayer, Complain, every night in the shelter. And he ultimately would come to Catholicism.

And our friend Ray, right, like he saw not what. with natural vision, but with the eyes of faith. And he saw and recognized and responded to the gift of salvation being offered to him. So to Simeon, who saw Jesus, he saw with the eyes of faith that Jesus was the Messiah. Let us ask that we too may see the Lord's salvation unfolding in our lives. Let's ask for the eyes of faith, that we too may remember. recognize a new in Jesus, our Savior. 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.

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 sun 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 One of our previous reflections, we looked at St. Cyril's writing, where he wrote this,

Did you not know that I must be at my father's house? He's putting these words on the mouth of Jesus. Did he not know that I must be at my father's house? And then he continues, here then, first, he makes more open mention of him who is truly his father and lays bare his own divinity. We know this isn't the high point, the climax of the gospels. But we could call it like the first kind of like spoiler alert, like Jesus is God, he is the son of the eternal father. And sometimes we can forget how incredible this revelation is because we already know the story.

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. God became man and dwelt among us to come and to save us as we pray. let us be moved with awe and wonder and adoration of Jesus, the Lord. 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, Mary, 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 we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then most gracious advocate, then eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O 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, O God, who's only begotten, son, by his life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life. Grant, we beseech thee that meditating upon these mysteries are the most holy rosary of the blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promised to the same Christ, our Lord.

Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thanks everyone for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poca-a-poca friends. God bless y'all.