The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 38: Food for the Journey (2026)

Episode Date: February 7, 2026

In the institution of the Holy Eucharist Jesus is revealed as the Bread of Life that sustains us to the promised land. Fr. Mark-Mary draws upon the Old Testament to reveal how this mystery was foreshadowed, and what salvation history can tell us about Jesus and the Eucharist. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Institution of the Eucharist and we will be praying one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of the 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 the Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is Day 38. 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 the podcast in the Ascension app. 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, 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. If you haven't already, please consider supporting us at ascensionpress.com forward slash support. The fifth luminous mystery is the institution of the Eucharist, Luke chapter 22, verses 14 through 23. And when the hour came, he sat at table and the apostles with him.

And he said to them, I've earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a chalice. And when he had given thanks, he said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise,

the chalice after supper saying, this chalice which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the son of man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this. All right, here we are the fifth luminous mystery, the fifth mystery of light. So far through the mysteries of light, the luminous mysteries, we have seen Jesus revealed manifested as the Messiah, as the anointed one, as the son, the Lamb of God. We've seen that Jesus is the bridegroom, who comes to make all things new.

Jesus is the kingdom, the Lord present and at work. Jesus is the light of the world. And the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. In the fifth luminous mystery, the institution of the Eucharist, we see Jesus as the bread of life and come to understand what that means. We're going to make a quick run through some of the fulfillment, some of the precursors that Jesus is fulfilling as the bread of life.

To root this real quick in the liturgy, something that maybe some of you might be familiar with is from the first Eucharistic prayer. Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance and to accept them as once you are pleased to accept the gifts of your servant, Abel to just. The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest, Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim. We have Abel from Canaan Abel offered the lamb, the offering of Abraham, who was willing to offer his son, Melchizadec, this high priest, this figure who offers bread and wine. We see as well the

fulfillment of manna. Remember the manna, the miraculous manna by which God fed the people of Israel during their time of Exodus. We read in the book of wisdom chapter 16 verse 20. Instead of these things, thou didst give thy people food of angels. And without their toil, thou didst supply them from heaven with bread ready to eat, providing every pleasure and suited to every taste. Some of you might recognize this from benediction. We had the manna that was kept in the Ark of the Covenant, right? Exodus 25. This is what the Lord said, and you shall set the bread of the presence on the table before me always. These are Old Testament. In the New Testament, right, we have Jesus born in Bethlehem, which means the house of bread. We have Jesus and the multiplication of the lows, which many people

see is Eucharistic. And then we have the bread of life discourse in John, chapter 6, where Jesus says, My flesh is true food, my blood is true drink. And people say, that doesn't make sense. And he said, no, that's what it means. Like, what I'm saying is true. This is what I'm actually saying. You're hearing me right. And so many people abandon him at that time.

What we're going to focus on a little bit more specifically, do a little bit of a more deep dive on, is Jesus is the Lamb of God. And Jesus in the Last Supper as the new Passover meal. In Luke chapter 22, what we read is this, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you. And the Catholicism says this. By celebrating the last supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal,

Jesus gave the Jewish Passover. It's definitive meaning. Jesus is passing over to his father by his death and resurrection. The new Passover is anticipated in the supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church and the glory of the kingdom. We've touched on it a little bit, but a reminder of the initial Passover meal,

the parts to it. It begins by choosing an unblemished male lamb. It is sacrificed in sacrificing it, none of its bones are broken. Its blood is taken and it's spread on the home, the wood of the doorposts and the lentil. And often what would be used as a type of plant called hyssop.

it was mandatory to eat the flesh of the lamb. Nothing could remain. This is explained in Exodus chapter 12, verses 8 through 12. We kind of remember and reflect more on the Passover on like the blood that's put on the lint on the door, but mandatory, like obligatory and explained over four verses that you had to eat the flesh of the lamb and how to do that. And also then, this was done every year. This day shall be for you a memorial day and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. you shall observe it as an ordinance forever.

Now, the Passover at the time of Jesus, we're talking about like 1,500 years later. And so as happens in the liturgy, development has happened. So the Passover meal over 1,500 years in the variety of changes and the destruction of the temple, it has developed and it's changed and it's modified while still retaining its essential components and meaning. And now I'm going to be pulling here from Dr. Brandt Petrie's book, Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist.

And what he gets into is a little bit of, okay, so what is consistent with the Passover meal at the time of Jesus and what's new regarding his last supper? So what's consistent, it's the night of Passover. Jesus has the last supper at the night of Passover. It's done in Jerusalem. It's eaten in the evening. And there's an explanation of the meaning of the bread in the traditional Jewish Passover. part of the meal was this.

And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? You just say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover. For we pass over to the house of the people of Israel and Egypt when he slew the Egyptians, what spared our house is.

It ends with a hymn. And right, Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me. And the initial, the original Passover meal, it was done in remembrance. It was a memorial and ongoing memorial. But here we get to the important thing.

Like, what's most unique and new is what Jesus says. This chalice, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant. There's something new, a new covenant in my blood. The Passover meal, the traditional Passover meal, it all revolved around the flesh and the blood of the lamb. And it was at the sight of the blood on the lintel or the door

that the angel passed over the house and they were saved. And it was the flesh of the lamb that was eaten. It all focused around. the lamb. And here in the last supper, in which this Passover meal receives its definitive meaning, it all revolves around Jesus and Jesus' flesh and Jesus' blood. This is my body which is given for you. This chalice which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who is instituting a new Passover through his death and resurrection

by which he passes over to the Father and a new Exodus as we are brought out of sin into relationship with the Father a new covenant in his blood and he is the new manna which will sustain us on our journey and the bread

blessed, broken, and given becomes his flesh. And as we, it was mandatory, you had to eat the flesh of the lamb. So, we must eat, we must receive the body of Christ

in the most holy Eucharist. And as it was obligatory to eat the flesh of the lamb, so Jesus says this, Remember, truly, this is John 6, truly, truly, I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day for my flesh is food indeed. And my blood is drink indeed.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died. who eats this bread will live forever. And so, my friends, let us rejoice in the good news. Emmanuel, God is with us. The son, the savior, the bridegroom, the light of the world, the bread of life, the kingdom, Jesus Christ, the full. fulfillment of all is with us and remains with us and gives himself to us as food for the journey.

As we conclude our meditation upon the five luminous mysteries, let's take a moment to recap where we've been, take another look. We touched on at the beginning that the luminous mysteries, these mysteries of light, they reveal something of who Jesus. Jesus is. At the baptism, we see Jesus revealed as the anointed one, as the Messiah. At the second luminous mystery of the wedding feast that canada, we see Jesus revealing himself as the new bridegroom who will give us the new wine. As Jesus proclaims the kingdom, we see that Jesus himself is the kingdom of God, and that throughout his earthly ministry, he is the king who is reigning, and we see the shepherd shepherding, the teacher teaching, and the Savior saving.

And all Jesus does by both word and deed. At the transfiguration, the fourth luminous mystery, we see Jesus revealed as the light of the world, the true light of the world, and also the fulfillment of all of the prophets. What all of the prophets proclaimed in prophesied is fulfilled in Christ. All we need is Jesus alone. And in the fifth luminous mystery, the institution of most holy euchreist, we see Jesus revealed is the Lamb of God and the bread of life, who gives himself as the new pascal lamb, who gives himself as the new lamb that will be slaughtered for the salvation of all,

and also the bread of life who gives us his flesh as food to sustain us on our pilgrimage to the eternal promise to land. My brothers and sisters, as we pray today with the fifth luminous mystery, let us ask for our hearts to be moot with the most profound awe, adoration, and gratitude for the bread of life, the Most Holy Eucharist, the Lamb of God, Jesus with us. 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, howlode 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 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 God, and at the hour of 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 for joining me. Praying with me again today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow, friends, Poco, Poco. Good bless y'all.