The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 39: In the Garden (2026)

Episode Date: February 8, 2026

Through obedience to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemene, in the mystery of the Agony in the Garden, Jesus will repair the damage caused by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Fr. Mark-Mary explores the significance of the Agony in the Garden through the book of Hebrews and the Catechism. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Agony in the Garden 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 at 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 a Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is Day 39. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year or text RII to 3377777. 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 podcasts in the Ascension app. There are special features built just for this podcast

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The first sorrowful mystery is the agony in the garden, Matthew chapter 26, verses 36 through 46. Then Jesus went with them to a place called Githemeni, and he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them,

My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me. And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, My father, if it be possible, let this child's pass for me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me one hour.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temple. temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again for the second time, he went away and prayed. My father, if this cannot pass until I drink it, your will be done. And again, he came and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.

What we're going to focus on in a reflection on Jesus' agony in the garden is Jesus as the new Adam, Jesus as the high priest, Jesus as the Lamb of God, but a couple of details to look at before going into our main focus here. The setting is the garden of Gessimini. Gessimini means the oil press. This teaches us something, right? As olives need to be crushed to make the oil, which brings anointing and healing and strength and nourishment,

as wheat needs to be crushed to make bread, as grapes are crushed to make wine, here are our Lord. He enters into the oil press and his agony in the garden. And I think an important note here is to understand that Jesus' experience it says in verse 38, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death. We can relate to this. We can use these words.

We can understand sorrow. Some of us can understand even sorrow to death, like this deep, profound sorrow. But the sorrow and the pain and the suffering and the agony that Jesus experiences in the garden is even deeper. This is what St. Thomas Aquinas says. Christ grieved not only over the love. of his own bodily life, but also over the sins of all others. And this grief in Christ surpassed all grief of every contrite heart, both because it flowed from greater wisdom and charity by which the pain of contrition is intensified, and because he grieved at the one time

for all sins. We can relate in many ways to Jesus' grieving, Jesus' agony, Jesus' pain, yet it's analogous, Jesus by this unity of his divine nature and his human nature is able to suffer even greater than us. One last detail to point out. So the opening verse, it communicates that Jesus went with them to a place called Gissimini and he said to his disciples. So Jesus goes to the garden with a number of his disciples. Then from those disciples, he takes Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. So they go a little bit distant. And then it says, and going a little farther. So there's these three levels of relationship, three levels of intimacy. There's all the disciples.

Then there's the three. And then Jesus goes, what we can say to, like, the new Holy of Holies, the secret room that he alludes to in the sermon on the Mount. Jesus goes to this place of union with his father. The high priest enters the holy of holies to make the offering. And we'll come back to that in a second. All right. So the catechism clearly states that Jesus is the new. Adam, and that what Jesus is going to do in his passion is by his obedience, by his offering,

he's going to undo the disobedience of Adam and the sins of Adam. Jesus, the new Adam, he enters the Garden of Gassimony. And what Jesus is going to do by his obedience, he is going to conquer. He's going to have victory over the disobedience of Adam and the effects of sin. He is going to, again, by being obedience to his father, he's going to conquer sin. and death. The Catechism paragraph 397 speaking on the sin of Adam says this man tempted by the devil, let his trust and his creator die in his heart and abusing his freedom disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. He chose himself over and against God. And here we see Jesus, the new Adam,

going to do the exact opposite. He's going to keep his trust in his father. It will not die as it died in Adam, he will use his freedom to say yes to the will of the Father. He will not abuse his freedom. He will be obedient to God's command, and he will not choose himself over and against God. He will choose the Father and the Father's will, even to the total sacrificing of himself. And now let us go to look at this offering, this obedience. Again, I think we can use this language of we see Jesus and the new, the fulfillment of the Holy of Holies, this place of intimacy with his father. And these words are so important. His prayer begins like this.

My father. My father. Jesus knows that God is his father. And in saying Father, he is saying, the one who knows me and the one who I know, the one who hears me and the one to whom I speak, the one who loves me, the one I also love, the one who is totally and completely faithful and trustworthy,

the one in whom I place all of my trust, and the one to whom I will be obedient. Thy will be done. Not my will be done, your will be done. I know you see me. I know you hear me. I know you want to hear me. I make my prayer to you.

I make my cry to you. I bring to you my heart. I bring to you my sorrow. But I trust. I trust not my will, but your will be done. And of course we see here the perfection, the fulfillment of how Jesus himself taught us to pray. Like, our father, thy will be done. Thy kingdom come.

And this is essentially what Jesus is saying, Father, Father, Father, thy will be done. And Jesus in the garden, he's also acting as the high priest. There's a lot of wisdom and beauty to be found in the book of Hebrews that can be applied here to Jesus' in the garden and also Jesus in the entirety of his passion. This is Hebrews chapter 5, verse 7. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears. To him who was able to save him from death,

and he was heard for his godly fear. Here we see Jesus offering up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death his father. It continues, although he was son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. And Jesus is the high priest and fulfillment of the priesthood.

He doesn't offer the offerings like the other priest did. We had the high priest in the day of atonement going into the Holy of Holies and offering sacrifices, including the goats that we've referred to as the skis. scapegoat that on which he imposed his hands, placed the iniquities of the people, sent it off to the desert. Or the Passover lamb, like sacrificed by the priest. What we have here is Jesus, the high priest who is both the priest offering the sacrifice and the sacrifice offered. And the sacrifice will be the total offering of himself.

But perhaps most important, it is an act of obedience made possible. because of his perfect trust in the Father and his goodness, that his passion and his death will not have the final word, but he will rise from the dead conquering death. Life will have the final word. The Father's goodness will have the final word. Reflecting on Jesus' agony in the garden, Pope Benedict 16th, he writes this. Jesus, he holds up to God the anguish of human existence.

Here in his agony, he's holding up the fullness of the anguish of human existence. He brings man before God. And his obedience becomes life for all. And so, my friends, as today, we reflect on the first sorrowful mystery, Jesus' agony in the garden. Let us go with Jesus. to this inner sanctum, this place of particular intimacy, where Jesus says, you know, my father, your will be done. And let us remember that Jesus did not trust in vain.

And so my brother and sisters, in those areas where life is difficult, where we experience ourselves the anguish of human existence, let us go like Jesus to the Father. Let us share with him our needs, our desires, our hearts. And let's entrust all things to him by saying, Thy will be done. Father, your will be done. With confidence that his goodness will have the final and everlasting word. 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 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 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, friends, thanks so much for joining me and praying with me again today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. All right, poco, poco. God bless y'all.