The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 51: Moved With Awe (2026)

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

How would we feel if we could experience the Nativity the way Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and Magi did? Fr. Mark-Mary shares the story of a visitor who truly experienced the awe and wonder of Christmas, revealing what an incredible gift Jesus is for all of us. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Nativity 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.

Hi, 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 the 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 51. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year or text R-I-Y-2-3-7-77. You'll get an outline of how we're going to pray each month. It's a great way to track your progress. Best place to listen to the podcast is in the Essential app. Their 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. The third joyful mystery is the nativity. Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 20. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be enrolled each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed who was with child.

and while they were there the time came for her to be delivered and she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the end and in that region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with fear

And the angel said to them, Be not afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy Which will come to all the people. For to you is born this day in the city of David's Savior Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes

And lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. When they saw it, they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child

and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them. As many of you may know, St. Francis, St. Francis of C.C. is attributed with creating the first ever crushed scene, the first ever reenactment of the manger scene. What St. Francis did is the day before Christmas,

he had a number of the brothers go and find a cave and prepare it in the manner of a manger. This is called the crash. And so he had hay brought in, and animals, and all of the like. And why St. Francis did this, he wanted to experience what our lady experienced. He wanted to experience what the shepherds experienced as they came and they saw the newborn babe of Bethlehem,

wrapped in swaddling clothes. And unfortunately, my friends, I can't come to where you are and bring some ox and donkeys and some other barn animals and maybe a couple shepherds and some hay and build you a little or a big crush for you to experience essentially everything that St. Francis built to experience again what Mary Joseph and the shepherds would have experienced. But what I think I can do is to share with you a story which may help us experience what these different people around the manger scene would have experienced at the nativity of the Lord. As I've referenced before, the friars, we have a homeless shelter in the South Bronx. And what we do for Christmas on Christmas Eve is we throw the guys of Christmas party.

We sing Christmas carols, prepare a really special meal with the help of some of our volunteers. And then we have a couple of rooms set up on one of the floors where the guys can go through and pick different items they want for Christmas. One Christmas Eve, as the friars were, had prepared all of this and was ready for the evening celebration, we received a new guest to the very first time. We'll call him Fitz. And Fitz had just gotten out of prison where he had been for a number of years for crimes that he had, in fact, committed.

And Fitz's whole life had been difficult and a lot led to him doing the bad things. that he had done. And so he comes to us, and he comes to us not because he knew what he was getting into, just because he had been told that this is a place that he might be able to find a bed. So Fitz comes in and we give him a little orientation we normally do, show him the room. And then we welcome him into the celebration that night. And so you can imagine his surprise, curiosity, confusion as we're all gathered together. in one of our recreation rooms with 25, 35 of our guests of the homeless men who are staying with us, a number of friars, these guys with funny beards and gray robes who he had no experience

of, wearing, you know, Santa hats. And everybody's eating snacks and popcorn and treats and candy and singing Christmas carols. And guys are standing up and being goofy and we're singing the Christmas Carol the 12 days of Christmas, whatever it's called. And on each day, different guys are getting up and do something fun and silly, and he's taking it in, and he's not, like, jumping in like everybody else's. He's just observing, and understandably so. So after we sing, you know, the carols, we go downstairs and have a really nice dinner. And again, Fitz's just taking it in. And you can see him kind of looking around and asking these questions. And as he's eating this really, really nice meal, the best meal he's had in a number of years, you can see, if you will, him,

keeping these things in this heart, pondering what's happening. So finally, we go up and get all together, and one of the brothers gives a little Christmas word and shares about their donations given and how we're sharing them with them so that they can have some gifts for Christmas. And one by one, each of the guys goes through the different rooms with his bag and picks out the gifts that he wants.

About halfway through, you know, the 30 guys, Fitz goes through. And in each door, he's greeted with a smile, in warmth and said, hey, here's what we have. You know, here's some jackets, here's some shoes, here's some socks. Like, take whatever you want. And he goes and he picks the things he wants and he fills his bag and as all the guys slowly start to reconvene again in the recreation room and they're chit-chatting and talking and eating some of the snacks. One of the brothers, he's fits, seated in the very back, bent over with his elbows on his knees and his bag at his feet and his

face in the palm of his hands. And you can see the movement of the shoulders that are indicating that Fitz is crying. So we don't know Fitz at all. And one of the brothers kind of goes up and sits by him and gently says, hey, Fitz, is everything okay? And Fitz slowly raises his face from his hands. And you can see his tears soaked cheeks and he begins to shake his head and it's just too much. It's just too much. Fitts was just overwhelmed by the goodness, overwhelmed by the gifts upon gifts upon gifts that he had received, especially in contrast to the life he had lived to that point. And his experience was one of being almost knocked over. It was a heavy gift. And his movement of his heart expressed through tears of like, it's just too.

much. And my brothers and sisters, I can't help but think that this is the most reasonable and just and logical response before the Lord's nativity, before the crush in the manger, and the babe of Bethlehem. It is a gift so good, so undeserved, so beyond expectation. It's just too much. And yet it's true. And perhaps this was the movement of the hearts, of the shepherds, as they saw the Lord. And they left with joy and wonder. This is unbelievable. Glory to God in the highest. It's just too good.

It's just too much. And I certainly believe that Mary would have experienced some of this, not only as she held in her own arms. the Messiah King, the babe of Bethlehem, but as she received the shepherds and in the future, the magi and their gifts. So my brothers and sisters, I invite you in prayer to place yourself before the manger, prayerfully in our imagination

to look upon Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, surrounded by Mary and Joseph perhaps you're joined by the shepherds and the magi and look at Jesus this gift given for you and ask the Lord for this

this holy movement of the heart the holy grace to receive the gift being given and to be moved with awe at this gift given us that is so undeserved but so good and so true

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 how lo 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 at 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 of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. My brothers and sisters, thank you so much for joining me and praying with me again today. I'll look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poca poca, poca, friends.