The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 60: Effects of Sin

Episode Date: March 1, 2025

Sometimes we don’t fully recognize or understand the effects of sin on our soul, but the mystery of the Scourging at the Pillar reveals the reality of sin to us. Fr. Mark-Mary continues the journey of reflecting on the passion of our Lord as it reveals the true nature of sin and the true nature of the heart of God. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Scourging at the Pillar 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 where 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 60. 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 33777. You'll get an outline of how we're going to preach month and it's a great way to track

your progress. The best place to listen to podcasts is in the Ascension app. There are 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 second sorrowful mystery is the scourging at the pillar. Matthew, chapter 27, verse 26. Then he released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

We're going to continue our journey reflecting on the passion of our Lord as it reveals the true nature of sin and the true nature of the heart of God. And to help with this, I'm going to continue to reference the parable of the prodigal son. So this is the parable of the prodigal son, reference the parable of the prodigal son. So this is the parable of the prodigal son, Luke chapter 15, starting at verse 13. He squandered his property and loose living, and when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate and no one gave him anything. The son, he took the inheritance and he spent it, right? And he spent it and he spent it and spent it. And instead of it satisfying His desires, it just inflamed them more.

And we see this in the nature of sin. Like, the more in which we try and accommodate sin or satisfy sin, the more distorted it gets. And eventually, the sin, it loses its sweetness, right? And it becomes something actually very harmful and very ugly that leaves us empty, desolate, despairing. You know, unfortunately, I think we have some insights into this as we see our brothers and sisters who have been caught up in addiction.

You know, in a lot of our work here in New York, we see those who have been like the son who has spent everything they had in addiction. And you see the way in which that life begins to reflect itself externally. You see them cut up and having open wounds, losing teeth, like bent over, beat up. Sin has this effect. And so you see this prodigal son like this, like the person who's been caught up in addiction,

who has nothing, who is dirty, who's been spending days and nights out on the field stealing, robbing to try and get what he can, fighting the swine. And again, he's just, you see this man now who is dirty, who is beat up, who is sick, who is frail, who is bent over. This is theologically, who is beat up, who is sick, who is frail, who is bent over. This is theologically, we talk about this,

like by sin, we become bent over, we become beat up. This is what happens when we really give ourselves over to the pursuit of our passions. My brothers and sisters, what we see in Jesus' scourge at the pillar. We see him becoming what the prodigal son became through sin. We see Him becoming through love. We see our Lord, again the innocent one, scourged, beaten, frail, bent over.

So many of us, right, we're not going to be going full blown into addiction. We're not going to have this clear visibility of the effects of our sin. And thank God for that. There's still the effects. They're probably not going to be fully matured. But what Jesus is revealing to us in his own passion, his own scourging, is like, look at me. Look at me. Look at me. This is what sin does to your soul. This is what sin does to the world. It scourges it. And that is what we become through sin. So my brothers and sisters, as we reflect on and pray today with this second sorrowful mystery, let us look at the Lord Scourged and let us see and be convicted of the truth of our sin and what it does again to our soul and to

the world. But also let us be moved by the goodness and the love of our Lord, who has taken it upon Himself for love of His Father, for love of us, and to shield us and protect us. And so 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, 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 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 end. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. All right, my brothers and sisters, thanks for joining me and praying with me again today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco a poco. God bless y'all.