The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 70: The Faith of Mary

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

In the Visitation, God is revealing that he keeps his promises. Fr. Mark-Mary leads us in lectio divina, meditating on finding blessedness in our faith in God, like Mary who believed in God’s promises. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Visitation and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Hi, I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars with 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 70. 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 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. 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. Today we'll be doing Alexio Divina with the second joyful mystery, the Visitation, Luke chapter 1 verses 39 through 56. And we'll be paying particular attention to the faith of Mary and the faithfulness of God. In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a city of Judah. And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she exclaimed with a loud cry, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why is this granted me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed, for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm.

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his posterity forever. And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

So let's go ahead and highlight in this time of Lectio some of the key movements versus themes. We have the opening verse, Mary arose and went with haste. Mary, who had recently conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, she goes promptly, she goes quickly to the hill country to Elizabeth. And remember who Elizabeth is. Elizabeth is the one who was called barren, yet she is conceived as Mary greets Elizabeth. The child in her womb leaps for joy.

John the Baptist, the child in her womb, is the first to recognize the Messiah. And these beautiful words of Elizabeth. Blessed is she who believed. Blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord, Elizabeth, rejoicing in the faith of Mary and the faithfulness of God. And then Mary's great prayer, the Magnificat, my soul magnifies the Lord, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. Is that true?

Did that come true? Yes, that came true. Mary had faith and God was faithful in all generations. Continue to call her blessed. And we see this great song of joy of Mary about the faithfulness of God, the goodness of God. And we remember that what Mary experienced first, we will also experience the goodness of God, the faithfulness of God. The visitation of Mary, this beautiful encounter between the Virgin Mother, Our Lady, the barren Mother, Elizabeth, the great prophet John the Baptist, and the Savior, all rejoicing in the fidelity of God, particularly in the advent of Christ, who has come to save mankind.

We're going to focus just on verse 45, these words of Elizabeth to Mary. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken What is Mary's great work? Mary's great work is faith, is to believe, is to trust, is to say yes to God. And God keeps His promises. One last time. Yes to God and God keeps his promises. One last time. Blessed is she who believed. Now we're moving into our time of Aratsu, our prayer. And again, we're gonna follow this movement.

Receive, respond, request, rejoice. What is the good news that the visitation is offering us to receive? Particularly, what is God revealing about Himself? God is revealing that He keeps His promises. God is revealing that if we say yes to Him, He will be faithful. And how do we see this? Well, we see God through the incarnation, through the miraculous conception, through the power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus in the womb of Mary, fulfilling all of His promises to send us a Savior in general, but also in particular, keeping His promise to Mary.

And what does this reveal to us as well about the heart of God? God created us. He loves us. He sustains us in being. But we sinned, right? We rejected God, and yet He has not abandoned us. He sees us. He sees us. He sees that we are in need of a Savior because of our own wrongdoing, our own sin. Yet still He sends us the Savior. Still He sends us Jesus. And in this most beautiful way, we also see how God exalts like Elizabeth and exalts John the Baptist and exalts Mary, particularly Mary,

that all generations will call her blessed and how this reveals the tenderness, the goodness of his heart. Now let's go ahead and respond and begin with praise and adoration. Lord, we just, we thank you, Lord, for your goodness. We thank you for your patience and your perseverance. We thank you for seeing us, for not abandoning us when we are lost, for not abandoning us to our sin. We thank you, Lord. We bless you, Father, for keeping your promises, for keeping your promises by sending a Savior. And in particular, let's go ahead and praise God for his fidelity to Mary. We thank you,

Lord, for your goodness. We thank you, Lord, for your goodness to our blessed mother, for your fidelity to the blessed mother, for your faithfulness to the blessed mother, forgiving her as a model, forgiving her as a gift, and fulfilling this promise that all generations will call her blessed. And we thank you for the work of being able to share and fulfilling this promise by ourselves, continuing to call her blessed. And now what else is the invitation?

What else is the other response? To imitate Mary's faith. Mary is blessed because she believed. May we also find our blessedness in our faith. May we also find our blessedness in our yes to God. Our trusting of Him that He is a Father who will not abandon us, that He will be faithful, that He will keep His promises, and request, Lord, help us to believe as Mary believed, that we may rejoice as

Mary rejoiced, that we may magnify you, Lord, as Mary magnifies you. And in closing, let us rejoice. We thank you, God. We thank you, Lord, that you give us what we need, that we don't have to believe by our own power, but that our faith, it's a grace that you want to give us, Lord. Help us to cooperate with this grace and fill us anew with this grace. We thank you, God, for your faithfulness. We thank you for your tenderness.

We thank you for this beautiful insight. And we thank you, Lord, for showing your faithfulness even today as you increase your working of grace, as you increase our faith. Now, as we increase our faith. Now as we end our episode with our time of contemplation or contemplatio, let's really bring to the Lord that area in our life where faith and trust are most difficult. And through Mary's prayers, ask for an increase in faith in that area, for an increase in hope that in that area if we believe that we too may experience the faithfulness of God.

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. 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. 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 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. Thanks for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco Poco, friends.

All right. God bless you all.