The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames) - Day 90: Consoling Mother

Episode Date: March 31, 2025

We read from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s On the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, recognizing that Mary’s office as Mother means that she will console us. Fr. Mark-Mary shares a prayer from St. Mother Theresa, and guides us through a reflection on Mary’s motherhood. 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.

I am Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of 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 90. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosaryinayear 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. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in a Year prayer guide book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings from scripture, St. Reflections, and beautiful full-page images of the sacred

art we'll be reflecting on. Today we're going to be praying with, reflecting on, the second joyful mystery, the visitation, with help from a writing by St. Alphonsus Liguri called On the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. Before getting into the writing itself, just a very brief introduction to our author, to our saint today. St. Alphonsus Liguori was born in 1696 and he lived a long life

dying in the year 1787. He is the founder of the congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, which is often called the Redemptress. Something interesting about St. Alphonsus Liguori, among many interesting things about St. Alphonsus Liguori, is that he was a bit of a law prodigy. He obtained a degree in civil and canon law by the age of 16. And apparently he won all of the cases he defended for the following eight years. My source on this is none other than our friend

Pope Benedict the 16th. So it's a good source, it's a reliable source. But then the Lord called him to be a priest. He was ordained at 30 years old. And at 36, he would found the congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. St. Alphonse Zogori is the patron saint of all confessors and moral theologians. He's also the author of one of my most quoted lines, which I use in my opening chapter on prayer and habits for holiness, which kind of is the thesis of the whole chapter there. And it's also quoted by the Catechism.

Paul Benedict quotes it sort of concisely saying, he who prays is saved. The whole Catechism quote is that, those who pray are certainly saved. Those who do not pray are certainly saved. Those who do not pray are certainly damned. St. Alphonsus is also a doctor of the church and he's known as the doctor of prayer or I've also seen him referred to

as the Marian doctor of the church. So now let us read and pray with a writing on the visitation from St. Alphonsus Liguri, the Doctor of Prayer and the Doctor of Mary. Mary set out from Nazareth to go to the city of Hebron, distant 70 miles, that is, at least seven days' journey over rugged mountains, without any other companion but her spouse Joseph. The Holy Virgin made haste as the evangelist records,

Mary went into the hill country with haste. Tell us, O blessed lady, why you undertake so long and painful a journey, and why you are in such haste on your way. I am going, she replies, to do my office of exercising charity. I am going to console a family. If then, O Holy Mother of God, your office is to console us and to dispense favors to our souls, O come and visit and console my poor soul. Your visit sanctified the house of Elizabeth.

She was already become Mother of God, but she was the first to salute her relation. She entered and saluted Elizabeth. Elizabeth enlightened by the Holy Spirit, knew that the Divine Word was already made flesh in the womb of Mary, and hence she called her blessed amongst women. And the fruit of her womb blessed also. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And full of holy confusion and joy she at the same time exclaimed, Whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? But what did the humble Mary answer to such words? She answered,

My soul doth magnify the Lord. As though she had said, Elizabeth, thou praises me, but I praise my God for having exalted me to the dignity of becoming his mother. He hath regarded the humility of his handmaid. O most holy Mary, since you dispense so many favors to those who ask for them, I beseech you to impart to me your profound humility. You esteem yourself as nothing before God, but I am worse than nothing, for I am nothing and a sinner. You can make me humble, make me such by your holy

intercession, for the love of that God who made you his mother." The end of the reading. Thanks be to God. Alright, so this is an experience of a comedian, right? A comedian, he meets somebody. The person he meets asks him, so what do you do? He says, I'm a comedian. What do they immediately respond? Hey, well then tell me a joke.

Right, a magician meets somebody. The person they meet says, oh, what do you do? He says, I'm a magician. He says, well, do a trick. Our nurse meets somebody, right? And they oh, what do you do? He says, I'm a magician. He says, well, do a trick. Our nurse meets somebody, right? And they ask, what do you do? The nurse responds, well, I'm a nurse. And the person says, hey, can you take a look at this rash?

It's kind of a common experience of all these people. I think all the nurses out there, they can relate to it, or the doctors out there. Well, can you take a look at this? And this is what I think in a certain, is happening here in the writing with St. Alphonse's Ligure, but properly so. Justly so. And this is a great way for us to come to and to pray with, with the visitation. We come to Mary.

And who is she? She's a mother. But she's not just any mother. She's the mother of God. She's a mother, right? But she's not just any mother, she's the mother of God. She's the mother of Jesus. And she's the mother called by God through the angel full of grace. And St. Alphondus in a beautiful example of like the meditats of engaging scripture, he comes to Mary and he says, blessed lady, why do you undertake so long and painful a journey?

And why you are in such haste on your way? And then St. Alphonse in his own prayer has this reply from Our Lady. She replies, To do my office of exercising charity. I am going to console a family. So Mary is communicating who she is and what her job is. As a comedian says, I'm a comedian, a magician says, I'm a magician. I am mother. I'm a mother of God and my office, my role, my task is charity.

More specifically here to bring consolation. And how does St. Alphonse's response, right? He responds like this, If then, O Holy Mother of God, your office is to console us and to dispense favors to our souls, come and visit and console my poor soul. If your office is to sanctify, will your visit sanctify the House of Elizabeth? Come, O Mary, and sanctify me also. This is just a beautiful disposition of a son to a mother,

of one in need to one who has come to console and to sanctify. So far, we've reflected on and studied and looked at the visitation as Mary as the New Ark. We've looked at her magnificat. We've looked at the beautiful response of Elizabeth. But here St. Alphonse, as he offers us this invitation to place ourselves in the place of Elizabeth and say to Mary, like you are mother, you are mother of God. You carry Jesus in your womb.

You are full of grace. Your office is to be a mother. Your office is to console and to sanctify. Here we are poor sinners in need. Come and console us. Come and comfort us. Come and sanctify us. Come and bring us. Come and sanctify us. Come and bring us Jesus.

And my friends, my brothers and sisters, I do believe that as the questions I proposed at the beginning could be annoying to the comedian or the magician or the nurse, the Blessed Mother, our mother, she always loves when we come to her and say, if your office is to mother, come and mother us now, to console us now office is to mother, like come and mother us now to console us now to sanctify, come and sanctify us now. St. Mother Teresa beautifully has this

prayer, which she said so often and taught so many. Mary be a mother to me now. Mary be a mother to me now. And I think that's what St. Alphonse's Liguria is saying here in his writing on the visitation and how I'm going to invite you to pray now as we conclude this episode, praying one decade of the most holy rosary. We're going to reflect on our poverty and our need to sanctification and in our prayer, just really say like mother, be a mother to me now. Mary, full of grace, bring to me the Holy Spirit, sanctify me. And now with Mary 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, 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 thouou 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. And 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. Well, thank you for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. All right, Poco Poco friends. God bless y'all.