Day 207: Fiat by Fiat

I am 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 207. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year or text riy 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 i encourage you to pick up a a copy of the Rosary in a Year prayer guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast.
You'll find all the daily readings from scripture, saint reflections, and beautiful images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on. Today, we will be meditating upon and praying with the fourth glorious mystery, the Assumption.

Now before and in preparation of our time of prayer today, let's review some of what

we have already discussed and prayed with regarding Mary's Assumption.

If you recall, we looked at Mary's Magnificat in luke chapter one towards the end of the visitation and we noted like the pattern of mary's magnificat there is this praising god for what he has done in mary's own life and then there's this, this blessing of God for that which he will do

for all of God's people. And Mary experiences in herself the promises of God, the faithfulness of

God. Here, the assumption into heaven, like her going body and soul into heaven.
And we see what

Mary experiences as a precursor to what all of the church is going to be called to experience. And in Mary's assumption, we see that God keeps his promises.
You could say like we see that it's all true. Mary said, right, all generations will call me blessed.
Is that true? Yes. God has regarded the lowest state of his handmaid.
Is that true? Yes. He who is mighty has done great things for me.
Is that true? Yes. Holy is his name.
True. Yes.
He has mercy on those who fear him. Yes.
We see that everything that Mary praised God for and prophesied, it's all come true.

And we see Elizabeth's words to Mary when they greet during the visitation, like, blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Like we see this is all true.
And that which has been true for Mary will be true for us. and so those of us who wish to go where Mary has gone, those of us who wish to experience the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives, we're called to journey and to make this journey just like Mary did.
And how does Mary make that journey? Like fiat by fiatiat, yes by yes, be it done unto me according to your word. She follows, she receives, she believes, she prays, and God is faithful.
God keeps his promises. So there's this invitation as we meditate upon the assumption to receive the gift of hope and of confidence that what Mary is experiencing,

we ourselves are called to experience.

And for the sake of today,

namely the complete and perfect fulfillment

of the promises of God.

And a second for you today,

we'll pull from the episode where we had a quote from Bishop Fulton Sheen. Fulton Sheen, he wrote, her mystical flight is the event to which our whole generation moves.
Our age of carnalities, which loves the body beautiful, is lifted out of its despair by the assumption to honor a body that is beautiful because it is a temple of God. And Bishop Sheen pointed out, and it's easy for all of us to see sort of this emphasis on the preservation of the body, the fulfillment of the body.
There's just so much time and effort and money being put into like our physical form in modern world today. But as we noted, that is necessarily like a losing battle.
Our body will decay, at least our physical youthfulness. There's something good of this desire for preservation, for youthfulness, for eternity, but it's not going to be fulfilled like in this world.
And it's not going to be fulfilled by our own effort, by medical advancements, by supplements, etc. But it will be fulfilled like in heaven.
We believe in the resurrection of the body. We celebrate in the assumption Mary's body and soul being assumed into heaven, where Mary, who is the all-beautiful one, is beautiful for all eternity because of the faithfulness of God, because her body is a temple of God.
And so we receive in the assumption that the properly ordered and directed desire for perpetual health, for youthfulness, etc., that it is something given to us by God. It is a, if you will, like a little seed of our hope in the resurrection of the body.
But we don't trust in our own efforts, but we trust in God. And that which will make us truly beautiful is God alive and present in us because we are temples of the Lord and his transformative power.
Now, lastly for today, we had a quote from St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
St. Bernard wrote, The glorious virgin who mounts to the heaven today has without a doubt heaped joy upon joy for the citizens of the world above.
And we took a moment just to pray with and to reflect on the joy of the angels, the joy of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and Mary's assumption to heaven, and the joy of, as the saints fill the choirs of heaven themselves, the joy that they have in being reunited with the Blessed Mother. And I pulled that image from the documentary about when Mother Teresa returned to the mother house, and this wave and wave and wave of young nuns came to greet her with love and affection as a little bit of a foretaste, a preview of what that reunion in heaven would be like.
And there's this invitation for ourselves to reflect upon what do we think the joy of the citizen of heavens was like in hearing her voice and seeing her face and enjoying her blessed presence. And for ourselves, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, to have this desire to be reunited with our Blessed Mother in heaven.
So now we'll just take a moment of rest here, of reflection here,

of stillness,

and we'll move through with these four

hours of prayer.

Today, what is the grace being offered?

The truth being

revealed that you are invited to receive. How can you respond? What is the grace that you would like to request at the service of this response? And then rejoice.

Give thanks to the Lord for this time of prayer,

the grace given,

and the life of God shared. And now together with Mary, let us pray.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 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 the people who are living in the world. 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,

Thank you. 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, 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 Spirit.
Amen. All right, Thanks so much for joining me and praying with me today.

I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow.

Poco Poco, friends.