Day 203: God’s Relentless Pursuit

I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and this is the Rosary in the 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.

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This is day 203.

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today we will be meditating upon and praying with the fifth sorrowful mystery the crucifixion and death of our lord

and now before we pray with this mystery today

let's take a moment to call to mind what we have prayed with and meditated upon up to this point

Back when we were in many ways just beginning our journey back at day 43

we had some time of prayer particularly with Pope Benedict XVI

reflection on Jesus during the crucifixion as you recall our Lord while nailed to the cross he prayed Psalm 22

my God my God

why have you forsaken me

this cry of despair but also

this revelation of hope.

And if you recall, Pope Benedict XVI, he saw in this prayer of Jesus Jesus bringing all of the world's anguished cry at God's absence before the heart of God Himself.

He writes, He takes their cry,

their anguish,

all their helplessness upon himself.

And in so doing,

he transforms it.

There's an invitation again today

to bring to Jesus crucified

to unite your own prayer to this prayer of Jesus, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And in so doing this, like bringing your cry, your anguish, your experience of absence or silence from God to the heart of God Himself,

But with hope,

with confidence, as Jesus does.

We've called to mind that throughout His passion, Jesus remains in dialogue with His Father.

So, if this is your experience today again,

we bring it with Jesus

before the heart of the Father.

But we remain here.

We wait on him.

And now, secondly, for our review today,

in the conclusion of the short mini-series in which we journeyed through the sorrowful mysteries interwoven with a variety of meditations on

the parable of the prodigal son,

I call to mind this prayer, this reflection of how the Father in the parable is always looking for for his son, attentive for his son.

And as soon as his son appears on the horizon, the father runs to him and embraces him and cries with him and kisses him and restores him to his dignity and brings him home.

And how I see in this very much

lived in salvation history as Jesus nailed to the cross at Calvary, says to like dismiss the name that tradition gives to the good thief like today you will be with me in paradise

we see this search and we see Jesus as the pursuit of the father for his son in this case the good thief coming to him taking upon himself like the consequences of sin

to bring him home

and what this reveals to us about the heart of Jesus is how deeply God is invested in us

how deeply God cares.

And if you remember, there's the rebuke that some of the apostles receive in the boat during the storm when they come to Jesus and say, like, do you even care?

And the answer to this question, a question that rises up in the hearts of man again and again and again, particularly as we encounter personal suffering or suffering of loved ones, is God, like, do you care?

And the answer to this question we find definitively answered in Christ crucified, who reveals to us the heart of the Father.

Do I care?

I care this much.

I care enough to become man, to take upon myself human frailty and sin,

to be arrested, mocked, rejected, scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified.

I care this much.

I am passionate about you.

And I am here with you.

And I am taking what you experience upon myself to be here with you.

So you are not alone, but also

to bring you home.

And so in our prayer, we see Jesus

answering this question:

God, do you care?

The answer to that question is found in Christ crucified.

And then, lastly, for today, if you recall

in our meditation with Pietro Gagliardi's fresco of the crucifixion,

if you recall, that's the image that had the big rainbow, which seemed to be completed by the outstretched and crucified arms of Jesus.

And what we see depicted here so beautifully

is that Christ crucified

in his crucifixion, like fulfilling

what like the rainbow symbolizes in salvation history, like this promise of God, the promise of God that death will not have the last word, but life will.

And if you will, we see

in the cross, in the crucifix, the fulfillment and completion

of that sign of God, the rainbow,

that Christ crucified

and eventually risen

is the sure sign of our hope and of God's fidelity.

That Christ crucified speaks to us this promise from the heart of the Father.

Death, suffering, pain,

injustice, tears will not have the last word.

But glory and life and justice and mercy and truth and resurrection.

So now we'll just take a moment of prayerful rest and leisure here.

And now we'll follow this roadmap of of prayer,

the four R's.

Today, in this moment, what is the grace being offered, the truth being revealed

that you are being invited to receive?

How can you respond?

What is the grace

that you would like to request at the service of this response?

And now rejoice,

give thanks to the Lord for this time of prayer,

the grace given,

and the divine life shared.

Now, together 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, 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 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, 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.

All right, Poke O Poke, friends.

God bless y'all.