Day 202: Scapegoat and Savior
Fr. Mark-Mary connects Jesus carrying His cross to Christ as the new scapegoat, freely taking on the exile, rejection, and sins of all humanity and carrying them to His place of crucifixion. Simon of Cyrene had the opportunity to let his suffering draw him closer to Jesus—an invitation extended to each of us in our own crosses of loss, illness, or pain. When we unite our suffering with His, our crosses too can become salvific, glorified, and trophies of shared victory in Christ. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Carrying of the Cross and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary.
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Transcript
Speaker 1 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.
Speaker 1 The Rosary in a Year is brought to you by Ascension.
Speaker 3 This is day 202.
Speaker 1 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 3377.
Speaker 1 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 this podcast is in the Ascension app.
Speaker 1 There are special features built just for this podcast and also recordings of the full rosary with myself and other friars.
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Speaker 10 Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the fourth sorrowful mystery,
Speaker 12 Jesus carrying his cross.
Speaker 2 And before our time of prayer, let's review what we have prayed with and meditating upon up to this point.
Speaker 4 A theme that we touched on in a variety of different ways was looking at Jesus as the fulfillment of the new scapegoat.
Speaker 8 And we talked about back in the Old Testament for the Day of Atonement, there was a scapegoat, a literal goat that the high priest would place his hands on on the day of atonement.
Speaker 2 And then this goat would be offered by sending it off into the wilderness.
Speaker 5 And there's many ways in which we looked at Jesus becoming the fulfillment of this, taking upon himself
Speaker 16 all of the sins of humanity.
Speaker 11 And this is a fitting reflection for the fourth sorrowful mystery.
Speaker 5 mystery, Because, as you may recall, to be crucified,
Speaker 16 Jesus was led outside of the city, namely Jerusalem, to Golgotha.
Speaker 17 And so we can call to mind
Speaker 10 this goat, which, if you will, has received the sins of the world, going out into the wilderness, leaving the city to be offered.
Speaker 19 And Jesus himself,
Speaker 7 like freely making this journey, freely taking upon himself the exile, the rejection, the sins
Speaker 8 of all of the people,
Speaker 7 and carrying it into the wilderness or carrying it to his place of crucifixion.
Speaker 5 Then, in a further like meditation, our own meditation was met
Speaker 13 by Simon.
Speaker 13 And we looked at how Simon was compelled
Speaker 15 to help Jesus carry his cross.
Speaker 4 He was forced to do so.
Speaker 13 But Simon, right, he was compelled,
Speaker 6 but still free.
Speaker 13 And Simon could have
Speaker 14 carried the cross under force.
Speaker 5 like endured his own share in this injustice,
Speaker 5 like completely keeping to himself like completely like begrudgingly like with the constant narrative of just like rejection of what was happening
Speaker 2 or there could have been some openness to in this case jesus
Speaker 19 and looking at jesus conversing with jesus
Speaker 12 allowing the suffering that simon was experiencing the injustice that the simon was experiencing
Speaker 7 to
Speaker 22 allowing it to bring him close
Speaker 21 to Jesus.
Speaker 13 And I do believe that if Simon, like Jesus at some point,
Speaker 20 accepts
Speaker 20 his part, his lot, accepts the cross, surrenders to what is happening.
Speaker 17 It's an opportunity for him to encounter the Lord.
Speaker 10 And we're not going to go into it in a lot of detail, but again, I think it's an important caveat reminder that this isn't supposed to be used to kind of manipulate us into not fighting injustice, etc.
Speaker 9 But there are many crosses, sufferings that we are going to have to carry while seeking a proper remedy, while seeking proper judgment, or that we are going to be carrying for our lives,
Speaker 16 such as
Speaker 18 the crosses of loss, of chronic illness, etc.
Speaker 2 And can we, in the midst of this cross, have an openness to it bringing us close to Jesus?
Speaker 9 Can we, in some way, model
Speaker 7 the prayer of Jesus,
Speaker 18 not my will, but your will be done.
Speaker 11 This act of surrender, of trust,
Speaker 12 of openness to the saving power of God
Speaker 17 and the unitive potential of suffering with our Lord.
Speaker 15 And lastly, for our review today, if you recall, St.
Speaker 13 Thomas Aquinas, he wrote this,
Speaker 11 speaking of Jesus, Christ bore his cross as a king does his scepter.
Speaker 11 His cross is the sign of his glory,
Speaker 9 which is his universal dominion over all things.
Speaker 11 And he goes on to say, he carried his cross as a victor carries the trophy of his victory.
Speaker 5 And Jesus, in embracing the cross and freely accepting the cross and carrying the cross, he glorifies the cross and is glorified through the cross.
Speaker 19 And in doing so, Jesus changes that which is unholy and disgraceful and dishonorable
Speaker 2 into something royal,
Speaker 13 something victorious,
Speaker 20 a trophy of his victory.
Speaker 13 If we too learn to carry our cross, embrace our cross with Jesus,
Speaker 2 these painful, dishonorable, disgraceful things
Speaker 5 can be salvific,
Speaker 8 glorious,
Speaker 13 transformative,
Speaker 5 and become trophies of our share in this victory.
Speaker 2 Brothers and sisters, it's true, it remains true, that to suffer alone it is tragic,
Speaker 25 but to suffer with Jesus is redemptive and is salvific.
Speaker 5 So, now let us take a moment of stillness
Speaker 17 to sit with this mystery, to sit with what we have reviewed and called to mind today.
Speaker 3 And let's go through this roadmap of prayer, these four R's.
Speaker 3 Today in this moment, what is the grace being offered, the truth being revealed
Speaker 11 that you are invited to receive?
Speaker 5 How can you respond?
Speaker 6 What is the grace
Speaker 1 that you would like to request at the service of this response?
Speaker 21 And then rejoice.
Speaker 5 Give thanks to the Lord for this time of prayer,
Speaker 11 for this mystery of our salvation,
Speaker 19 and for the grace given,
Speaker 25 and the life of God shared.
Speaker 1 And now, together with Mary, let us pray.
Speaker 5 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
Speaker 26 Our Father, who art in heaven,
Speaker 18 hallowed be thy name.
Speaker 9 Thy kingdom come,
Speaker 18 thy will be done,
Speaker 16 on earth as it is in heaven.
Speaker 11 Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,
Speaker 5 and lead us not into temptation,
Speaker 18 but deliver us from evil.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women,
Speaker 21 and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 26 pray for us sinners
Speaker 25 now and at the hour of our death.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
Speaker 24 now and at the hour of our death, amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 26 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.
Speaker 8 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 26 pray for us sinners,
Speaker 24 now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women,
Speaker 21 and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 26 pray for us sinners,
Speaker 25 now and at the hour of our death.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 25 pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 26 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women,
Speaker 21 and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 26 pray for us sinners,
Speaker 24 now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 26 pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 14 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Speaker 23 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Speaker 18 Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Speaker 8 pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 5 Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, now, and ever shall be,
Speaker 7 world without end.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 11 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 23 Amen.
Speaker 9 Thank you so much for joining me and praying with me again today.
Speaker 5 I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow.
Speaker 7 Poco, Poco, friends.
Speaker 11 God bless y'all.