Day 200: Glory Hidden in Suffering

I am Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars the Renewal and this is the Rosary in a Year podcast where through prayer and meditation the Rosary brings us deeper into a relationship with Jesus and Mary and becomes a source of grace for the whole world.

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This is day 200.

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Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the second sorrowful mystery, the scourging at the pillar.

And to aid today's prayer and meditation, a reflection on some of what we have discussed up to this point.

We'll begin by going back again to the series of episodes

comparing and in some ways contrasting our Lord and the journey he goes on in his passion and the parable of the prodigal son.

And if you recall, and the prodigal son, after the son takes his inheritance and he squanders it and there's a famine, how does he end up?

He ends up like bent over, beat up, alone,

fighting at the trough for some portion of the food of swine.

And we see like an insight there, like into

externally, like the effects of sin, the consequences of sin beat up bent over alone

and I propose that Jesus in his scourging

is saying like look at me

look at me and see like what is being done to me as I am being scourged as I

am beat up

scourged stripped mocked

As Jesus, if you will, to quote St.

Paul, takes upon himself sin, like he is revealing to us both the nature and the heart of God, which we'll talk about, but also the reality of sin.

And Jesus, it's as if he's saying, like, look at me, like, this is what sin does

to your soul.

This is the true nature of sin.

It appears like shiny and bright.

There can certainly be a lot of temptations to watering down sin, the effects of sin, being indifferent towards sin.

And Jesus is saying, like, look at me.

look at me, this is what sin does.

This is what sin does to the world.

This is what sin does to your own soul, to relationships.

This is what sin did to the innocent Lamb of God.

So, we see our Lord discouraged as an invitation

to be reminded of the great horror of sin.

And can this be a source of lights, courage, perseverance for us when we are tempted?

Okay, next we'll review today.

During one of our episodes

on the Lord Scourged at the Pillar, we had a reading from St.

Faustina.

And if you recall in her prayer and then in her diary,

St.

Faustina wrote this experience of the Lord.

And this is what she wrote.

And Jesus gave to me to know in detail the gravity of the malice of these ungrateful souls.

Then the Lord said to me,

I see the sincere pain of your heart,

which brought great solace to my heart.

And the invitation offered in that episode and renewed today is to be the one.

Be the grateful soul

who stays with Jesus, who, if you will, consoles the heart of Jesus by being with him in his passion,

who sees him scourged, remains with him scourged.

It says, I receive this gift.

I receive this gift.

I am grateful.

Thank you, Jesus.

So there's this invitation to be the one, be the grateful soul,

be the one who remains with Jesus,

who receives the fullness of the gift of the shedding of his precious blood.

And then lastly for today,

if you recall, when we looked at the fresco of the flagellation by the artist Agostino Ciampelli,

if you recall, the fresco was had somewhat muted colors,

but this was broken by Jesus' halo.

No one else in this scene had a halo except him.

And it still shone bright,

even though he was undergoing his passion.

And in this halo, we saw the artistic sign of the holiness of our Lord and the glory of our Lord,

which will only shine brighter and brighter and brighter, because the worst

betrayal of man, scourging of man, tortures of man

can do nothing to dim or to extinguish the glory of Jesus, the holiness of Jesus.

And we call to mind the words of St.

Paul in his letter to the Romans.

If God is for us, who is against us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

We recall

the glory of Jesus, the strength of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus.

Yes, he freely undergoes the scourging, this passion,

but he will be victorious.

But even now, here, he's on the road to victory.

Like Jesus says yes to the Father's will,

and his glory shines, and Jesus says yes to saving you, and his glory shines.

He fights for you, he loves you, he pushes forward.

Nothing can diminish or dim or conquer

Jesus' fidelity to the Father

and Jesus' love for you

and his fight for you.

So now we'll take just a moment to be still

to perhaps go deeper, remain with the invitation to see the nature of sin, the truth about sin being revealed through our Lord's scourging.

Perhaps what has called you is this invitation to be the one,

be the grateful soul, the consoling soul who receives the gift of Jesus' passion.

Or perhaps the invitation is to focus on, to remain with the glory of Jesus, the love of Jesus.

that endures all and conquers all

so for you at this moment what is the grace, 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?

And now rejoice,

give thanks to the Lord for this time of prayer,

the grace given,

and the life shared.

And 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 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.

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 again today.

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

Poco Poke, friends.

God bless you all.