Day 192: A Renewed “Yes”

July 11, 2025 16m

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Through storytelling and scripture, Fr. Mark-Mary explores the sacrificial freedom expressed by both Jesus and Mary during the Presentation in the Temple. Mary’s renewed “yes” is a powerful witness to steadfast faith. We are reminded to remain anchored in Christ with unwavering trust. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Presentation in the Temple and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary.

For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

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I'm 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.

And this is day 192.

To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit AscensionPress.com forward slash Rosary in a Year or text RIY to 3377.

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 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 of 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 the fourth joyful mystery,

the presentation.

So today before we get into our time of prayer, we'll go ahead and have a little review of what we have covered to this point.

If you recall back,

inspired by the words of Simeon at the presentation,

my own eyes have seen the salvation.

My own eyes have seen the salvation of God.

And I called to mind the prayer, we call it the canticle of Simeon, that religion priest, so myself personally, we pray every night, Lord, now you let your servant go in peace.

Your word has been fulfilled.

My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people.

And I shared the story of Ray, who was a man in our homeless shelter who would join us for Complin every night.

And if you recall, one of the characteristics of Ray was that he was blind.

And that blindness isn't necessarily a total, absolute inability to see, but sometimes you can see a little bit.

And so Ray had these big, big glasses, and we had these huge printouts of these words of Compline.

And every night, every night, he would sit in the chapel and he would pray these words with all sincerity and genuineness and faith.

My own eyes have seen the salvation.

And how Ray, as he came to be Catholic amongst us, as he came to be confirmed and receive his first communion,

he was an elderly man, he was a homeless man, he was a blind man,

but he was a joyful man.

Why?

Because his own eyes, his eyes of faith,

had seen the salvation that God had prepared in the sight of all peoples.

He knew Jesus.

And he knew what Jesus meant.

And he found his joy, his confidence, his hope, and his faith in Jesus,

Emmanuel, God with us.

So there can be an invitation today as we pray

to look upon Jesus again with the eyes of faith,

just like Ray did.

And to find our joy, our confidence, our fullness, our satisfaction,

our hope

in Jesus,

just like Ray did.

And we ourselves can echo the canticle of Simeon, Lord,

like now you let your servant go in peace.

Lord, you are enough.

And we also talked about this quote from St.

John Paul II

in one of his interviews.

When someone asked John Paul II like, what do you do with your free time?

And he said, all my time is free.

In the context of looking at this quote, remember, St.

Alphonsus wrote, Now we begin to see how much the sacrifice cost her

and what heroic virtue she, referring to Mary, was obliged to practice when she had herself to sign the sentence of condemnation of her dear Jesus to death.

And I shared the story of Pope St.

John Paul II.

All my time is free.

In some ways, echoing Jesus' own words, like, no one takes my life from me.

I lay it down freely.

What St.

John Paul II is saying is, like, I am free.

And whatever is happening to me, it's never just happening to me.

I am free.

And Jesus, like, no one condemns me to death.

I lay my life down freely.

And what we see in Mary, which is so profound, but also in many ways so challenging, is that at the presentation

and as she continues to walk with Jesus all the way to Calvary like she presents Jesus

she offers Jesus she freely shares in Jesus' sacrifice

and that Mary at the presentation in the temple she renews her fiat she renews her yes

and that as Simeon prophesies that her own soul will be pierced pierced,

she says yes.

She says yes.

And so we see Mary sharing in

not only the sufferings of Jesus,

but the offering of Jesus.

And there's many ways in which we ourselves

are invited

to enter into this freedom, the freedom of the sons and daughters of God, the freedom made possible only through the Holy Spirit, the freedom that says yes,

that shares in the offering.

And so we see Mary, we ponder Mary, we marvel

at Mary, we are inspired by Mary

and her freedom

and her offering.

And a last reflection for a review today.

We spent a day with Giulio Campi's fresco

of the presentation in the temple.

And the scene, it's filled with chaos and commotion as

Simeon is leaning backwards with his eyes closed, and people are moving and looking all around.

But in the midst of the chaos, our eyes find the eyes eyes of Mary.

And Mary's eyes are just fixed on Jesus.

And we find Mary here, right?

And we recall to mind Mary in the stillness, the quiet, the intimacy of the nativity, where her eyes were on Jesus.

And we see her again now in a situation where exteriorly everything has changed, and they're in the temple, and there's people everywhere.

And again, there's chaos, there's commotion,

but still, like Mary's interior disposition has not changed.

She remains at rest in adoration, in love, and focus.

And we see in Mary here this invitation to keep our eyes on Jesus.

We keep our eyes on Jesus amidst the chaos and the commotion.

And we find in him our confidence, our joy, our peace.

So today, as we reviewed the presentation,

there's this invitation to look with eyes of faith,

to seek Jesus, the cause of our salvation, the cause of our joy, the source of our hope.

We ponder Mary's yes, the renewal of her fiat,

her freely sharing in the offering.

And perhaps ourselves are being invited today to say yes to an offering.

But in all of this, in all of the commotion, in all of the chaos,

we keep our eyes on Jesus.

So we'll just remain here.

We'll linger a bit.

And now we'll leisurely move to our time of prayers following

this roadmap of the four R's.

So, today, from your own prayer, from

what I've shared again today,

what is the characteristic of the heart of God

that is being revealed

that you are being invited to receive?

How are you being invited to respond?

What grace

do you need to request?

And then rejoice,

give thanks to God

for the truths revealed

and the graces 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.