Day 63: Even Unto Death

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. This is day 63.
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Speaker 1 The fifth sorrowful mystery is the crucifixion and death of our Lord.

Speaker 1 Luke chapter 23

Speaker 1 verses 33

Speaker 1 through 46

Speaker 1 and when they came to the place which is called the skull there they crucified him and the criminals one on the right and one on the left

Speaker 1 and Jesus said

Speaker 1 Father forgive them for they know not what they do

Speaker 1 and they cast lots to divide his garments

Speaker 1 and the people stood by watching but the ruler scoffed at him saying He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one.

Speaker 1 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.

Speaker 1 There was also an inscription over him, This is the king of the Jews.

Speaker 1 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.

Speaker 1 But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

Speaker 1 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. And he said,

Speaker 1 Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.

Speaker 1 And he said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in paradise.

Speaker 1 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,

Speaker 1 while the sun's light failed, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Speaker 1 Then Jesus crying with a loud voice said,

Speaker 1 Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

Speaker 1 And having said this, he breathed his last.

Speaker 1 With the crucifixion and death of our Lord we see this high point

Speaker 1 of the revelation, the truth of sin,

Speaker 1 and the truth of who God

Speaker 1 is.

Speaker 1 Behold, Jesus crucified.

Speaker 1 Behold, our inheritance nailed to a tree,

Speaker 1 crowned with thorns, mocked, scourged,

Speaker 1 stripped of everything.

Speaker 1 This is the result of sin.

Speaker 1 This is what sin does to the soul. This is what sin does to the world, to humanity.
And the fruit of sin is only death.

Speaker 1 Also, behold the truth of who God is.

Speaker 1 The answer to the deepest question and longing of the human heart.

Speaker 1 Is God good?

Speaker 1 Does God care?

Speaker 1 Does God see me?

Speaker 1 Jesus Christ on the cross answers this question.

Speaker 1 We'll return for one last time to the parable of the prodigal son. This is Luke chapter 15, and we'll start at verse 20.
And he arose and came to his father.

Speaker 1 But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.

Speaker 1 I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Speaker 1 But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe and put it it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring the fatty calf and kill it.

Speaker 1 And let us eat and make merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.

Speaker 1 And they began to make merry.

Speaker 1 My brothers and sisters, this is the good news.

Speaker 1 How much do we desire like the prodigal son to be pursued? like this by the Father.

Speaker 1 To have the Father who cares about us so much, is invested in us so much, has never stopped thinking about us, keeping vigil, always with his eyes on the horizon, waiting for us just to turn so that he can run to us and embrace us and kiss us and restore us back to life, love us back to life.

Speaker 1 My brothers and sisters, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Father's pursuit of you and of me.

Speaker 1 The good news is that this is not just a parable. This is a historical, salvific fact in all of our histories and in your history, in my history.

Speaker 1 Jesus, you can see while we were yet at a distance,

Speaker 1 still stuck in our sin,

Speaker 1 he emptied himself and came to us.

Speaker 1 I think it's so important because there's a tendency we can like sanitize, like the father, that he's just sort of like still indifferent, like receiving the son back, like, okay, good.

Speaker 1 I'm glad you're back. This is great.
But we see, like, what is the nature of the father in this pursuit of the father? Like, we see what it actually looks like in Jesus Christ on the cross.

Speaker 1 Like, the father is not just waiting in his doorstep, happy to receive the son, but kind of indifferent if it doesn't happen. He is so invested in the son, he empties himself.

Speaker 1 And what the sinner has become by his sin, like so undignified and lowly, Jesus, God becomes out of love. He enters into our situation.

Speaker 1 He comes to us and embraces us and saves us and restores us back to life.

Speaker 1 The salvific

Speaker 1 pursuit and embrace of the Father of the Son,

Speaker 1 it happened at Calvary. And it is at Calvary we see the true nature of the heart of God.

Speaker 1 There's no indifference in the heart of God towards us.

Speaker 1 There's passion, there is love, there is fighting, there is pursuit unto death.

Speaker 1 Does God care? Can he be trusted? Does he see you? Is there hope? My brothers and sisters, look at Christ on the cross.

Speaker 1 Behold the truth of the heart of God,

Speaker 1 of the heart of Jesus,

Speaker 1 who is revealing to us perfectly the heart of the Father for you.

Speaker 1 For the last of these sorrowful mysteries, we actually changed the Gospel of Luke.

Speaker 1 And I think it's interesting and it's noteworthy that the Gospel of Luke is who gives us the parable of the prodigal son.

Speaker 1 And here we see Jesus embracing and living out this parable for the good thief, who we often call Dismas.

Speaker 1 Jesus comes in pursuit of this poor man to save him. He is crucified next to him.

Speaker 1 And Dismas, right? He doesn't need to make a long journey back home. All Dismas does is he turns to Jesus and he says this,

Speaker 1 Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power.

Speaker 1 And Jesus says, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

Speaker 1 This parable happens, and it's real for the good thief,

Speaker 1 and it's real for you and me.

Speaker 1 As we pray with and ponder

Speaker 1 this fifth sorrowful mystery, the crucifixion and death of our Lord. Yes, we look at and see the nature and the truth truth of sin and the fruit of sin.

Speaker 1 But even more so, we look and we ponder the heart of God

Speaker 1 to what lengths and depths He has come in pursuit of us

Speaker 1 to meet us in the fullness of our misery and poverty.

Speaker 1 He takes it upon himself.

Speaker 1 He runs to us,

Speaker 1 desiring to embrace us and kiss us and save us

Speaker 1 so that we can be with him forever in paradise.

Speaker 1 My brothers and sisters, behold our God.

Speaker 1 Behold the heart

Speaker 1 of God.

Speaker 1 The mercy of God.

Speaker 1 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speaker 1 Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Speaker 1 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.

Speaker 1 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Speaker 1 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Speaker 1 Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Speaker 1 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.

Speaker 1 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Speaker 1 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Speaker 1 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.

Speaker 1 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speaker 1 All right. Thank you for joining me and praying with me again

Speaker 1 today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you tomorrow, Poco, Poco.

Speaker 1 All right, God bless you all.