Day 25: No Longer in Darkness

I'm Father Mark Mary with the 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 becomes a source of grace for the whole world.

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This is day 25.

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He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

On the third day, he rose again from the dead.

The lens I've chosen and hopefully been led to by which to approach and to reflect on this part of the creed comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 9 and following.

The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.

He came to his own home, and his own people

received him not.

The first day we looked at the Creed, we looked at God as the Creator.

And God, He created everything.

And He created our universe and He created our world.

And in doing so, He created our home, the earth.

As John says, the world was made through Him and Jesus Christ.

He's there, He's part of creation.

But of course, as we know, starting with Adam and Eve and then falling, to each of us, we've sinned

and we kind of messed up our home.

And God,

in response to it, is going to send us a Savior.

And for our Savior, for his son, he has, as we talked about, created a home for him.

He chose the Blessed Virgin Mary and through grace preserved her from all sin.

She is the Immaculate Conception.

And having her full of grace and free from sin, the Father is preparing a home by which his Son can enter into the world, by which the light can enter into

our man-made darkness, Jesus comes to save us.

Again, as the Gospel of John says, he came to his own home,

and his own people received him not.

And it's not that we just said, there's no room in the inn.

It's not just that we said, you're not welcome here.

We responded by creating for him a home of our own making and our own choosing.

The home,

of course, being a tomb, and the way to this home

for the Savior being through the judgment of Pontius Pilate, his crucifixion, and death.

The light entered the world,

and my brothers and sisters, we have chosen darkness.

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 598 reminds us that

in her magisterial teaching of the faith and the witness of her saints, the church has never forgotten that sinners were the authors and ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured.

Going on, we must regard as guilty

all those who continue to relapse into their sins, since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross.

And so while we may not have been alive, you know, 2,000 years ago, we can still very much say that he came to our home, and by our own sins sins and our own continuing in sins, we chose him not.

And this is heavy.

This is heavy mysteries.

And I'm a religious, I'm a Franciscan, I'm a man, hopefully, of the cross.

Like

this is a place that's important for us, and we love to go as it is for all people.

But we never go.

And this is just a reminder.

We're going to kind of pray into it as well.

It's like, by the grace of Jesus Christ, by the grace of his resurrection, there's no longer total darkness.

Even on Good Friday, the Good Friday liturgy lights the little candle and its mention of the resurrection.

We look at our own sinfulness and the effects of our collective sinfulness with God, always with God,

never just by ourselves, never allowing the accuser to come in, but just with God.

And when we go with God, we can see it truly and we can look upon these most horrendous of truths.

and realities, but still with the light of faith and hope that God can bring about good, that there is an invitation to repentance and to reconciliation.

So with God,

with the light of hope,

let us dare to just spend some time

before the crucifixion,

before our response, our collective response, our individual responses to him.

Let us ask for the grace to be in touch again of our need for him.

Let us ask for the grace to be obedient and trusting.

Let us ask for the grace of a radical openness to receive him however and whenever he comes to us.

And to help us with our prayer before we go into our Our Father and Hail Mary's,

I'm going to pull from the Good Friday liturgy.

There's a part of the Good Friday liturgy called the Reproaches.

And so if you'll join me in praying and going with our lady to the foot of a cross again, and praying with these words.

My people,

what have I done to you?

Or how have I grieved you?

Answer me.

Because I led you out of the land of Egypt, you have prepared a cross for your Saviour.

Because I led you out through the desert forty years, and fed you with manna and brought you into a land of plenty,

you have prepared a cross for your Saviour.

What more should I have done for you and have not done?

Indeed, I planted you as my most beautiful chosen vine,

and you have turned very bitter for me.

For in my thirst, you gave me vinegar to drink,

and with a lance you pierced your Savior's side.

I scourged Egypt for your sake with its firstborn sons, and you scourged me and handed me over.

I led you out from Egypt as Pharaoh lay sunk in the Red Sea, and you handed me over to the chief priests.

I opened up the sea before you, and you opened my side with a lance.

I went before you in a pillar of cloud, and you led me to Pilate's palace.

I fed you with manna in the desert, and on me you rained blows and lashes.

I gave you saving water from the rock to drink, and for drink you gave me me gall and vinegar.

I struck down for you the kings of the Canaanites, and you struck my head with a reed.

I put in your hand a royal scepter,

and you put on my head a crown of thorns.

I exalted you with great power,

and you hung me on the scaffold of the cross.

And if I can add my own,

I prepared a home for you,

and you led me to the tomb.

My people,

what have I done to you?

Or how have I grieved you?

Answer me.

In closing, let us receive the light of hope that the church offers us.

This is the prayer after communion from the Good Friday Liturgy.

Almighty ever-living God, who have restored us to life by the blessed death and resurrection of your Christ.

Preserve in us the work of your mercy, that partaking of this mystery, we may have a life unceasingly devoted to you, through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

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 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, friends, let's say thank you to Jesus for loving us.

And thank you for joining me and praying with me again today.

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

All right, God bless y'all.