Day 15: Mother of God

Hi, I'm Fr. 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.
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You'll find all the daily readings from scripture, saint reflections, and beautiful full-page images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
I'd like to root our reflection here in the Old Testament. We'll take a look at 1 Kings.

This is chapter two, verses 19 and 20.

Here's what it says.

So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah.

And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her.

Then he sat on his throne

and had a seat brought for the king's mother.

And she sat on his right.

Then she said, I have one small request to make of you. Do not refuse me.
And the king said to her, make your request, my mother, for I will not refuse you. So much in the supernatural order is going to be a reflection and a perfection of what we find in the natural order.
In the natural order, so much depends on who you know, and then who they know, who you are to them, and whoever that other person is that they know is to them, if you're tracking that. Okay, so in the reading, who do we have? We have Adonijah, and who does Adonijah know? Adonijah knows Bathsheba.
Who does Bathsheba know? She knows King Solomon. All right, so what's the relationship? Well, obviously there's some sort of soft spot in the heart of Bathsheba for Adonijah.
So she receives him. She receives his request and then she brings it to King Solomon.
And it says that King Solomon, when Bathsheba approaches, right? He like stands up, he arises, he bows in honor, he has a seat placed. Like what is Bathsheba's relationship to King Solomon? Well, she's his mother.
And obviously like there's this reverence, a love, a respect that the king has for his mother. And so then what happens? The queen says, I have a request for you.
And without even knowing the request, the king says like, of course I will grant it. And therefore, because Adonijah knew the mother of the king, his request was granted.
My brothers and sisters, I believe this happens as well. And it's perfected in the spiritual order.
Like, who do you know? You know, Holy Mary. And who does Holy Mary know? Well, she knows Jesus.
And what are the different relationships at play? Well, like Mary loves us. She's our mother.
And then who is her? What's her relationship to Jesus? She is his mother, Holy Mary, mother of God. All right, let's go ahead and just kind of root this now in something a little bit more modern.
Pretend you're living in a neighborhood. On your left, you got Vito.
Across the street, you got Dr. Elizabeth and her family.
And then to your right, you got Miss Janet, who your kids call Grandma Janet. Now, Vito owns a pizza place.
So, one day you're down there at the pizza place and you're eating a slice of pepperoni and you got to go to the bathroom. And you see that on the bathroom door, it says employees only.
So, you go to Vito and like, hey, Vito, hey, man, I realize it says employees only. I got to use the bathroom.
What do you think? Would I be able to use the bathroom real quick? And Vito's like, come on, come on. We're family.
Of course, go ahead. Right? That makes sense.
You know, Vito, you know the owner. And so like, it's the employees only bathroom, but he's going to say, yeah.
And then to the other side of the house, you got grandma, Janet. And grandma, Janet, her son is the executive of a board of a foundation.
And so, you know, you have this charity that you're trying to help out and trying to raise

some money for to, you know, feed children.

And so you go to your neighbor, Miss Janet, Grandma Janet, and you say, hey, you know,

Miss Janet, I'm trying to sort of raise some money with this work for the homeless and

the poor and children.

Like, do you think you could talk to your son for me?

She's like, yeah, of course.

Come on, your family too.

So she goes to her son because like of this relationship between son and mother you know the son listens to her and you get the grant for the poor that for the work that you're trying to do right all of this stuff makes sense it happens all the time my brothers and sisters this is reflected and perfected in the spiritual order with the blessed mother. Like, who do you know? You know, Holy Mary.
And who are you to Holy Mary? Like, you are beloved children, sons and daughters. Like, she loves you.
She cares for you. Who does Mary know? Of course, our lady, Mary, she knows Jesus.
And what is their relationship? Well, we have it in the prayer, mother of God. Mary is the mother of God.
And so when we bring our intercessions, when we bring our needs and intentions to Mary, asking her to take them to God, we have this confidence that they will be taken care of, that our prayers will be answered. We see this reflected in scripture, particularly at the wedding feast of Cana, where Mary sees that they're running out of wine.
So what does she do? Like as mother who loves those at the wedding feast, she goes to Jesus, makes the request. And Jesus, if you will, like King Solomon to Bathsheba, Jesus is obedient.
He listens to his mother. And this continues in heaven.
And so as we conclude the Hail Mary praying, you know, Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. What we're entrusting to our lady who loves us, what we're entrusting to her is like all of our needs, all of our spiritual needs at this moment that we may persevere faithfully in grace today, but also in the ultimate in the final moments the moment of our death needs at this moment, that we may persevere faithfully in grace today,

but also in the ultimate, in the final moments, the moment of our death. We bring this to Mary,

we bring it to her with confidence that she brings them to her son, to our Lord,

they will be answered. And so my brothers and sisters, we just today reflect again upon

the great gift it is that we have access to Mary, that she is given to us as a mother who loves us. But also we recognize her particular place in the spiritual order, that she is the mother of Jesus, that she is the mother of God, that she is the queen of heaven and earth, and that Jesus and her have this particular relationship.
And so let us again with confidence today and gratitude for the gift of Mary's mother, just bring all of our needs and intentions, but particularly for those intentions most near and dear to our hearts and those most necessary, the grace to persevere, to follow the Lord today, and to receive the grace of final perseverance at the hour of our death. 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.
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, brothers and sisters, thank you

again for joining me, praying with me today. I look forward to continuing the journey with you

again tomorrow. Poco a poco, friends.
All right. God bless y'all.