Day 119: Till The End
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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. The Rosary in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. Today is day 119. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash Ascension.

Rosary in a Year or text R-I-Y to 33777. 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. On behalf of myself and the whole team here at Ascension, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's helped support this podcast financially. Your support is so appreciated and helps us to reach as many people as possible.

And if you haven't already, please consider supporting us at ascensionpress.com forward slash support. Today we will be reflecting on and praying with the first Sorrowful Mystery with help from a writing by St. Hilary of Poitiers on the Most Holy Trinity. The emphasis of our meditation is going to be, He loved us till the end. I'll write a brief background on our author, St. Hilary of Poitiers.

which I know I'm not pronouncing correctly. So anyway, St. Hilary's born around the year 315. He died more or less in the year 368. He grew up in a pagan family, but would later convert to Christianity. He would eventually be made a bishop and would spend kind of most of his time as a bishop really in battle with the Arians and Arianism. Again, Arianism is the heresy of

which held that Jesus was only human and not divine because of his Orthodox teaching and his authentic defense of Jesus as having a fully human nature and fully divine nature. Being one divine person, he'd undergo persecution and eventually be exiled. Eventually he would return with the death of the emperor at the time. Something interesting and noteworthy about St. Hilary of Poitiers is that one of his most famous understudies would also go on to become a saint, St. Martin of Tours.

St. Hilary is the doctor of the church and he's kind of got a lot of names. He is known as the doctor of Christ's divinity, the Athanasius of the West, of course, the reference to St. Athanasius, and pretty cool one, the hammer of the Arians. And now our reading from St. Hilary, again, focusing on Jesus and that he loved us till the end. The gospels mutually compliment one another since some are understood through others and

because they all are the teaching of the one Spirit. John, who was preeminently a teacher of spiritual ideals, acquaints us with this petition of the Lord that all the others pass over in silence when he says that the Lord prayed as follows, "'Holy Father, keep them in thy name. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou hast given me, I guarded.' Hence, that prayer was not for himself, but for the apostles. Nor is he sad on his own account.'

who warns them to pray that they may not be tempted. Nor is the angel sent to him who, if he wished, could bring down 12,000 legions from heaven. Nor is he who is troubled unto death afraid because of death. Nor does he pray that the cup may pass over him. The cup for which he prays to the Father, that it may pass away, cannot pass away unless he drinks it. And that for which the Lord prays, he assuredly prays for these men who he himself has saved as long as he remained with them.

and whom he has also entrusted to the Father, that they may be saved. But now, since he is about to accomplish the mystery of the death, he prays that the Father may be their protector." The end of the reading. Thanks be to God. Okay, and again we're focusing on how Jesus loved us to the end. So, St. Hilary's opening words, they're important.

I think for helping us to understand this reflection, he starts with the reminder. These are his words. The gospels mutually complement one another since some are understood through others because they are all the teaching of the one spirit. And so what he's going to do is he's going to weave together reflection using John's gospel, which includes what is called Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17. And then Jesus' agony in the garden, which the evangelist John only alludes to briefly.

This is what John writes regarding the agony. "When Jesus had spoken these words," this is referring to John 17, "he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples." And then John goes on to narrate the betrayal of Judas and Jesus' arrest.

in the garden, but he doesn't go into the details. He doesn't specifically mention Jesus' prayer to the Father. You know, "My Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass. Not my will be done, but your will be done." Now that we've given some of the groundwork to understand the different sources from which St. Hilary is drawing, let's go ahead and dive into the main theme of our day's writing. And a particular golden thread that stands out at least to me. Jesus, in the high priestly prayer, he speaks to the Father about the apostles.

He acknowledges them as the Father's gift to him. He proclaims that he has consecrated them in the truth. And then he re-entrusts them to the Father. St. Hilary, he summarizes this with the words. He says that the Lord prayed as follows. Holy Father, keep them in thy name. While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou hast given me, I guarded. Hence, the prayer was not for himself, but for the apostles. And what I want to highlight is in these final moments before his arrest,

Jesus is praying for the apostles. In other words, he is still even here, others focused. Then in the garden, as we've mentioned before, he remains again, others focused, namely the Father. Three times he goes to the Father. My Father, my Father, my Father. He's focused on the Father's will and on the salvation of the world.

even at the sacrifice of himself, the shedding of his own blood. And why is this so noteworthy? I think all of us can relate to this. When things get difficult, the more selfish and the more self-focused and self-reliant I get. Like when I'm cold, I'm tired, annoyed, hungry. Quickly, my main concern is getting what I want to feel better. But

This is just not the movement of love when it encounters suffering and difficulty. Authentic love, divine love, always sacrifices itself. It always prioritizes the other at all times, even in the midst of the most intense sufferings.

And this disposition of Jesus, I think it's revealed kind of, we see an insight into it in the temple when he's 12 years old. And he says like, I'm about my father's business. We see this Jesus in his temptation in the desert, where even in the midst of the discomfort and hunger, he remains faithful to the father and he resists the devil's temptation. And now we see it at its climax, at its highest form in his passion. Jesus loves us and loves the father until the very end.

Jesus denies himself at the service of making a gift of himself, his entire self, to the Father and for us. So as we pray today with the first sorrowful mystery, Jesus' agony in the garden, let us drink deeply from this fount of grace so that when we ourselves are stripped, are sick, are suffering, our instinct may not be towards selfishness and self-reliance, but we may always keep

Our eyes focused on the Father and our hearts open to our neighbors. And perhaps many of us in this moment are feeling this. Maybe we're sick. Maybe we're struggling in certain areas of our life. There might be physical suffering, financial suffering, and there's this movement towards ourselves. Today in this moment, like again, praying with the first thoughtful mystery, drinking deeply of this source of grace, like receiving from Jesus, not just the model, but the means to live this.

Let us recommit to loving others as Jesus loved us. So that even now, our eyes may be focused on our Father and our hearts open to our neighbor. And that with Jesus too, we may deny ourselves, take up our daily crosses and continue Jesus' prayer. Father, not my will, but your will be done. And now with Our Lady, 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 today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. All right, Poco a Poco friends. God bless y'all.