Day 122: Trophy of Victory
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I am 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 to Mary and becomes a source of grace for the whole world. The rosary in a year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 122. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash 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 generosity 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 meditating upon and praying with the fourth sorrowful mystery, the carrying of the cross with help from a writing by St. Thomas Aquinas from his commentary.

on the Gospel of John. And the emphasis of our meditation will be he carried his cross as a victor carries the trophy of his victory. And now our reading from St. Thomas Aquinas. "The way Christ was brought to his crucifixion was a dishonor, bearing his own cross. For death on a cross was a disgrace. A hanged man is accursed by God. And thus, avoiding the cross as something unholy and fearing even to touch it, they laid the cross on the condemned Jesus.

Thus it says that he went out bearing his own cross. Christ bore his cross as a king does his scepter. His cross is the sign of his glory, which is his universal dominion over all things. The Lord will reign from the wood. The government will be upon his shoulders and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He carried his cross as a victor carries the trophy of his victory.

He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them and himself. Again, he carried his cross as a teacher, his candelabrum, as a support for the light of his teaching, because for believers, the message of the cross is the power of God. No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light. The end of the reading. Thanks be to God.

Again, our focus will be he carried his cross as a victor, carries the trophy of his victory. Okay, now let's pay close attention to the distinction made by our angelic doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas in the reading today. He says, right in quote, the way Christ was brought to his crucifixion was a dishonor. He also said death on a cross was a disgrace and disgrace.

Avoiding the cross is something unholy and fearing even to touch it, they laid the cross on the condemned Jesus. The crucifixion was a dishonor. Death on a cross was a disgrace. The cross is something unholy, not to be touched. So this is all true. But St. Thomas goes on to say, Christ bore his cross as a scepter. His cross is a sign of his glory. He carried the cross as a victor, carries the trophy as

of his victory. How can we reconcile these two? How can they both be true? Because of this, Jesus, in embracing the cross, in freely accepting the cross, in carrying the cross, he glorifies the cross and is glorified through the cross. Jesus changes what is unholy, disgraceful,

and dishonorable into something royal, something victorious, something worthy of embracing and carrying and even boasting in as the words of St. Paul say, let those who boast, boast of nothing but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, so now how do we apply this to our lives? First of all, I think it's important. I think it's freeing. I think it's true and important for us to be able to look at the suffering we are enduring.

perhaps the injustice, perhaps physical pain, et cetera. And just say, this is a bad thing, right? St. Thomas just looking in isolation at the cross, the cross apart from Jesus, he can just look at it and say, this is a bad thing. It's okay for us as a starting point to be able to look at the evil that's happening and just say like, this is not good. This is an evil, right? And often the right response to moral evil is,

And the absence of some human good, like good health, is to try and remedy the evil and obtain the human good. But often what is happening to us, it can't be remedied, or at least it can't be remedied quickly. And so if there are some areas in our life where we can't remedy the situation, or where at least it's going to take some time, we can recognize that we are being invited to receive these crosses, to embrace them, and carry them forward.

all with Jesus, that what is the cause of shame or pain can, with Jesus, be elevated to something salvific, victorious, and glorious. But it's with Jesus. It's through Jesus. And we may not experience the victory immediately, but if we do carry it with Jesus, we're already sharing in Christ's victory here and now in our sufferings.

My brothers and sisters, it's true. To suffer alone, it's tragic. But to suffer with Jesus is salvific. And I think, again, it's important to know that we won't always experience or see the fruits here and now. But often we can see how what was once a cause of shame becomes a source of grace for ourselves and others. I think of just my own life and how often the places where I'm most helpful, most efficacious,

are the areas where I have tools that come from my own sufferings, my own difficulties. And there are just in the world, you know, like we're surrounded by many natural examples of this, but there is something unique about not just having like a wound healed through natural means that then becomes a source of like ways in which we can mentor others. But there is something unique about carrying the cross with Jesus.

Carrying the cross with Jesus, like it doesn't just prepare us for some other sort of human end. It doesn't just make us prepared for some sort of ministry or mission. It makes us sharers in Jesus' own work of redemption as a source of grace and salvation for the whole world. It makes these crosses, these places of suffering, something victorious and something glorious and something salvific. So as we pray today,

May we bring our places of suffering, especially our places of shame to Jesus. Let's allow him into all the areas of our hearts affected by this shame and this pain. And can you hear him speak to you? Let me carry this with you. And together, together let us carry this cross as victors carrying the trophy of their victory. And now 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. 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. Thanks so much for joining me and praying with me again today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poka poka, friends. God bless you all. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Rosary in a Year. If you've been enjoying this journey with me, I encourage you to check out my new book, Eight Promises of God, Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes.

We all want to know, like, what can I expect my life to look like when I'm following Jesus? How do I know I'm doing it right? My brothers and sisters, I believe that the answer to these questions is found in the Beatitudes. In this book, we'll learn from the example of the truly blessed ones, our Lord and our Lady, and how they practiced and lived the Beatitudes. And all this is going to bear fruit with the deepening of our trust in God's promises in any and all circumstances.

You can get your copy today at ascensionpress.com forward slash promises.