Day 95: Moms are Special
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I'm Father Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars at the Renewal, and this is the Rosary in a Year podcast. We're 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. This is day 95. 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.

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Today we'll be meditating upon and praying with the second Luminous Mystery, which is the wedding feast at Cana, enriched by an excerpt from a reading from St. Alphonsus Liguori from his work, The Glories of Mary. So I've already had an opportunity to introduce you to our author today, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church. So we're going to get straight into the reading, and it's a slightly longer excerpt than normal, but I think it's worth it. I love it. All right.

Now we'll have our reading from St. Alphonsus Liguori with a special emphasis on this: God's other general decree. "If the time appointed for miracles was the time of preaching, how could it be anticipated by the miracle of the wine contrary to the divine decree? Nothing that may be answered was done contrary to the divine decrees. For although generally speaking the time for signs had not come,

Yet from eternity God had established by another general decree that nothing the Divine Mother could ask should be denied her. And therefore Mary, well acquainted with her privilege, although her son seemed to have then set aside a petition, said notwithstanding that the water pots should be filled as though the favor were already granted.

The St. John Christos would express when commenting on the passage of John above mentioned, O woman, what is that to thee and to me? He says that although Jesus had answered thus, yet for the honor of his mother, he did not fail to comply with her demand. St. Thomas confirms the same when he observes that by these words, my hour has not yet come. Jesus Christ wished to show that he would have deferred the miracle if another had asked him to perform it.

But because his mother asked it, he immediately performed it. St. Cyril and St. Jerome confirmed this according to Barada. And Jensenius of Ghent says, commenting on the same passage of St. John, that he might honor his mother. He anticipated the timing of working miracles. The end of the reading. Thanks be to God. St. Alphonse de Liguri writes, From eternity God had established by another general decree that nothing the divine mother could ask

should be denied her. To be honest, I get this. And I'll say, I get this from within, but for going in it to it a little bit more, just a quick clarification. St. Alphonse, he used the language referring to Mary as the divine mother. This does not mean that Mary is divine. It means that she is the mother of God, Jesus. I think a lot of priests are in this position and I certainly am just because of some of the public nature of my ministry that I get invitations and requests from

All the time, all the time I get new requests to come help out with a retreat or to come give a talk, to travel to some sort of event. But actually like I'm not, I'm not a traveling speaker. I just don't really feel super called to it as like a normal thing I do. So these requests, they pretty much all just get a quick no from me. However, if I get one of these requests, like it comes from in an email or something like that, and the sender is my mom and

right? It immediately gets moved to a whole different category of requests. In this little category, there's a table for two, mom and dad. And I presume that that's relatable to a lot of folks listening. Requests from mom just are different. They just are different and they get treated differently. And that is right and just.

And I presume that that's relatable to a lot of you who are listening. And I imagine, you know, there's some moms here driving their van with some kids in the car and they're like, "Hey, listen to this priest. He knows what he's talking about." Right? One other little detail I love of this writing from St. Alphonsus is, if we read the words of our saint here from the same perspective that he and the saints understand themselves, like the real sons, sons by grace of Mary.

who's really their mother too. Like you can see it's if they're coming in to like defend their mom, 'cause they feel like somebody is being disrespectful of her or doubting her, right? As St. Alphonse is right. He puts his own words in this and St. John Christendom said, and then St. Thomas said, and then St. Cyril says, and St. Jerome says, and Jansenius of Ghent said, I just kind of love all of the sons of the church being like coming so quickly to honor and defend their mother as is right and just.

But just like, if we want to look at this, not just like as a theological reality, but I want to look at like the specific nature of the relationship that Jesus has with Mary and why it just makes so much sense that he is committed to responding to her requests with a great fondness and joy in doing so. Why does Mary have such a special influence on Jesus?

By divine decree, yes. But also, right, because when Jesus became incarnate, he found a home in her womb. She carried him for nine months. When he was born and cold, she held him and kept him warm. When Jesus spoke his first words or took his first step, she celebrated him. And as a young boy, if he fell and scraped his knee, she comforted him.

and kissed him where it hurt and wiped his tears. Right? And when he was hungry, she made him his favorite food. To Jesus, the woman who makes this request of him at Cana, it's his mom. It's his mom. And this is the woman who continues to intercede on our behalf so that when she asks something of him, like, of course he does it and he loves to do it. And I can hardly imagine anything that he loves to do more than to say yes to his mother. Like,

It's what he loves to do and what the Heavenly Father has asked him to do by an eternal decree. As we pray today, let us meditate on the tenderest of loves and deepest of loyalties that Jesus has for his mother. And may this increase our confidence in her intercession whenever we come to her. 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 today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco a poco, friends. God bless y'all.