Day 180: The God Who Bleeds
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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. The Rosary in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 180. 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. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in a Year Prayer Guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings from Scripture, Saint Reflections, and beautiful images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on.

Today we will be meditating upon and praying with the second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging of Our Lord at the Pillar, with help from a painting by the artist William Adolph Bouguereau entitled The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Now a brief introduction to our artist and artwork. William Adolph Bouguereau was born in the year 1825. He died in the year 1905.

And he was a dominant French academic painter of the 19th century. He championed classical realism against emerging avant-garde movements like Impressionism. His works, often mythological, religious, or idealized peasant scenes were celebrated for their technical precision, luminous skin tones, and emotive narratives.

By the mid-20th century, his reputation waned due to modernist critiques, but a revival in the 1980s restored his legacy as a master of figurative painting. His painting that we're looking at today, entitled again, The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, was done around the year 1880. Its art style is academic realism with neoclassical influence, hyper-realism, and sentimental drama. Now a description of our painting. The pale, luminescent body of Christ hangs vertically.

Suspended by iron bindings, his arms stretched high above his head. He wears only a white cloth around his waist. His head rolls back in exhaustion. His brown hair cascades downward and the tops of his feet drag along the stone floor. Two young men, their faces focused with cruel intent, draw back their whips in preparation to strike. Behind them, a crowd of stern-faced men looks on in hardened indifference. Among them,

Well, I'm working on today's episode, a little less than 24 hours.

after yesterday's. And those ideas of disconnection and distraction before Jesus that we looked at as like kind of potential experiences of Judas are still very much fresh in my mind. And today as I was reading about Bouguereau and a variety of like analyses of the painting, I just feel like I'm like seeing this in play, like in the different things that I'm reading. But even I see it just in my own approach like to the painting.

And of course, like we're on the same page here. I think hopefully that like for those whose job it is to study and write about art, it's a hundred percent proper. There's 100% place for them to discuss the style and the detail and the composition, et cetera, and all those things. I don't think anyone disagrees with that, but right. Like I think if we stay there, like if we only go that far with something like today's mystery and today's painting, like,

we're just missing the best part. Like we're not receiving the gift and the invitation ultimately from God. And to bring it a little closer to home, to maybe give like another example of this that probably a lot of us have experienced is, is I do think a lot of us, myself certainly included when I'm not this main celebrant at mass, like we have the, at times like bad habit of like listening to a homily from the priest or the deacon,

and spending our time analyzing it, like its style and judging it based off of like, obviously number one, it's length. But like, was it funny? Was it interesting? Did I learn something? Did it make sense? Was his voice nice to listen to? And we probably do. And I share it because I think we all probably have like access to some sort of experience like that where we have like heard the homily without really like hearing the homily. Just as like an art critic can look at a painting without really seeing the painting,

And how even an apostle can just spend years traveling with Jesus without really knowing Jesus. And I share all of that because like, I just don't want us to do that today. Like let's really try and not do that with this painting, this really beautiful, masterful painting that we have of the flagellation of Christ. We're not going to overanalyze it. We're not going to like overthink about it or judge it.

But at the same time, like if you're listening today, right? And you don't have the painting in front of you, as we proceed with the episode, you're not going to be left behind. But for me, at least like, I don't know, I just really would recommend looking up this painting, finding it in your book maybe, and spending some time with it so that like the visual can be part of your memory and an image that's like in your own prayer and your own memory that you can go back to again and again while praying in the future. I think it's a really great painting for our mystery today.

So now, as we're praying with, as we're looking at the painting, here's the questions I want you to pray with. Number one, Jesus, who are you? And I want you to look at and to receive, to wrestle with what we can call the scandal of the God who bleeds. And let's not move too quickly past what to many is in some ways appropriately. So like a shocking truth, a truth hard to comprehend and maybe even hard to accept.

And we see God hanging limply from shackles like a criminal, bleeding like a common man. And now like the next level of questioning of engagement is like, Jesus, why are you doing this? Jesus, what are you trying to say here? Like, what is this revealing about the invisible God? What is this revealing about your heart? In my own prayer, like what I hear Jesus saying to me is this, is I look at him again, hanging, shackled, limp, scourged.

eyes blankly looking up towards the heavens. It's what I hear Jesus say. I've come to bring you home and nothing will stop me. I've come to bring you home. No pain, no suffering, no embarrassment or humiliation or rejection will stop me. But for me to bring you home, like for you to follow me, I need you to trust me.

And for example, when you suffer the greatest of sufferings, I need you to not reject me, to not turn your back on me, to not give up on me. I need you to know that I am with you, that I understand you. So here I am. That's why I'm here. There is no cost too high for me to win and keep your trust, even this. And with this, I'm reminded again,

of what Jesus will endure to win us, to save us. But also, right, in light of his resurrection, we're reminded like that even here, even now, he's on the path to victory. He will stop at nothing and nothing will stop him. And now we speak. Now we respond. What is the gift of grace Jesus is trying to give you today in this mystery, in this moment, this particular moment of prayer?

Like, what's the invitation? What is the good news? What is the call to conversion? Like, do you want to adore him, to praise him here? Do you want to run to him, to offer him consolation in this moment with tears? Perhaps tears of repentance, or perhaps tears of gratitude. Jesus, I know I can't stop you, but know, Jesus, that for me, like, what you're doing is not in vain. I see you, Jesus. You have won my heart, Jesus.

I will receive your salvation. I will let you bring me home. Or perhaps are there areas in your life like where you're not surrendered, you're not trusting, you're not conquered by the love of Jesus. Like if so, bring it here. Bring it before this mystery. Bring it before this image of the flagellation of Christ. And now with Mary, let us continue our prayer. 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 again today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco a poco friends. All right. God bless you all.