The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames)

Day 280: The Joyful and Luminous Mysteries

October 7th, 2025  |  16 mins 42 secs

ascension, baptism, baptism in the jordan, baptism of jesus, building, building up the decades, catholic church, catholic faith, contemplative prayer, conversion, decades, father mark mary, father mark-mary, finding, finding of jesus in the temple, four decades, fr. mark mary, fr. mark-mary, imaginative prayer, intercessory prayer, jordan, joyful, joyful mysteries, luminous, luminous mysteries, mary, meditating, meditative prayer, poco a poco, prayer, proclamation, proclamation of the kingdom and call to conversion, relational prayer, repentance, riy, rosary, rosary in a year, rosary-in-a-year, wedding at cana, wedding feast

We conclude the Joyful Mysteries and follow into the Luminous Mysteries as Christ’s mission is revealed. In the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, He shows Himself to be about His Father’s work. At the Baptism in the Jordan, the Spirit descends and the Father proclaims Him as the beloved Son. At the Wedding at Cana, He performs His first miracle, revealing His glory. In the Proclamation of the Kingdom, He announces the Good News and calls all to conversion. These mysteries encourage us to seek Him with faith, to listen to His Word, and to follow Him more closely each day. Today’s focus is the mysteries of the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the Baptism of Jesus, the Wedding at Cana, and the Proclamation of the Kingdom and Call to Conversion. We will be praying four decades of the Rosary.

For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Day 268: The Joyful Mysteries

September 25th, 2025  |  15 mins 13 secs

ascension, building, building up the decades, catholic church, catholic faith, christmas, contemplative prayer, decades, father mark mary, father mark-mary, finding, finding in the temple, foreshadowing, fr. mark mary, fr. mark-mary, imaginative prayer, intercessory prayer, joyful, joyful mysteries, mary, meditating, meditative prayer, nativity, poco a poco, prayer, presentation, relational prayer, riy, rosary, rosary in a year, rosary-in-a-year, three decades

Concluding the Joyful mysteries, we witness the complexity of joy in the Christian life. The Nativity brings us the joy of the Incarnation, as God becomes man, born to bring us salvation. In the Presentation and Finding in the Temple, we see the price of salvation foreshadowed, as Mary is told Simeon’s prophecy, and as Jesus is lost for three days, to be found in his father’s house. Today’s focus is the mysteries of the Nativity, the Presentation, and the Finding in the Temple. We will be praying three decades of the Rosary.

For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Day 133: Respond with Grace

May 13th, 2025  |  12 mins 43 secs

admiration, art, art meditations, ascension, catholic church, catholic faith, father mark mary, father mark-mary, finding, finding in the temple, fr. mark mary, fr. mark-mary, grace, human, humanity, lourdes, mosaic, rejection, riy, rosary, rosary basilica, rosary in a year, rosary-in-a-year, sacred art, visio divina, wonder

How would you react if you saw 12-year old Jesus preaching in the temple? Fr. Mark-Mary points out the varied reactions of onlookers in the mosaic of the Finding in the Temple in the Rosary Basilica at Lourdes. Those surrounding Jesus react with human admiration, amazement, curiosity, and even rejection. Yet Mary looks upon him filled with divine grace. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Finding in the Temple and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary.

All of the Sacred Art we’ll be meditating with can be found in the Rosary in a Year Prayer Guide, for free linked in the complete prayer plan, or in the Ascension App. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Day 113: Spoiler Alert

April 23rd, 2025  |  12 mins 11 secs

ascension, catholic church, catholic faith, divinity, father mark mary, father mark-mary, finding, finding in the temple, fr. mark mary, fr. mark-mary, historical, history, joyful, joyful mysteries, movies, revelation, riy, rosary, rosary in a year, rosary-in-a-year, saint, saint reflections, st. cyril, st. cyril of alexandria

Spoiler alert: Jesus is Lord! While the mystery of the Finding in the Temple is not the climax of Jesus’ story, for the first century man or woman, this is an attention grabbing moment. Fr. Mark-Mary, reading from St. Cyril of Alexandria, reminds us that this is when Jesus first begins to reveal his divinity. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Finding of Jesus in the Temple and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary.

For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Day 93: Look Like You Love Him

April 3rd, 2025  |  12 mins 44 secs

ascension, catholic church, catholic faith, dryness, dryness in prayer, father mark mary, father mark-mary, finding, finding in the temple, fr. mark mary, fr. mark-mary, hunting, joyful, joyful mysteries, love, riy, rosary, rosary in a year, rosary-in-a-year, saint, saint reflections, searching,  st. augustine

When Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was missing, they searched everywhere, stopping at nothing to find him. This is how love searches, Fr. Mark-Mary tells us, drawing from a reading by St. Augustine. When we feel as though Jesus is missing, we can be like Mary and Joseph, looking for him like we love him. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Finding in the Temple and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary.

For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Day 73: Seek Him

March 14th, 2025  |  14 mins 57 secs

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How are we seeking Jesus? Are we aware that as we seek Jesus, he too is seeking us? Fr. Mark-Mary asks us the words Jesus asks Mary when she finds him in the Temple, “how is it that you sought me,” as we pray lectio divina, inspiring us to consider how we look for Jesus. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Finding in the Temple and we will be praying one decade of the Rosary.

For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Day 53: Our Perfect Director

February 22nd, 2025  |  9 mins 1 sec

catholic, catholic church, catholicism, faith, finding, finding in the temple, finding jesus, joy, joyful, joyful mysteries, meditation, riy, rosary, rosary in a year, rosary-in-a-year, trust

Mary and Joseph knew that they had a special role when raising Jesus, but something unexpected happens in the mystery of the Finding in the Temple. Mary may not fully understand Jesus’ explanation that he would be “in his Father’s house”, but she continues to trust in God’s plan. We have all experienced times in which we cannot visualize God’s plan for us, but Fr. Mark-Mary reminds us that we have a perfect director who will make a masterpiece out of our stories. All we have to do is trust and say yes. Today’s focus is the mystery of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and we will be praying one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.