
How often do we pray a prayer of purely praise and adoration to God? Fr. Mark-Mary explains how the Rosary and the Glory Be can be said as a prayer of praise, drawing from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Psalms, leading us to enter into adoration of God. Today’s focus is “Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end,” and we will be praying one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.
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Hi, 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 the Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 16. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a year, visit ascensionpress.comrosaryinayear or text R I YES 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. No matter what app you're listening in, remember to tap, follow or subscribe for your daily notifications. 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. Let's go ahead and lead into this discussion with a brief reading from Psalm 145 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable in preparation for today's episode, as I was reflecting on the Glory Be, the first question was this, like, what kind of prayer are we talking about? Like, what is, what is happening in the Glory Be? Or like, what am I supposed to be doing? What is this? And I believe, you know, the Glory Be, it's a prayer of praise. And this is what the Catechism says about the prayer of praise. Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. And going on this is 26:49 Prayer of Praise is entirely disinterested and rises to God, allots him and gives him glory for his own sake quite beyond what he has done, but simply because he is. And I think this disinterested part is really important. So many of the types of prayer that we have are are this mutual kind of giving and receiving. You know, for example, in a prayer of contrition through the Holy Spirit, we're looking at ourselves, we're seeing, okay, here's where I'm struggling, here's where I'm failing. We give it to the Lord and ask for his mercy. In a prayer of petition, we recognize God's generosity and goodness, our dependence, our need but that we are sons and daughters. With confidence, we bring to him our needs, trusting that above all, he will give us a greater share in his own divine life. In a prayer of thanksgiving, we look at the different things that God has done in our lives for our salvation in the world, and we give him thanks for that. In a prayer of praise, what we're doing is we just look at him and with joy and with gratitude and with adoration and awe, like we bless him, we glorify Him. We praise him not because of what we need or because what he has done. We just look at him and rejoice in him and glorify him because of who he is. It's radically. It's totally disinterested our gaze, it's totally removed from ourselves. And we look at him and we rejoice in him and we praise Him. Pope Benedict has this really beautiful line which can be summarized to be this, like, love is in Exodus from me to you. And praise is part of this exodus. It's not about me right now, it's just about you. And kind of the external disposition is like hand raised eyes looking at him just like, you are good, you are beautiful, you are God, you are holy. Holy is your name. I think a beautiful way to kind of understand this is reflecting on this experience that a dad shared with me about his son. He shares the story about his wife is pregnant and she went into labor and it was just this really, really, really long labor that took close to 48 hours the way everything went. And you know, by the time they get home, his wife is just done, right? She is, she's just totally done because of everything she's gone through in a couple of operations. And so she just passes out. And this dad who, you know, was what the mom went through is way more than what he went through. But he was still up with her. He was still in it, you know, for like, for like two days. And so he gets home and he helps his wife get to bed. And then he holds his son and there's this overwhelming movement of love and of joy. And all night he just stays up looking at his son, rejoicing in his son loving his son. To this point, like, his son hasn't done anything other than be just because of who the son is. There's this movement of love and affection and joy. You are so beautiful. You are so good. I love you so much. My brothers and sisters, I think this is when we're praying the glory be. I think this is where we're trying to get to. And St. Francis has one of my very, very favorite prayers. It's called, like, the prayers of the praises of God. And it's this whole litany of God, like, you are good, you are holy. You are father, you are son, you are Holy Spirit, you are. You are beauty, you are rest, you are joy. You are our sweetness, you are our hope. So as we pray the glory be. Each time we just stop. We just stop looking at ourselves. We stop thinking about what we need. We stop thinking about our problems. We stop and we radically, in a disinterested way, in a prayer of praise, we look at him, say, you are good, you are holy. Holy is your name. We bless you, we adore you, we love you. So, my brothers and sisters, with this disinterested love prayer of praise that is just and right, let us glorify him and let us praise him as we 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 the. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now, 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 the. 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 for joining me and praying with me another day. And I look forward to continuing this journey with you tomorrow. Poco opoco, friends. All right. See ya.
Podcast Summary: The Rosary in a Year (Day 16: Glorify Him)
Host: Ascension | Guest: Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR
Release Date: January 16, 2025
In Day 16 of Ascension’s The Rosary in a Year podcast, Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, delves into the profound essence of the "Glory Be" prayer. This episode, titled "Glorify Him," explores the nature of prayer, specifically focusing on the prayer of praise, and its significance in deepening one's relationship with Jesus and Mary through the Rosary.
Understanding the Type of Prayer: Fr. Mark-Mary begins by addressing common questions about the "Glory Be" prayer. He emphasizes that the "Glory Be" is fundamentally a prayer of praise. According to the Catechism, a prayer of praise is "entirely disinterested and rises to God, allots Him and gives Him glory for His own sake, quite beyond what He has done, but simply because He is." This means that unlike other prayers, praise is not about our needs or God's actions but solely about who God is.
Disinterested Praise vs. Other Prayers: Fr. Mark-Mary contrasts the prayer of praise with other forms of prayer:
In contrast, the prayer of praise is "radically disinterested," removing the focus from oneself and focusing entirely on rejoicing in God’s being.
Notable Quote:
"In a prayer of praise, we just look at him and with joy and with gratitude and with adoration and awe, like we bless him, we glorify Him... because of who he is."
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [05:30]
Love Beyond Self: Fr. Mark-Mary illustrates the concept of disinterested praise through a touching story shared by a father. During a prolonged labor, the father remains steadfastly supportive, experiencing an overwhelming movement of love and joy purely for his newborn son’s existence. This selfless love mirrors the essence of praising God without any ulterior motives.
Notable Quote:
"We praise Him not because of what we need or because what he has done. We just look at him and rejoice in him and glorify him because of who he is."
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [12:15]
St. Francis’s Prayers: Drawing inspiration from St. Francis, Fr. Mark-Mary references the "Prayers of the Praises of God," a litany that exalts God's various attributes—goodness, holiness, beauty, joy, and hope. These prayers embody the pure adoration and praise the host encourages listeners to practice.
Incorporating Praise into Daily Prayer: Fr. Mark-Mary encourages listeners to integrate the prayer of praise into their daily Rosary practice. By doing so, one shifts focus from personal concerns to glorifying God, fostering a deeper spiritual connection and transforming the Rosary into a powerful source of grace.
Meditative Practices: He also touches upon meditative techniques such as visio divina (meditation with sacred art), lectio divina (scripture meditation), and reflections on saintly writings to enrich the prayer experience and enhance the relationship with Jesus and Mary.
Fr. Mark-Mary Ames concludes the episode by reiterating the importance of a disinterested prayer of praise in fostering a genuine and joyous relationship with God. By consistently practicing the "Glory Be," believers can transform their prayer life, making it a true reflection of adoration and love for God’s divine nature.
Closing Quote:
"With this disinterested love prayer of praise that is just and right, let us glorify him and let us praise him as we pray."
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [22:45]
For listeners looking to embark on or continue their Rosary journey, the complete prayer plan is available at Ascension Press. The Ascension app offers the best listening experience with special features and full Rosary recordings led by Fr. Mark-Mary and other friars.
Thank you for joining Fr. Mark-Mary Ames in this enriching exploration of the "Glory Be" prayer. Continue your journey with us as we deepen our prayer lives and relationships with Jesus and Mary through the Rosary.