Day 2: The King Knows You

Summary

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

Episode: Day 2: The King Knows You
Date: January 2, 2026
Host: Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR

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Episode Overview

In this episode, “The King Knows You,” Fr. Mark-Mary continues the journey of building a daily prayer habit with the Rosary by reflecting on the personal relationship each believer can have with Christ the King. He guides listeners through the concept of encountering Jesus personally in prayer, using the "Litany of the Sacred Heart" as inspiration, and invites his audience to a personal, imaginative meditation on Jesus as King—one who knows and loves each of us individually.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Encountering Another in Prayer (00:44–01:09)

• For four days, the podcast will focus on the practice of encountering another in prayer, starting with Jesus and then moving to Mary.
• This approach is rooted in the classical practice of “practicing the presence of God”—raising our minds and hearts to Him.

2. The Litany as a Gateway (01:09–03:15)

• Fr. Mark-Mary shares his personal struggle with “litanies,” explaining they once felt like “a repetition of empty phrases” because he didn’t understand the titles.
• After studying the titles (especially when preparing this series), he finds them “profoundly rich and beautiful” (01:34–01:55).
• He describes a litany as a vocal prayer form that focuses on invocations, drawing out aspects of a particular mystery (e.g., the Sacred Heart of Jesus).

3. Today’s Focus: Jesus, King and Center of All Hearts (03:15–06:18)

• The invocation "Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts" is highlighted as today’s point of prayer (03:15–03:41).
• Fr. Mark-Mary invites listeners to imagine Christ the King in a throne room—clothed in majesty, surrounded by angels, holding the world in His hand.
• He reminds listeners: “He is the Lawgiver, the Ruler, and the victorious one. And yet this king, he knows your name.” (04:07–04:22)

4. Personal Story: The Power of Being Known (04:22–06:18)

• Fr. Mark-Mary recounts an “embarrassing story” about feeling honored simply because Fr. Mike Schmitz (another Catholic media figure) mentioned his name in a video (04:22–05:47).
• He uses this story as a bridge: “But my friends, he [Fr. Mike] is not the king, like the literal King of the universe. … Even more important than Father Mike knowing my name… is that Jesus, the eternal King, he knows my name, and he’s always known my name…” (05:47–06:13)
• He emphasizes: “The King, Christ the King, he knows me. And the King, he knows you.” (06:15–06:18)

5. Invitation to Prayer and Reflection (06:18–09:39)

• The episode returns to the “throne room” in imagination—now as a place where the King (Jesus) is focused wholly on us.
• Fr. Mark-Mary observes: although Jesus eagerly welcomes us, we’re often distracted—by our own problems, by phones, or by what’s going on in the world (06:51–07:11).
• He draws a parallel with Scripture: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and anxious about so many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part.” (07:11–07:38)
• His invitation: “In prayer, I want you to go to imagine yourself approaching the King as he sits on his throne, this King of love, as he looks upon you and approach him, draw close to him…” (07:43–08:00)

6. Guided Contemplation (08:00–09:39)

• Listeners are led in a meditation: approach the King, sit or kneel before Him, look into His eyes, and allow Him to speak your name.
• Key encouragements:
  • “Make him the center and the focus of your attention. Raise your mind to him and recognize that He recognizes you.” (08:15–08:23)
  • “He knows you and he loves to hear your voice. Look at Him. Speak to him.” (09:14–09:24)

7. Closing Communal Prayers (09:39–12:27)

• Fr. Mark-Mary leads the “Our Father,” three “Hail Marys,” and a “Glory Be,” reiterating the direction: “Continue to keep him before you. Keep him at the center of your heart, your attention, your very, very life. … The King sees you. The King knows you. The King loves to hear your voice. And the King of the universe knows your name.” (09:39–10:09)
• The prayers are meant to be entered into with an intentional focus on Christ’s presence.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Relating to Prayer Forms:
  “To be honest, I just don’t really know what most of them mean. So it really does feel like this repetition of these empty phrases. … But as I’ve come to understand them, I’ve come to encounter them, experience them as profoundly rich and beautiful.” (01:34–01:55, Fr. Mark-Mary)
• On the Throne Room of Christ: “He is the King who sits upon the throne. … And yet this king, he knows your name.” (03:42–04:22, Fr. Mark-Mary)
• On Being Known: “More important than Fr. Mike knowing my name… is that Jesus, the eternal King, he knows my name, and he’s always known my name. He knit me together in my mother’s womb. He knows the numbers of hairs on my head.” (05:47–06:13)
• Invitation to Encounter: “Approach the King as he sits on his throne, this King of love, as he looks upon you and approach him, draw close to him… Now, look Jesus in the eyes. Behold your king in this moment… Recognize that He recognizes you. He sees you. He knows you.” (07:43–08:18)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:44–01:09] – Introduction to “encountering another in prayer”
• [01:09–03:15] – Litany and understanding its depth
• [03:39–04:22] – Imagination exercise: throne room and Christ the King
• [04:22–06:18] – Fr. Mark-Mary’s personal story of being known
• [06:18–07:38] – The challenge of distractions and scriptural insight
• [07:43–09:39] – Meditative guidance: encounter with Christ
• [09:39–12:27] – Communal prayer and contemplative focus

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Tone

Fr. Mark-Mary’s tone is approachable, humble, honest, and pastoral—using his own experiences and struggles to invite listeners to deeper intimacy with Christ. His encouragements are gentle yet insistent: the King of the Universe knows you, loves you, and wants your undivided attention, especially in prayer.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode offers a powerful meditation on being personally known and loved by Jesus, the King. Fr. Mark-Mary’s practical advice—imagine meeting the King who knows your name, and allow yourself to be seen, loved, and heard—transforms rote prayer into living relationship. The message is an invitation not just to pray, but to truly encounter Christ at the center of the heart.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars with Renewal and this is the Rosary in the 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 two. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in the year, visit ascensionpress.com rosary in a year or text RIY to 33777. You'll get an outline of how we're going to pray each month. It's a great way to track your progress. The best place to listen to the Podcast in the Ascension app. There are special features built just for this podcast and also recordings of the.

[A]

Full rosary with myself and other friars.

[B]

Today and for the following three days, we're going to be practicing encountering another in prayer. This aspect of prayer fits under the larger umbrella of what is classically referred to as practicing the presence of God or, to use the language of the catechism, raising our minds and our hearts to God. These first two days we'll practice encountering Jesus in prayer, and then the following two days we'll look at what praying.

[A]

With Our lady looks like.

[B]

And to help enrich and guide our prayer today and tomorrow we'll be turning to the Litany of the Sacred Heart. My friends, to be honest, I've never really been a litany guy, but I'm quickly, really quickly and really recently becoming a litany guy. The reason I've historically struggled with this form of prayer is that there's this recitation of all of these titles of.

[A]

Our Lord or Our lady, et cetera.

[B]

And to be honest, I just don't really know what most of them mean. So it really does feel like this repetition of these empty phrases. I just don't really know what any of it means, so it's hard for me to value it. But quite recently, in particularly in preparing these next four episodes, I've been able to do a deep dive into what these various titles mean. And to be honest, like, I've really had like a total 180 a change of heart. I think I've struggled because a lot of these titles are a bit poetic. So like, what they mean isn't immediately evident to me at least. But as I've done some studying and some reflecting on them and I've come to understand them, I've come to encounter them, experience them as profoundly rich and beautiful. And to back up for a second, a litany. If you're not familiar with it, a litany. It's a type of vocal prayer, and each of the litanies is going to have a particular emphasis.

[A]

Like the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

[B]

The litany then has a series of invocations that mention other titles of the mystery being prayed with and about the characteristics of whatever the subject is. For example, with the Litany of the Sacred Heart, Heart of Jesus, Infinite in Majesty, Heart of Jesus, Holy Temple of God, Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High. Well, today's episode isn't focused on praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart. That's not what we're specifically doing today. The Litany of the Sacred Heart. It is a profound source of inspiration and direction for praying with the person of Jesus as it offers us a series of beautiful reminders of who Jesus is. Today we're going to be using one of the invocations for our prayer, but if you'd like to continue to practice.

[A]

Encountering Jesus, like who he is in.

[B]

Prayer, this litany is going to be a really helpful compliment. Compliment to your ongoing prayer with Scripture, particularly the Gospels and your time of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The invocation for our prayer this moment is Heart of Jesus, King and center of All Hearts. Jesus is the King.

[A]

He is the King who sits upon the throne.

[B]

And I'll invite you for a moment in your imagination to create your own throne room where Christ the King is seated on the throne. Now, Scripture tells us that he is surrounded by a host of angels, he's clothed in majesty, and he holds the.

[A]

Whole world in his hand. Jesus the King is almighty.

[B]

He is the Lawgiver, the Ruler and the victorious one.

[A]

And yet this king, he knows your name.

[B]

To step outside of this throne room for a moment, I'm going to share a bit of an embarrassing story real quick. I've been doing videos next to Father Mike on Ascension Presents for nearly six years now, and every week we've been showing up next to each other on YouTube. But the whole time he's been in Minnesota and I've been in New York until somewhat recently, we didn't really connect directly. Like, we both had our team at Ascension that we worked with but didn't have a reason to work directly with one another. And after having done Ascension Presents for nearly three years, again having a video next to his every week for those three years as me doing a particular event like a Question and Answer live Question Answer for presents and to help promote it, I heard Father Mike on one of his videos mention something along the lines of okay, and next week tune in Because Father Mark Mary is going to be coming on for a live Q and A. I'm kind of embarrassed to say it, but you know what? The fact that he knew my name, it meant a lot to me. And maybe it meant more to me than it should have. But I was like, oh, Father Mike, he knows who I am. Like, he knows my name. Okay, that's pretty cool. And, you know, like, Father Mike is awesome, and some could say he is the Catholic media king. But my friends, he is not the king, like, the literal King of the universe. And so, even more important than Father Mike knowing my name, although that's cool, is that Jesus, the eternal King, he knows my name, and he's always known my name. He knit me together in my mother's womb. He knows the numbers of hairs on my head. The King, Christ, the King, he knows me. And the King, he knows you. Now let's go back to this throne.

[A]

Room that we've created in our imaginations, this place of prayer for a moment.

[B]

As the invocation from the litany of the Sacred Heart says, Jesus, the King.

[A]

Is also the center of our hearts.

[B]

But how often is this actually a reality? We've been granted an audience with the King. We are there in the palace, we.

[A]

Are there in the throne room.

[B]

In fact, the King was basically begging for us to come. He's done everything to get us to come visit him. And we're there.

[A]

We're in the room, we're in his.

[B]

Presence, and he can't take his eyes off of us, but our eyes never meet his. Maybe we're looking in the figurative mirror and picking apart our personality or our emotional lives. Potentially, we could be distracted with our phones, the success or faults of others.

[A]

Like everything going on in the world, etc. Etc. And what comes to mind is the scripture verse, Martha, Martha, you are worried and anxious about so many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. So, my friends, as we've gone about this world, and sometimes even our prayer, like so, fixated and focused on so.

[B]

Many things that are not him, causing us to experience anxiety and worry about.

[A]

So many things, let us now at this moment, choose the better part. And so, in prayer, I want you to go to imagine yourself approaching the King as he sits on his throne, this King of love, as he looks upon you and approach him, draw close to him. You can sit or kneel before him. Now, look Jesus in the eyes. Behold your king in this moment. Make him the center and the focus of your attention. Raise your mind to him and Recognize that He recognizes you. He sees you. He knows you. Now hear him say your name and pay attention to the movement in your heart. And respond to Him. Share with him your love, your needs, your desires. The King, Jesus. He knows you and he loves to hear your voice. Look at Him. Speak to him. And we'll close today's episode the way.

[B]

That we're going to close all of.

[A]

The episodes of phase one, Praying in Our Father, three Hail Marys and a Glory Be. And I really want the focus of your prayer to be continuing to look at him while we are saying these prayers. Continue to keep him before you. Keep him at the center of your heart, your attention, your very, very life. As we pray in this moment. Remember, the King sees you. The King knows you. The King loves to hear your voice. And the King of the universe knows your name. 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 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. 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. 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.

[B]

All right. Well, thank you for joining me and praying with me today.

[A]

I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. All right.

[B]

Poco Poco. Friends.

[A]

God bless you.