Day 209: Praying With the Father - The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames)

Day 209: Praying With the Father

Mon Jul 28 2025

Today we begin Phase 5: Building Up the Decades. We begin to deepen not only the quantity but especially the quality of our prayer. This next phase is all about growing our capacity for contemplative, relational prayer, poco a poco, little by little. We pray two decades of the Joyful Mysteries, with a special focus on our relationship with God the Father who has made himself known to us, not through a visible face, but through his heart: the one who sees in secret, who hears us, delights in us, and is always with us. Today’s focus is the mysteries of the Annunciation and Visitation and we will be praying two decades of the Rosary. For the complete prayer plan, visit https://ascensionpress.com/riy.

Summary

The Rosary in a Year: Episode Summary - Day 209: Praying With the Father

Release Date: July 28, 2025
Host: Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR
Produced by: Ascension

Introduction to Phase Five

In Day 209 of The Rosary in a Year podcast, Fr. Mark-Mary Ames introduces listeners to Phase Five of their spiritual journey. Having successfully completed Phase Four, attendees are now ready to "build up the decades"—a pivotal step towards deepening their Rosary prayer practice.

“We are going to begin phase five, building up the decades. So what we'll be doing here is slowly but surely poco, poco, if you will...”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [02:22]

Building Up the Decades

Fr. Mark-Mary outlines the essence of Phase Five: gradually increasing the number of decades prayed, allowing participants to enhance their prayer and meditation skills without feeling overwhelmed. This phase emphasizes quality over quantity, ensuring that each prayer session is meaningful and deeply rooted in faith.

“We're going to start again, small and focused at the service of depth. But little by little... we're going to be building up the amount of decades we're going to be praying at each time.”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [02:46]

Focus on Relationship with the Father

A cornerstone of this phase is fostering a personal relationship with God the Father. Fr. Mark-Mary references teachings from Father Andrew Apostoli, emphasizing the three focal points of prayer:

Who We Are Speaking To: Establishing a connection with the divine.
The Words We Are Saying: The content and intention behind our prayers.
The Mysteries We Are Meditating Upon: Reflecting on significant events in the life of Jesus and Mary.

“The foundational one is like the relational part that we're not just, you know, talking on a phone... we're in relationship.”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [02:46]

Attributes of the Father

Delving deeper into understanding God the Father, Fr. Mark-Mary highlights His omnipresent and loving nature. Through the Son, believers gain a clear understanding of the Father's attributes:

Omniscient: "One who sees in secret, one who sees us, one who is with us."
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [03:47]
Generous: "One who loves to give his children good gifts."
Attentive and Joyful: "One who loves to hear our voice, one who delights in us, and one who always hears us."

These reflections encourage listeners to approach prayer with confidence in the Father's presence and care.

Practical Instructions for Creating a Prayer Space

Fr. Mark-Mary invites listeners to find a personal prayer space—a quiet and comfortable environment where they can fully immerse themselves in prayer. Whether it's a serene spot at the beach, a favorite corner in the home, or a local chapel, the goal is to enhance the prayer experience by minimizing distractions.

“Find your space. This could be the beach. This could be the lake... or chapel dinner table.”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [04:33]

Guided Prayer: The Rosary

The majority of the episode is dedicated to guiding listeners through two decades of the Rosary, each accompanied by specific meditations and prayers.

First Decade: The Annunciation
Focuses on Mary's acceptance of God's will, reflecting on obedience and faith.
Second Decade: The Visitation
Centers on Mary's visit to Elizabeth, highlighting service and charity.

Each decade involves:

The Lord's Prayer: Setting the intention and seeking guidance.

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [05:58]
Hail Marys: Emphasizing purity and devotion to Mary.

“Hail Mary, full of grace... Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [06:30 - 09:20]
Glory Be: Giving glory to the Holy Trinity.

“Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit...”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [10:05]
O My Jesus: Concluding with a plea for forgiveness and salvation.

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell...”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [10:18]

This structured approach not only repeats the prayers but also deepens the meditational aspect, allowing for a more profound connection with the divine.

Conclusion and Encouragement

Fr. Mark-Mary wraps up the session by expressing gratitude to participants for their dedication and perseverance. He encourages listeners to continue their journey, reinforcing the importance of community and consistent practice in cultivating a deeper spiritual life.

“Thanks, everybody, for joining me, for praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow.”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [15:18]

He concludes with a heartfelt blessing, embodying the communal spirit of the Rosary prayer.

“Friends, God bless y’all.”
— Fr. Mark-Mary Ames [15:25]

Key Takeaways

Phase Five emphasizes the gradual building up of Rosary decades, enhancing both quantity and quality of prayer.
A personal relationship with God the Father is foundational, supported by understanding His attributes and love.
Creating a dedicated prayer space is essential for deepening one's prayer practice.
Consistent practice and community support are vital for spiritual growth and sustaining a daily prayer habit.

For the complete prayer plan and additional resources, visit Ascension Press.

Transcript

Unknown Speaker 1 (0:00)

Foreign.

Mark Mary (0:04)

Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of.

Unknown Speaker 2 (0:06)

The Renewal and this is the Rosary.

Mark Mary (0:08)

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.

Unknown Speaker 3 (0:19)

This is day 209.

Mark Mary (0:22)

To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a year, visit ascensionpress.com forward/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 podcasts 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. On behalf of myself and the whole team here at Ascension, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's helped support this podcast financially. Your support is so appreciated and helps.

Unknown Speaker 3 (0:50)

Us to reach as many people as possible.

Mark Mary (0:53)

And if you haven't already, please consider supporting us@ascensionpress.com support.

Unknown Speaker 3 (1:00)

All right, everybody, welcome back. We have just completed phase four. Congratulations everybody who's made it this far. Thank you again for persevering in this journey with me. Now we are going to be beginning phase five, building up the decades. And so what we'll be doing here is slowly but surely poco, poco, if you will, like, just practicing, like, prayer, practicing meditation and applying to prayer, like what we have discussed and covered up to this point, while building up our capacity. So we're going to start again, small and focused at the service of depth. But little by little, as we go through phase five and then into phase six, we're going to be building up the amount of decades we're going to be praying at each time. How we're going to begin, though, phase five is going to be like somewhat of a callback all the way back to the very beginning of our journey. If you recall, in our introduction to the Rosary, I pulled from what I had been taught by one of our founders, Father Andrew Apostoli, in his class and his encouragement with the rosary, he. He was reminding us and teaching us that we want to be focused on one of or a collection of these three things in prayer, the one to whom we are speaking, the words which we are saying, and the mystery that we are meditating upon with. I would say the foundational one is like the relational part that we're not just, you know, talking on a phone that's not plugged into the wall or doesn't have any service like our prayers heard and our prayers in relationship. We're not alone in our prayer. And then with that, like, we can focus on, you know, the words and.