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

Episode: Day 23: Creator of Heaven and Earth

Date: January 23, 2026
Host: Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR
Podcast by: Ascension

Episode Overview

This episode explores the meaning and significance of professing God as “Creator of Heaven and Earth” in the Apostles’ Creed. Fr. Mark-Mary invites listeners to meditate deeply on this truth, moving beyond intellectual assent to heartfelt awe and humility. Through a reading from the Book of Job and reflections on Jesus’ response to Mary at Lazarus’ tomb, the episode prompts listeners to trust in God’s power and surrender attempts to control life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Creed Not Only Forms the Intellect, But Fills the Heart

• Fr. Mark-Mary recalls how his seminary Dogmatics professor was visibly moved by praying the Creed, emphasizing its power to touch both mind and heart (01:13).

  • Quote: “For those who get it, they understand the Apostles Creed and these particular articles of our faith. They don't just form the intellect, which they do...they also fill the heart.” (01:13)

• The next few days will focus on meditating deeply on particular parts of the Creed, inviting listeners to let them shape and move them internally.

2. God as Creator: A Reflection Rooted in Job 38

• Context is set: Job, amid suffering and questioning, encounters God’s dramatic reply.

• Fr. Mark-Mary reads from Job 38:1ff, where God powerfully asserts his creative authority (03:15).

  • Notable passage: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding...”

• Personal Reflection:

  • We often seek to ‘run’ or control the world, but God alone is Creator.
  • Quote: “You, Job, and you, Father Mark-Mary, and often you, my brothers and sisters, you're trying to run the world. You're trying to control the world. And God says, like, you can't even make a donkey.” (06:10)

• Listeners are invited to awe and trust:

  • God made all things—the stars, sea, animals—and “didn’t just make one donkey, but made all of the donkeys” (07:19)

  • Right response to the Creator: reverence, trust, surrender, and repentance for ways we attempt to “be God”.

3. The Creator’s Ongoing Work and Invitation to Trust

• God’s creation is ongoing; he brings clarity from chaos, writes a “beautiful story,” sustains and orders the cosmos (08:18).

  • Quote: “Look at its vastness, its size, look at its intricacy, look at its beauty, look at its harmony, its intelligibility, and be moved to praise and wonder and awe and reverence towards the Creator who hasn’t abandoned us...” (08:22)

• God’s response to Job may seem strong, but sometimes we need a strong reminder that our place is to receive, not direct, God’s plan.

4. From Job to Jesus: A Model for Humble Trust

• The host connects Job’s story to that of Jesus with Mary and Lazarus.

  • Mary grieves, Jesus weeps with her, then proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and acts—raising Lazarus from the dead (09:47).

  • Insight: Even as Creator and Lord, Jesus enters into our pain and suffering, affirming divine power yet showing deep compassion.

• Invitation:

  • “Let’s let God be God. Let’s look at the beauty, the majesty, the glory that surrounds us in all of creation. Let’s repent of all the ways in which we have tried to be God and tell him how to do his job when we can’t even make a single donkey.” (10:50)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the depth of the Creed:

  • “They don’t just form the intellect...They also fill the heart.” (01:14)

• On God’s sufficiency as Creator:

  • “You can't even make a donkey.” (06:12)

• On our response to God as Creator:

  • “The response is, okay, Lord—you’re God. Here’s what’s going on. But I trust you. I surrender to you. I repent of all the ways I’m trying to be God.” (07:54)

• On the call to repentance and wonder:

  • “Let's repent of all the ways in which we have tried to be God and tell him how to do his job when we can't even make a single donkey.” (10:52)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–01:13 – Episode introduction, purpose, and importance of the Creed
• 01:13–03:12 – Reflection on the Creed’s impact on mind and heart
• 03:12–06:20 – Reading and application of Job 38:1ff
• 06:20–08:24 – Personal reflections on God as Creator and our inclination to control
• 08:24–09:47 – The wonder of creation and God’s ongoing creative work
• 09:47–12:00 – Jesus, Lazarus, and Mary: God’s compassion and power; invitation for trust and surrender
• 12:00–14:38 – Guided closing prayer: Our Father, three Hail Marys, Glory Be; final encouragements

Summary & Takeaways

• Profound meditation on what it means to declare faith in “God, Creator of Heaven and Earth”
• A call to humility, trust, and repentance for attempting to control what belongs to God alone
• An invitation to observe the vastness, beauty, and order of creation as a prompt for worship
• Assurance that God’s creative power is active even in chaos and suffering—exemplified by Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb
• Listeners are encouraged to surrender doubts, pains, and questions into God’s hands through reverent prayer

Tone & Style

Fr. Mark-Mary maintains a gentle, humble, and pastoral tone—inviting, reflective, gently humorous (“you can't even make a donkey”), and deeply rooted in Biblical reflection and practical spirituality.

For the full prayer plan and further resources, visit Ascension’s Rosary in a Year site.