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Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and this is the Rosary into youo 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 62. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a 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 and it's a great way to track your progress. The best place to listen to 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. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in the Year Prayer Guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings from Scripture, saint reflections and beautiful full page images of the sacred art. We'll be Reflecting on the fourth sorrowful mystery Jesus takes up his cross Matthew, chapter 27, verse 32 as they were marching out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, this man they compelled to carry his cross. Okay, my brothers and sisters, with this fourth Sorrowful mystery again, we're going to be introduced to the state of the world at this time because of our sin. And Jesus, while remaining innocent again, he's going to take upon himself that which is ours, that which is the state of the sinner. And here's the state of the sinner. You've taken your inheritance, you've received everything that God has given you. You've squandered it, you've wasted it. And now here you are, beat up, broken, mocked, crowned with your own cross to carry. Like here is the burden. Here's the problem that you have created. Now you deal with it. Now you carry it, now you fix it. And we have introduced here in the Gospel of Matthew, Simon to help, at least for part of the way, to carry the cross. But here is the reality. Without mercy, without God, without salvation, Jesus and Simon, they can carry this cross. And it will be a long and arduous and painful journey. But to what end? To Golgotha? To Calvary? To death? Man, left to his own devices, like he cannot fix the problem that he has created. He cannot ascend out of the hole, out of the tomb if you will, that he has dug for himself. We can do all we can to try and fix the problem we have made. But we will never be able to fix it. And now let's juxtapose this with the journey of the sinner and the Father in mercy in the parable of the prodigal Son. This is Luke chapter 15, starting at verse 20. And he arose and came to his Father. But while he was yet at a distance, his Father saw him and had compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the Son said to him, father, I've sinned against heaven before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the Father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. Notice that the prodigal Son essentially was communicating here, is that he turns back to the Father. And this is all the Father needed while he was yet at a distance. It is the Father who descends. The Father of his own goodness in his own mercy, meets the Son still on the road. And from his merciful and generous, gratuitous, lavish love pours forth on him the fullness of the dignity that he had lost and restores him to the fullness of sonship, not because of what he has done, but because of his own goodness, his own love. What we create through our sin, you could say almost what we deserve by our sin is to have our burden, to have our cross and our journey which doesn't lead to life, it only leads to death. And we can't bring ourselves back to life. We can't restore ourselves to the fullness of sonship, but he does it for us. My brothers and sisters, this is where we see this fourth sorrowful mystery again. It reveals to us the state and the result of our sin, but also its contrast reveals to us the truth of what's happening. As Jesus is ascending the mountain with the cross, what's really happening is our good God is descending to us, to come and embrace us and to save us.