Day 96: A New Love

Summary

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

Episode: Day 96 - A New Love
Date: April 6, 2026
Host: Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR
Theme: The New Law of Love in Christ’s Kingdom

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Episode Overview

In Day 96 of "The Rosary in a Year," Fr. Mark-Mary Ames leads a reflection on the Third Luminous Mystery: The Proclamation of the Kingdom and the Call to Conversion. Through a reading from St. Augustine and a meditation on Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Fr. Mark-Mary explores Christ’s gift of a “new law” for a new kingdom, rooted in a transformative and supernatural love empowered by the Holy Spirit. Listeners are invited to see the challenge of Christian mercy and forgiveness not as a solitary burden, but as an invitation to rely on a new grace made possible in Christ.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Spiritual Stage

• Fr. Mark-Mary announces that today's meditation is focused on A New Law for a New Kingdom Because of a New Love (01:13).
• The chosen reading is from St. Augustine’s Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the transition from the old law (for the Jews) to the new law (for the people of Christ).

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2. St. Augustine on the New Law

• St. Augustine views the “mountain” in the Sermon on the Mount as symbolic of “the greater precepts of righteousness” that Jesus brings (01:34).

• Quote (St. Augustine, read by Fr. Mark-Mary, 01:45):

  “He [God], through his Son, gave the greater ones to a people it had now become suitable to set free by love.”

• The episode draws a sharp line between the fear-bound old law and the love-set-free new law.

• Quote (St. Augustine, 02:43):

  “Nor is it surprising that the greater precepts are given for the kingdom of heaven, and the lesser for an earthly kingdom by that one and the same God who made heaven and earth.”

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3. Jesus Establishes a New Kingdom with a New Law

• Fr. Mark-Mary explains that in proclaiming the Kingdom, Jesus is both raising the moral bar and empowering us to meet it (03:44).

• He highlights Jesus’s repeated phrase in the Gospel:
  Quote (Fr. Mark-Mary, 04:06):

  “You have heard it said, but I say to you…”
  This structure shows Jesus not just revising but fulfilling and transforming the old law.

• The analogy of parenthood: When someone becomes a parent, their capability for love and sacrificing for another increases organically, not merely by willpower but by a new affection—a parallel to the transformation Jesus enables in our hearts (04:45–05:55).

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4. The Source and Power of the New Love

• Fr. Mark-Mary stresses that Jesus is not calling us to higher standards only, but enabling us to fulfill them by granting us a new ability to love—through the Holy Spirit (06:01).
• Quote (Fr. Mark-Mary, 07:10):

  “The new measure, the new law of the new kingdom established by Jesus is to love like Jesus, to forgive like Jesus, to be faithful to the Father like Jesus. But all of this through the power of the Holy Spirit…”

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5. Invitation to Hope & Reliance on the Spirit

• Challenges in Christian living—especially in mercy and forgiveness—can feel overwhelming if done alone (07:36–08:11).
• Fr. Mark-Mary encourages listeners not to be discouraged by these high standards:
  Quote (08:32):

  “The profound grace and the profound newness of the new kingdom that Jesus established is that we have this new access to God, to the Holy Spirit living and acting through us, that we ourselves…can echo with St. Paul, ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’”

• The episode concludes with a direct invitation to pray for this “grace of the Holy Spirit” (08:38).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the transition from old to new:

  “As Jesus comes, as he’s establishing his kingdom, and he’s able to give us this new law because he’s giving us a new love.” — Fr. Mark-Mary (05:10)

• On how the Spirit writes the law in our hearts:

  “With the coming of the Holy Spirit…the new law is written on our hearts by God himself.” — Fr. Mark-Mary (06:41)

• A prayerful plea:

  “Come, Holy Spirit. Live your life in me… Write this new law on my heart. Fill me with this new experience of love, so that I may be more perfectly conformed to Christ, that I may more perfectly love as Jesus himself loved.” — Fr. Mark-Mary (08:46)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:04 – 01:09: Introduction, scripture, and saintly reading setup
• 01:13 – 02:45: Reading of St. Augustine on the Sermon on the Mount
• 03:44 – 06:01: Reflection on the proclamation of the Kingdom, analogy of parental love
• 06:01 – 07:28: The empowerment of new love through the Holy Spirit
• 07:36 – 08:35: Invitation to hope, reliance on the Holy Spirit, prayer for grace
• 09:04 – 12:16: Guided rosary decade (content is a prayer, not directly summarized)
• 12:16 – End: Encouragement and closing blessing

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Flow & Tone

Father Mark-Mary’s tone throughout is gentle, encouraging, and hope-filled. He challenges listeners to go beyond discouragement by meditating on how God equips us through grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The analogy to new parenthood makes the spiritual teaching relatable and organic, reinforcing that Christian transformation is something God does in us, not something we achieve by willpower alone.

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Summary for Listeners:
This episode brings comfort and inspiration for anyone feeling the weight of Jesus’ high calling. Through the wisdom of St. Augustine and practical examples, Fr. Mark-Mary shows that the new demands of the Christian life are only possible because Christ himself enables us—through his Spirit—to love, forgive, and live as adopted children in the Kingdom. The new law is not just a command, but a promise of new possibility.

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Transcript

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Foreign.

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Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of 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 a Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 96. 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 gonna 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. 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 today. We'll be meditating upon and praying with the third luminous mystery, the proclamation of the Kingdom, and the call to conversion, with help from a reading from St.

[A]

Augustine from his work on the Sermon on the Mount.

[B]

And the point of emphasis of our meditation is going to be a new law for a new kingdom because of a new love. And now our reading from St. Augustine on the Sermon on the Mount, St.

[A]

Augustine, who we've already introduced, known as the Doctor of Grace.

[B]

The beginning then of this sermon is introduced as follows. And when he saw the great multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them. If it is asked what the mountain means, it may well be understood as meaning the greater precepts of righteousness. For there were lesser ones which were given to the Jews. Yet it was one God, who, through his holy prophets and servants, according to a thoroughly arranged distribution of times, gave the lesser precepts to a people as yet required to be bound by fear, and who through His Son, gave the greater ones to a people whom it had now become suitable to set free by love. Moreover, when the lesser are given to the lesser, and the greater to the greater, they are given by him who alone knows how to present to the human race the medicine suited to the occasion. Nor is it surprising that the greater precepts are given for the kingdom of heaven, and the lesser for an earthly kingdom by that one and the same

[A]

God who made heaven and earth.

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The end of the reading thanks be to God. All right so let's go ahead and reflect on these words of St. Augustine in the context of praying with the proclamation of the kingdom, the call to conversion. Just a reminder. So as Jesus is proclaiming the kingdom, our way to understand this, right, is that in the proclamation of the kingdom, which is being proclaimed, established by word and by deed, we have these realities happening, and we see this in all that Jesus is going to do and he's going to preach, right. And teach during his public earthly ministry, right? The Savior is saving, the divine physician is healing, the teacher is teaching, right? And what we encounter, particularly here at the Sermon on the Mount, is the lawgiver of the new kingdom is giving the new law. Let's go ahead and pull a couple

[A]

of lines here from St. Augustine, right?

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He says this through his Son, gave the greater ones to a people whom it had now become suitable to set free by love. There's this acknowledgement that as Jesus comes, he is giving a new law and a greater law. And this makes sense again, according to St. Augustine, his own words. Nor is it surprising. The greater precepts are given for the kingdom of heaven, right? There's a new law for this new kingdom, the kingdom of heaven being given here by Jesus. And we counted this phrasing a number of times with the Lord, like you have heard it said, but I say to you, you have heard it said, but I say to you, and you have heard it said, when Jesus is doing this, like he's going to mention sort of the old law, but then he's saying this, but I say to you, and he's raising the bar, he's giving us the new law. And so I think it's important to understand this. It's not just that Jesus is raising the stakes, raising the bar, calling us to something higher, but everything else is left untouched. What's actually happening is this, as Jesus comes, as he's establishing his kingdom, and he's able to give us this new law because he's giving us a new love. And to use a bit of analogy, I think we see this with, like, new moms and dads all the time, is that they lived a certain way, maybe sort of the bachelor, bachelorette lifestyle. And then they become a father or they become a mother, and their whole life changes and their expectations of themselves change and their ability to live for another changes. And all of this actually happens organically and naturally, like they love to a greater degree, because this child, their own child, has been introduced to their life and they know a love they had never known before. And so the action, the change of action, I know it's not perfect, but the change of action often happens organically, not from a just, I want to do better, but it comes naturally. Like, I have this new love, and I want to respond to this love with a greater care, a greater giving of myself, a greater generosity, a greater ability to sacrifice, Right? What's happening here with Jesus and the

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Sermon on the Mount and many of

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his teachings as he's going to raise the bar, particularly in the area of mercy and forgiveness, is this is made possible because he is giving us this new love. And yes, part of this new love includes this new revelation, the new manifestation of who God is that we encounter and is made visible in Jesus Christ. We see our Savior, we see our God born in Bethlehem, we see Jesus on the cross. Certainly this part of it, like, okay, look at how he has loved us and let us respond by a greater love. But also, and even more importantly, we actually have access to a new love, a new capacity through grace. And we've discussed it before, but particularly with the coming of the Holy Spirit, like, the new law is written on our hearts by God himself, by this access we have to the Holy Spirit. And so the new measure, the new law of the new kingdom established by Jesus is to love like Jesus, to

[A]

forgive like Jesus,

[B]

to be faithful to the Father like Jesus. But all of this through the power

[A]

of the Holy Spirit, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are brought

[B]

into the new kingdom and able to live the new law of love of the new kingdom because of the power

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of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

[B]

Now, as we conclude by praying our

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decade of the rosary together, what I'm

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going to invite you to in particular is a new invitation to hope as we see the teaching of the Lord, particularly sometimes in the areas dealing with

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mercy, dealing with care for the poor,

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forgiveness in general, right? It can feel challenging. It can feel really hard. What I'm going to invite you to in these areas is like. And maybe you already feel the Lord inviting you to some of these areas

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in different relationships, et cetera.

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And there can be an experience of discouragement, right?

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Like, this is hard.

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That discouragement, though, it's really coming from the sense of, like, I have to do this alone. The profound grace and the profound newness of the new kingdom that Jesus established is that we have this new access to God, to the Holy Spirit living and acting through us that we ourselves, right? Can echo with St. Paul, it is

[A]

no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

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So What I'm going to ask you to do is to really, really beg

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for a grace of the Holy Spirit here. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit.

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Live your life in me.

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Come, Holy Spirit.

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Write this new law on my heart. Fill me with this new experience of love, so that I may be more perfectly conformed to Christ, that I may more perfectly love as Jesus himself loved. And now with Our lady, let us pray.

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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.

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Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

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on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we

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forgive those who trespass against us.

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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 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. 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. 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 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 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 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. 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.

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All right. Thanks so much for joining me and praying with me today.

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

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Poke a poke. Friends. God bless y' all.