[Exton, PA, October 28, 2024—]
A familiar face from Ascension Presents—Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR—will guide Catholics through a transformative year of prayer.
Ascension has announced its 4th “In a Year” podcast: The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR). On January 1, 2025, daily episodes will be posted to the Ascension App, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Listeners who want to follow along should download the free Prayer Plan available at www.AscensionPress.com/RosaryInAYear.
Much more than just 365 daily Rosary listen-alongs, Rosary in a Year (RIY) will guide listeners through a deep encounter with every element of the Rosary. From the words of the “Hail Mary” to the Scripture passages describing each mystery, listeners will have their relationship with the Rosary permanently transformed, storing spiritual insights to meditate on for the rest of their lives.
Episodes will go through “6 phases” of deepening prayer and include:
- Guided meditations on the prayers of the Rosary (Our Father, Hail Mary, etc)
- Reflections from the saints (St. Augustine, St. Faustina, St. Thomas Aquinas, and more)
- Lectio divina – prayerful reflections on the Scriptures underlying each mystery
- Visio divina – prayerful reflections on sacred art depicting each mystery
“How beautiful would it be for us if, like many of the great saints, we were just constantly praying the Rosary throughout the day, reflecting on Jesus and Mary and the great mysteries of our salvation?” invites podcast host Fr. Mark-Mary, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal (CFR), in the podcast announcement video.
“To help us fall in love again, to help us be renewed again in our praying of the Rosary, we—myself and the team here at Ascension—have put together the Rosary in a Year podcast. I look forward to this journey with our listeners.”
The Rosary in a Year Prayer Plan
The RIY Prayer Plan can be downloaded for free here. It is the indispensable resource all podcast listeners need to follow along with the podcast.
The Prayer Plan explains the “6 phases” of deepening prayer, which organize the 365 episodes of RIY:
Rosary in a Year Resources for Individuals and Communities
Ascension has developed several resources for individuals and communities who would like to deepen their experience of The Rosary in a Year:
- Free, for everyone—Prayer Plan available here
- Free, for everyone—YouTube videos will be available on a new RIY channel in January, similar to those offered for Bible in a Year and Catechism in a Year
- For individuals—the Rosary in a Year Prayer Guide, a 280-page book that accompanies listeners through every single day of RIY. The Guide includes full-color images of the visio divina sacred art, Scripture passages, saint reflections, litanies, and other enrichment material for the 6 phases of the podcast
- For individuals—beautiful heirloom Rosaries in three styles, inspired by the CFRs and their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Free, for communities—Rosary in a Year Parish Kit to promote the Rosary in a local parish setting; includes a retractable banner and 250 pew cards
- For communities—How to Pray a Better Rosary, a Rosary booklet priced at $1 for use in parish, school, and community settings
A Podcast Many Years in the Making
At the close of Bible in a Year’s inaugural season in December 2021, Fr. Mark-Mary released a video with Ascension called “The Rosary in a Year,” which offered a way for individuals to do a “Rosary in a Year” devotion on their own. Fr. Mark-Mary’s other Rosary content on Ascension’s YouTube channel has millions of views – his Rosary pray-along video is the second-most-popular on the channel, and other Rosary content has also amassed hundreds of thousands of views.
Ascension is happy to respond to this strong audience demand for additional Rosary content, and has re-formatted Fr. Mark-Mary’s original Rosary in a Year idea to the full-length Rosary in a Year podcast being launched today.
The 4th “In a Year” Podcast from Ascension
The Rosary in a Year is the 4th “In a Year” offering from Ascension. Previous podcasts have included:
- The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)®
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™
- La Biblia en un Año (con Fray Sergio Serrano, OP)™
At its launch in 2021, The Bible in a Year hit #1 on Apple Podcasts in all categories and repeated the feat in 2022. It was widely acclaimed in both Catholic and secular press and remains the most successful Catholic podcast of all time.
About Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR
Fr. Mark-Mary Ames is the Director of Communications and the Director of Priestly Studies of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR). The primary mission of the CFR community is a wholehearted embracing of Jesus Christ and their Holy Father, St. Francis of Assisi. Through their commitment to prayer and contemplation, the study of Sacred Scripture, fidelity to the Church and the sacraments, their fraternal life, and their generous service to others especially the poor, the CFRs receive the nourishment necessary to live out their lives as sons of St. Francis in the Capuchin tradition.
Fr. Mark-Mary is the host of the Ascension Presents video series The CFRs. He was also the executive producer of the Poco a Poco music album featuring Br. Isaiah, CFR, and is the author of two books from Ascension: Habits for Holiness: Small Steps for Making Big Spiritual Progress and The Father: 30 Meditations to Draw You Into the Heart of God.
About Ascension
Ascension is a multimedia network and the leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. Over the past 25 years, Ascension has helped nurture the faith of over 20 million Catholics through award-winning books, the chart-topping Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)® podcast, more than 50 unique faith formation programs, and the Ascension Presents media and YouTube platforms.
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