On October 7, 1571, in Lepanto, Greece, a Christian fleet that called themselves the Holy League conquered the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire. Pope Pius V, subsequently, instituted a Feast of Our Lady of Victories, which was later changed, by Pope Gregory XIII, to the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The reason for the change was because they credited praying the Rosary as the cause for their victory. As a result, October was dedicated as a month to Mary, specifically, as the month of the Most Holy Rosary.
October is also a month to celebrate life and our respect for life in all stages and in all forms. That, too, is why this Sunday is also known as Respect Life Sunday. While there may not seem to be an immediate correlation with the Feast of the Rosary, it is, indeed, Mary who stands as a representative for life, as she brought us new life in Christ.
Yet, while this may be the case, it seems as though, especially in this day and age, it is life itself, from conception to natural death, that is daily threatened and has become so controversial and even a source of politics that it is a topic feared to be spoken in mixed company.
But that is only because, as we hear it often said, the Church is too irrelevant in this day age, outdated in its views, and marriage is no longer as we heard in our readings. It would be better, as many say, if the Church merely bowed before the whims of the world in order for Catholics to be free of any controversy.
Unfortunately, in order for that to happen, as Deacon Bob reminded last weekend, we would need to go against some fundamental beliefs that our conscience prevents us from. And, so we stand at an impasse between the Church and the world, as our religious freedoms are daily threatened and our core beliefs as Catholics challenged at every corner.
And, while the issues are deeper still, and could fill countless books, as they already have, this is one those things from which we can learn a lot from history. For, we are at a time when, now more than ever, we are called to become men and women of prayer, we are called, especially this month, to make the Rosary our weapon, as St. Pio described it, and to put our faith and our confidence in the power of that prayer.
Perhaps, it may sound like a simple solution to a complex problem, but there is strength and power in prayer that we might forget for, it was simply this, this Rosary that brought down an entire army, it is this that has become the very source and strength of countless Catholics throughout the world, brought thousands of conversions, instilled in many a desire for holiness and has simply become a staple of thousands of saints.
This is why we need to pray, and to pray constantly, pray daily, pray always, for our world, for ourselves, for our Church, for everyone. And most importantly when we pray we should pray for and with our families, because, indeed, it is the family that shapes the person we become. For, as Bl. John Paul II said, the family is the “domestic church,” the place from which we learn how to pray, how to live and how to love.
Fr. Peyton, a famous priest of Ireland, and whose cause for Canonization has been opened, coined a great phrase that all of you may be familiar with, he said: “The family that prays together, stays together.” And it is the rosary, this chain link to Heaven that can help us, it is the Rosary that has done more for our lives, for our country and for our world than any other instrument of prayer.
Therefore, let us pray it always, let us wear out these beads from praying upon them too much, so that in the words of St. Josemaria Escriva with whom I leave you with today: “The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you will be amazed at the results.”
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