The Rosary is more than a collection of Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes. It is an appeal to God through the arms of Mary. It is as if the Blessed Mother is holding our hands, fingering the beads along with us. We ask her to pray for us, knowing that we can be confident of her intercession for us all.
By Maria V. Gallagher
When my mother would flip the calendar to October each year, I would grow excited by the thought of bursts of color in the trees … the beauty of my Halloween costume … and the mouth-watering morsels of candy that would be left in my trick-or-treat basket.
What I did not realize during those childhood days was that there was yet another reason to be joyful — the coming of the month of the Most Holy Rosary.
A month for Our Lady’s Rosary
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary falls on Oct. 7. Pope St. Pius V is credited with establishing the feast in the 16th century to recall the triumph of Christians in what is known as the Battle of Lepanto. While Turkish forces vastly outnumbered the Christians, the Christian sailors were victorious in the decisive naval victory that occurred near the coast of Greece in 1571.
Knowing conventional weaponry was not enough, the sailors prayed the Rosary to seek the intervention of the Blessed Mother at their time of need. Mary responded with her loving protection which helped to fight off the Turkish invasion.
The Rosary is so powerful that it earned an entire month within the Church year. Over the years, it has been credited with achieving peace, healing minds and bodies, and other miracles.
As Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, explains in his bestselling book Champions of the Rosary, this incredible devotion was given by Mary to St. Dominic, who lived from 1170 to 1221. Saint Dominic turned to the Rosary to combat a heresy claiming that creation was inherently evil. Through the art of persuasion — along with the secret weapon of the Rosary — St. Dominic was able to convert many heretics.
The source of the power of the Rosary flows from Jesus through Mary. She is the Queen of the Universe, an intercessor who cares for each person as a mother cares for her child. She is not a goddess, but the beloved mother of the Christ, or Anointed One, and therefore she holds a special place in Heaven.
Mysteries
In my Marian Press books Joyful Encounters with Mary and Glorious Encounters with Mary, I explore the kinship we can experience with Mary by pondering how we live out the mysteries of the Rosary in our own lives.
For instance, many of us have experienced a kind of resurrection, gaining new life after undergoing a conversion, overcoming an addiction, or rising from the ashes of an abusive relationship. Or we may have witnessed one of our friends or family members experiencing such a resurrection. In this way, we share a special bond with the Blessed Mother, who had a front row seat for Christ’s Resurrection.
As Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, SJ, a 20th century priest, once stated:
It is not only a pious opinion that the Risen Savior first appeared to His mother on Easter Sunday. No less than six Doctors of the Church, including Sts. Ambrose, Anselm, and Albert the Great held that Our Lady was the first witness of the Resurrection.
In Our Lady’s arms
The Rosary is more than a collection of Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes. It is an appeal to God through the arms of Mary. It is as if the Blessed Mother is holding our hands, fingering the beads along with us. We ask her to pray for us, knowing that we can be confident of her intercession for us all.
When my father lay dying in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, I asked my sister to pray the Rosary aloud with me. It was a moment of tremendous grace, as we prayed for the salvation of our beloved Daddy’s soul. We felt closer to God — and to each other — as a result of that profoundly moving experience. The beads of the Rosary connected us as nothing else could.
Consider marking the month of October with a daily Rosary. It can transform your life. I know it has transformed mine.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
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