October is traditionally the month of the rosary. It is also Respect Life month. These two go hand in hand, as our feast, October 7th -Our Lady of the Rosary- helps us to understand. The feast comes from the victory of Christians over Muslims in the famous Battle of Lepanto in 1571. It was at this point of time Christendom was at risk of being completely taken over by Islam and Pope Pius V asked Christians everywhere to pray the rosary. What followed was simply miraculous! The Christians defeated their enemy and Europe was saved from being taken over by Islam. Even though the Muslims way outnumbered the Christians, Christendom won. The pope credited it to our Lady and the powerful weapon of the rosary. So in our day and age, we too must take up this noble weapon, and wage spiritual ware fare, asking Mary, Queen of our Army, the Church Militant, to lead us in this fight, this battle against the dignity and sanctity of human life that is threatened though contraception, abortion, capitol punishment. We must pray for the upholding of marriage and family life! Reflecting with Mary on the mysteries of Christ's life will give us strength to live our faith and witness it with joy to the world around us.
Bishop Conley wrote a beautiful reflection on Marian devotion and the rosary. Here is a snippet:
Consecration is the act of offering something, and setting it aside, for holy use. When we consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary, we offer ourselves for his use. We abandon our plans and desires in service to the saving work of Christ. This isn’t easy—and we need help. When we consecrate ourselves through Mary, we ask her to pray for us and to guide us as we offer ourselves to Christ. We follow after Mary as she follows after Christ—“Be it done unto me according to your will.”
October is traditionally regarded as the month of the rosary. During this month, the Church urges us to pray the rosary regularly and to reflect upon its mysteries. “With the rosary,” noted Blessed John Paul II, “the Christian people sit at the school of Mary and are led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.”
For Catholics—in our families, in our churches and in our own private prayer—to sit with the Mother of the Redeemer is to see Christ in a new way. The power of the rosary is the gift of deeply engaging in the mysteries of Jesus Christ—in the joys, sorrows and triumphs of his cross and resurrection. The power of the rosary is to know Jesus Christ and to love him, as his mother knows him and loves him.
To read the Bishop's entire relfection, click here.
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