LEPANTO, LORETTO AND OUR LIFE
7th October 2015: The feast of Our Blessed
Mother of the Holy Rosary
Acts 1: 12-14; Lk 1: 26-38
The feast of our Blessed Mother of the Holy Rosary reminds us of the battle
of Lepanto 1571! The Christians were at war defending themselves against the
Ottoman Empire. They were at sea, as we know, it was a naval battle and the
Rosary brought them the desired victory. At the recommendation of the Pope, the
Church began to celebrate Our Blessed Mother as Our Lady of Victories. It was
then that Pope Pius V added that invocation, "Mary Help of
Christians", to the litany of Loretto (that which we pray normally). Truly
Mary was a great help for them at sea! Every Christian and every one of us, is
at sea on a daily basis, with our concerns and temptations battling against us.
Today this naval battle can be won not with bullets but with beads, the beads
of the Most Holy Rosary.
As Mary was there in the upper room with the disciples
praying, she is there every time we invoke her through the Holy Rosary. And
every time we pray this powerful prayer, she strengthens us to say, just as she
did, a whole hearted 'yes' to the will of God. As Pope St. John Paul II would
often remind us, the Rosary is infact a compendium of the Gospels, a summary of
the Paschal Mystery! The Rosary is a weapon that guards us from our foe malign.
It is a vehicle that commutes us closer to God the Father. It is a fragrant
garland that unites us with our Blessed Mother, thus sanctifying us into
children more and more worthy of her divine Son, our Lord and Master.