The month of the Holy Rosary


October continues to give numerous feasts of Our Lady for the Church to celebrate. Only days ago, She honoured Our Lady of the Rosary, recalling the 450th anniversary of the triumphant victory over the Islamic forces at Lepanto. Tomorrow the Church pays homage to Mary once again in the feast of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, and the day following is the lesser found feast of Our Lady of the Pillar. Added to this is the month-long dedication to the holy rosary, and the 54-day rosary novena which commenced on the 7th of October, for the intentions of the Church and the world.

    The need for devotion to the rosary increases with every day, as the devil continues his war against God and the Blessed Virgin. The satanic hatred which he bears for the pious virgin-mother, means that his attacks are turned against her, and so it is increasingly common that those virtues which she embodies are the ones which the world and the devil reject. Purity, chastity, humility, oblation to God, and willingness to suffer: all of these were exemplified by Mary, and are the trademarks of the Catholic life. All of these same viruses, then, are the subject of relentless attacks in modern, pagan, even satanic society. 

    Is it even possible to walk down the street without seeing signs, hearing music, observing behaviour, which treats such admirable virtues as if they were the practice of fools and madmen? On the contrary, the world argues, the opposing vices should be allowed to flourish: let impurity be practiced by all; let children be coerced into believing themselves the opposite sex; let promiscuity and abortion be rife; let there be no suffering in this life, but only hedonistic pleasure. Above all, argues the world, let there be no hint of humble, self-oblation to God.

    In contrast, the rosary recalls the intimate union of Christ and Mary, documenting her co-operation with His salvific mission, the horrendous sufferings, tortures and death, and the glorious resurrection. The first mystery recounts her act of profound humility, uniting her will with God’s, desiring only to do His will and not her own. The Annunciation is the antidote the daily message of the world in every way, a point which makes meditating on it and the Joyful mysteries all the more essential. Each of the mysteries of the rosary is centred upon humility, oblation to God, willingness to suffer for Him, and the desire for souls. Each one is an opportunity to imitate the Blessed Virgin, and to join her as one of the Friends of the Cross, as St. Louis-Marie de Montfort wrote.

    Pope Pius XII wrote of this aspect, in his 1952 encyclical Ingruentium Malorem: “And truly, from the frequent meditation on the Mysteries, the soul little by little and imperceptibly draws and absorbs the virtues they contain, and is wondrously enkindled with a longing for things immortal, and becomes strongly and easily impelled to follow the path which Christ Himself and His Mother have followed. The recitation of identical formulas repeated so many times, rather than rendering the prayer sterile and boring, has on the contrary the admirable quality of infusing confidence in him who prays and brings to bear a gentle compulsion on the motherly Heart of Mary.”

    The world in which evil is promoted as a virtue, in one in which the Church has utmost need to heed the call of Mary at Fatima, when she asked for the daily recitation of the rosary. Indeed, in the times when the satanic assault is directed on the family, what better way is there to combat it, than to meditate on the actions of the Holy Family, and for families to strengthen themselves through the recitation of the rosary. “In vain is a remedy sought for the wavering fate of civil life, if the family, the principle and foundation of the human community, is not fashioned after the pattern of the Gospel,” notes Pius XII.

    As promoters of the modern satanistic worldview become emboldened by their apparent victories, Catholics must take heart from the fact that Our Lady has already noted how such men are destined to fail. “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph,” she said. In order to join in bringing about this triumph, Catholics must heed the call, coming from the Mother of God, to pray the prayer which so angers, infuriates and confounds the devil. By this means, every household becomes a fortress of prayer, devoted to imitation of Mary, and imitation of Christ. With the home of a Catholic family thus becoming an “earthly abode of sanctity,” the reversion of society to God can begin. 

    “This meditation will bring to the knowledge of the little ones the main truths of the Christian Faith, making love for the Redeemer blossom almost spontaneously in their innocent hearts, while, seeing, their parents kneeling before the majesty of God, they will learn from their very early years how great before the throne of God is the value of prayers said in common.”

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