St. Edward on the Lake, Lakeport, MI | DOWNLOAD AUDIO
October 6, 2013
Jnh 1:1-16, 2:1-11; Lk 10:25-37
Today in the Extraordinary Form, we are able to celebrate the External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary. This feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks in the Battle at Lepanto 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory, and through Mary’s intercession their prayers were answered. As such, the Rosary has long been an important prayer and devotion in the Church. The last few popes in particular, including Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict have urged the faithful to pray the Rosary.
Why the Rosary? First off, the Rosary is a way of contemplating the life of Christ seeing him with the eyes of Mary. Even though, the Rosary is considered to be a Marian devotion, it is a meditation on the life of Christ. The mysteries which form the heart of the Rosary allow us to meditate on the events of Christ’s life and to be transformed by them. This is why we say that the Rosary is a contemplative prayer which only becomes mechanical if we are not thinking about the life of Christ.
The Rosary and its rhythm and repetition of prayers help us to tune out the world by focusing our minds on Christ: “The recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord.”[1]
But the Rosary is also a prayer of peace. This we know from the promises of Fatima and Lourdes. Our Lady called us to pray the Rosary for peace in the world which is why it is such a powerful weapon for us to use everyday. Finally, the Rosary is a prayer for the family. John Paul II encouraged the return to the practice of praying the Rosary in the family. Family life must be nurtured through prayer in the family, especially the praying of the Rosary. And what better way to pray as a family, as a domestic Church, than to pray meditating on the face of Christ through the heart of Mary. This prayer must be handed on to our children, so that it will be theirs when they need it most.
As it was at the Battle of Lepanto, the Rosary is a prayer for victory against the enemies of the Church. In this day and age where the Church has so many enemies, the Rosary is an increasingly important prayer not only for us as individuals and as a Church. May those who devoutly meditate on the divine mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary always and everywhere in this life be shielded from all enemies, visible and invisible, and at their death be presented to God by the most Blessed Virgin Mary herself.
[1] John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, n. 12
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