Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
Devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast day – October 07
Pope St. Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose
was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto
— a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Clement XI extended the
feast to the universal Church in 1716. The development of the rosary has a long
history. First, a practice developed of praying 150 Our Fathers in imitation of
the 150 Psalms. Then there was a parallel practice of praying 150 Hail Marys.
Soon a mystery of Jesus' life was attached to each Hail Mary. Though Mary's
giving the rosary to St. Dominic is recognized as unhistorical, the development
of this prayer form owes much to the followers of St. Dominic. One of them,
Alan de la Roche, was known as "the apostle of the rosary." He
founded the first Confraternity of the Rosary in the 15th century. In the 16th
century the rosary was developed to its present form — with the 15 mysteries
(joyful, sorrowful and glorious). In 2002, Pope John Paul II added the Mysteries
of Light to this devotion.
The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the
great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the
gospel. The main focus is on Jesus — his birth, life, death and resurrection.
The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus' Father is the initiator of salvation. The
Hail Marys remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They
also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all
the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The Glorys remind us that
the purpose of all life is the glory of the Trinity.
“[The rosary] sets forth the mystery of Christ in the very
way in which it is seen by St. Paul in the celebrated ‘hymn’ of the Epistle to
the Philippians — kenosis [self-emptying], death and exaltation (2:6-11).... By
its nature 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 grasped by the heart of her who was closer to the Lord than all
others” (Paul VI, Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, 45, 47).
(AmericanCatholic.org)
When the heresy of the Albigensians was growing in the
district of Toulouse and striking deeper roots day by day, St. Dominic, who had
just laid the foundations of the Order of Preachers, threw himself
whole-heartedly into the task of destroying this heresy. That he might be the
better able to overcome it, he implored with earnest prayers the aid of the
Blessed Virgin. She instructed Dominic to preach the Rosary to the people as a
unique safeguard against heresy and vice, and he carried out this commission
with wonderful ardour of soul and with great success. From that time, then, St.
Dominic began to promulgate and promote this method of praying. And the fact
that he was its founder and originator has from time to time been stated in
papal encyclicals.
From this salutary practice countless fruits have flowed to
Christendom. Among these, we should especially mention the victory over the
powerful tyranny of the Turks won at the battle of Lepanto by St. Pius V and
the Christian princes he had aroused. For, as this victory was won on the very
day on which the sodalities of the most holy Rosary throughout the world had
been offering their accustomed supplications and carrying out the prescribed
prayers, it was rightly attributed to these prayers. Gregory XIII testified to
this fact when he decreed that for such a unique benefit thanks should always
be offered everywhere throughout the world to the Blessed Virgin under the
title of the Rosary. Other Popes have granted almost innumerable indulgences to
the recitation of the Rosary and to Rosary societies.
Clement XI, noting the circumstances of the equally famous
victory of Charles VI, the emperor-elect, over the innumerable forces of the
Turks in Hungary in the year 1716, held that this victory was to be attributed
to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The victory occurred on the feast of
the Dedication of Our Lady of the Snows; and, at almost the time of the battle,
the confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary was offering a public and solemn
supplication in the city of Rome, with a great crowd of people pouring out
fervent prayers to God with great devotion for the overthrow of the Turks and
humbly imploring the powerful aid of the Virgin Mother of God to help the
Christians. Looking also with the eyes of faith at the raising of the Turks'
siege of the island of Corcyra shortly afterwards, he held that this victory
too must be ascribed to the patronage of the Blessed Virgin. To keep alive,
therefore, the memory of these great benefits and to assure a perpetual
thanksgiving for them, Clement extended the feast of the Most Holy Rosary to
the universal Church. Benedict XIII decreed that all these things be written
into the Roman Breviary. Leo XIII in repeated encyclicals strongly urged all
the faithful throughout the world to recite the Rosary especially during the
month of October, raised the rank of the feast, and added to the Litany of
Loretto the invocation "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary." He also
granted a special Office to be recited by the universal Church on this feast.
The Popes over the last century have repeatedly stressed the great importance
of devotion to Mary through the Rosary.
Sources for this article were taken from: The Saint of the day: http://catholic-thoughts.info/saints/
Prayer
O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary
may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in
my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to
walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the
study of thy twenty mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous
atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my
understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So
shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal
prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations
of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the Holy Rosary, through Saint Dominic,
thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of thy mysteries, and the
faithful imitator of thy virtues.
Amen
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary – Pray for us
A Holy Life - Prayer to Our Lady of La Naval
