On Praying The Rosary During the Month of October
We'll finish our discussion of how work tempers our will for the good next time, but something important has come up that I almost missed: the month of October. Okay, I'll be more specific.
October 7th was the feast of the Holy Rosary. This feast was established by Pope Saint PIus V on the anniversary of the naval victory won by the Christian fleet over the fleet of the Ottoman Empire at Lepanto, October 7, 1571. The victory was attributed to Our Lady and the recitation of her Holy Rosary by Christians around the world, as requested by the Holy Father. While the odds were heavily in favor of the much larger Ottoman fleet, not only did the Christians win the battle, but the Ottoman fleet was destroyed such that it could not attack again. If you're not familiar with this battle, do yourself a favor and educate yourself when you have some time. You'll be inspired by not just the virtually miraculous battle, but by the power of prayer so clearly manifested on that day.
Which brings us to this: October is the month of the Holy Rosary. If you didn't know this, now you do. If you did know it, you may not have known why: now you do.
All of which leads to this: Pray the rosary, not only during October, but every day - even on your busiest days, when work seems to crowd out everything else.
I hope you pray the Rosary, ideally every day, but just in case you don't, maybe you can see why October is a good month to begin to develop the habit.
Now, given how busy work gets sometimes, saying a Rosary every day may seem almost impossible. So here are some suggestions to get going, starting with the most important, most powerful way to develop this or any good habit: Ask Our Lord and Our Lady for help.
Since the Rosary is associated with Our Lady, you may try just asking her to intercede on your behalf and ask Our Lord to provide whatever graces you need to get going and keep at it. Don't put the burden on yourself, especially if you feel pressed for time by busy work days. I know because that's the only way I have been able to pray the Rosary daily on a consistent basis - asking for help from Our Lady and Our Lord.
Then again, maybe you not only don't pray the Rosary now, but somehow think it's not really important for you to do so now (or ever for that matter). Maybe you've fallen for the claim that the Rosary is an old-fashioned, medieval form of prayer designed for illiterate or semi-literate peasants. Maybe you're a big shot or a wise guy who thinks the Rosary is a bunch of beads and repetitious prayers meant for the simple-minded or unsophisticated. Whatever is holding you back, if you really think this, do some reading about the Rosary (something intelligent, OK?); then do some soul-searching. Perhaps talk to a good priest about this. But do whatever you need to do to disabuse yourself of this notion.
Finally, if you think you can't spare the 20 minutes or so to say five decades of the Rosary because you're oh-so-busy today, just re-read the phrase: "you can't spare the 20 minutes or so to say five decades of the Rosary because you're oh-so-busy today" and think about it for a moment...Now, you don't seriously think that, do you? C'mon. One guy to another. You can't spare 20 minutes?
In any case, let's not let October fly by without acknowledging it as the special month it is. Let's not disappoint Our Lady, gents. Pray the Rosary every day, no matter how busy things get at work. Worse comes to worse, you can carve out 20 minutes from your lunch break, or pray the Rosary during your commute - whatever. Just do it.
October 7th was the feast of the Holy Rosary. This feast was established by Pope Saint PIus V on the anniversary of the naval victory won by the Christian fleet over the fleet of the Ottoman Empire at Lepanto, October 7, 1571. The victory was attributed to Our Lady and the recitation of her Holy Rosary by Christians around the world, as requested by the Holy Father. While the odds were heavily in favor of the much larger Ottoman fleet, not only did the Christians win the battle, but the Ottoman fleet was destroyed such that it could not attack again. If you're not familiar with this battle, do yourself a favor and educate yourself when you have some time. You'll be inspired by not just the virtually miraculous battle, but by the power of prayer so clearly manifested on that day.
Which brings us to this: October is the month of the Holy Rosary. If you didn't know this, now you do. If you did know it, you may not have known why: now you do.
All of which leads to this: Pray the rosary, not only during October, but every day - even on your busiest days, when work seems to crowd out everything else.
I hope you pray the Rosary, ideally every day, but just in case you don't, maybe you can see why October is a good month to begin to develop the habit.
Now, given how busy work gets sometimes, saying a Rosary every day may seem almost impossible. So here are some suggestions to get going, starting with the most important, most powerful way to develop this or any good habit: Ask Our Lord and Our Lady for help.
Since the Rosary is associated with Our Lady, you may try just asking her to intercede on your behalf and ask Our Lord to provide whatever graces you need to get going and keep at it. Don't put the burden on yourself, especially if you feel pressed for time by busy work days. I know because that's the only way I have been able to pray the Rosary daily on a consistent basis - asking for help from Our Lady and Our Lord.
Then again, maybe you not only don't pray the Rosary now, but somehow think it's not really important for you to do so now (or ever for that matter). Maybe you've fallen for the claim that the Rosary is an old-fashioned, medieval form of prayer designed for illiterate or semi-literate peasants. Maybe you're a big shot or a wise guy who thinks the Rosary is a bunch of beads and repetitious prayers meant for the simple-minded or unsophisticated. Whatever is holding you back, if you really think this, do some reading about the Rosary (something intelligent, OK?); then do some soul-searching. Perhaps talk to a good priest about this. But do whatever you need to do to disabuse yourself of this notion.
Finally, if you think you can't spare the 20 minutes or so to say five decades of the Rosary because you're oh-so-busy today, just re-read the phrase: "you can't spare the 20 minutes or so to say five decades of the Rosary because you're oh-so-busy today" and think about it for a moment...Now, you don't seriously think that, do you? C'mon. One guy to another. You can't spare 20 minutes?
In any case, let's not let October fly by without acknowledging it as the special month it is. Let's not disappoint Our Lady, gents. Pray the Rosary every day, no matter how busy things get at work. Worse comes to worse, you can carve out 20 minutes from your lunch break, or pray the Rosary during your commute - whatever. Just do it.
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