A 20th Sunday after Pentecost Reminder About the Rosary

This 20th Sunday after Pentecost, the first in October, brings a reminder about the Rosary. 

It's actually the whole month that recalls the holy Rosary. And within this month we come across October 7th, the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto. That was the naval battle that defeated the Turkish navy. But what's the connection to the Rosary?

Well, the Pope at the time, Pius V, asked the men and women of the time to pray the Rosary for victory. It worked. The Turks, with a supposedly superior navy, were thoroughly defeated. At the time (and now, for that matter), Our Blessed Mother and her Rosary received the credit.

And lest we gloss over this, Pius V was the Pope who faced the Protestant Revolt's full force and led the effort to fight back. With the newly-formed Jesuits as his "marines," he began the effort to both defend the Catholic Church and the faith of our fathers from the Protestant heresies, as well as reclaim some of those unfortunate followers of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, et al. It was a mixed result to be sure. But ingenuity and courage were required, with Pius the man of the hour.

So in effect he turned back the Turks and he resisted and even somewhat turned back the Protestants.

These days, we have to remind ourselves of the mortal danger the Turks presented to Christendom. And we have to also remind ourselves that the revolt initiated by Luther was a sore and open wound to Christendom that has, to this day, never been healed. Sure, attempts have been made. And the "ecumenism" promoted by Vatican II has arguably resulted in some fashion of coming together again. But in the end, the Protestants remain our "separated brethren."

But back to the Rosary.

It's history dates to the days of St. Dominic in the 12th century. To be sure, the connection with St. Dominic is as much a tradition as an historical fact. There are no documents or testimony extant that prove this connection. Nevertheless, St. Dominic did apparently pray fervently for Our Lady's help in countering the Albigensian heresy.

And the Rosary itself, if it were used in this effort, was not as we know it today. It developed in stages. However, the 150 Hail Marys that we say today are a reflection of the Psalter - the 150 Psalms - that monks traditionally chanted in full over the course of the week in their praying/singing of the Divine Office - a practice continued to this day in monasteries that still observe the traditional liturgical practices in some manner.

Notice the use of the Rosary as a kind of "weapon" against the threats of heresies and military threat.

OK, all of the above is a bit of a mish-mosh of fact and tradition. But the thread that holds it all together is the Rosary. And we might consider now the role of this holy thread in our own lives. 

Do we pray the Rosary? At least once in a while, if not daily? Do we turn to Our Blessed Mother in our hours of need? (And, indeed most of us have more than one such hour.) Do we turn to her even when we have no pressing matters of concern, but simply to express our love and devotion?

The Rosary can be - really should be - one primary means for us to "connect" with Mary. And it's available to us at any hour of the day or night. 

We can pray it in church or any other place. We can pray it privately or with a group of other Catholics. We can pray it at night - a solace to those of us whose sleep is interrupted by intervals of wakefulness.

So this month devoted to the Holy Rosary can serve as our reminder of the role of the Rosary both in our Catholic history and in our own lives. 

Happy Sunday!