The month of October is dedicated as the month of Rosary. It is a time for us to meditate on the mysteries and experience the love of our mother. October 7th is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. This feast is the feast day takes place in honor of a 16th century naval victory which secured Europe against Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray the Rosary throughout Europe.
The sweetest word uttered across the world is, ‘Mother’ we cherish and remember the love and protection we received from our mother even when we are older. We have a mother in heaven who showers her love and protection on us which cannot be compared to any human love. St Therese of Child Jesus popularly known as little flower realized this when she said, ‘O Cherished Mother, I think that I am more fortunate than Thee, for I have Thee for a Mother, but Thou hast not, like me, Mary to love.’
Contained within the Rosary, one finds a “compendium” of the Gospel message in its entirety. While praying the Rosary, two things happen: one sits at the “school of Mary”, led by her to contemplate the beauty in the face of Christ, while experiencing at the same time the depths of his love receiving abundant grace, “as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer” says Pope John Paul II. The devotion to the Holy Rosary is from centuries and we can be assured that this devotion paves the way to heaven and a comfort in our sufferings. When we recite the Rosary we are in fact glorifying Christ because we meditate on the mysteries and the word of God. Rosary is the public display of Christian faith. The faithful meditation of the Rosary strengthens our faith and assures spiritual growth.
The Rosary protects us from the temptations of the evil. The temptations of the world are manifested in the form of sickness, sufferings etc., and reciting the Rosary provides us with protection against the temptations of the evil.
Mother Mary grants several blessings to those who recite the Rosary daily.
1) To all those who shall recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces.
2) Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary shall receive some signal grace.
3) The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy.
4) The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it will substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, and will lift them to the desire of heavenly and eternal things. How many souls shall sanctify themselves by this means!
5) Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish.
6) Those who shall recite my Rosary devoutly, meditating on its mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed by misfortune. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life.
7) Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.
8) Those who recite my Rosary shall find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of His graces, and shall share in the merits of the blessed.
9) I shall deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.
10) The true children of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.
11) What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.
12) Those who propagate my Rosary shall be aided by me in all their necessities.
13) I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have for their brethren the saints of heaven during their life and at the hour of death.
14) Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
15) Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
As we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Rosary, let us receive God’s blessings through her powerful intercession. May this month of rosary help us to meditate deeply on the Marian mysteries and to grow in the Marian devotion.
Fr. Bineesh Mathew