October: The Month of the Most Holy Rosary
Outside the sacraments, the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the strongest spiritual weapons that we have. From its heavenly inception in the 13th century, when our Lady gave it to St. Dominic, it has done some of the most amazing things. I do not exaggerate when I say that praying the Rosary has done all of the following and more: heal every sort of disease and illness, convert hardened sinners and heretics, exorcise demons, win miraculous favors from heaven, end and prevent wars and plagues, and make saints. Now how could such a simple prayer be so powerful? Because it is nothing less than the power of the Gospel in the form of personal prayer. It is the Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ told in beads and meditation.
St. Louis de Montfort, the great saint of the Rosary, put it this way in his book called The Secret of the Rosary: “Now the holy Rosary, recited with the meditation on the sacred mysteries, is a sacrifice of praise to God for the great gift of our redemption and a holy reminder of the sufferings, death and glory of Jesus Christ. It is therefore true that the Rosary gives glory and added joy to our Lord, our Lady and all the blessed, because they cannot desire anything greater, for the sake of our eternal happiness, than to see us engaged in a practice which is so glorious for our Lord and so salutary for ourselves.” This is why the Rosary has done so much through the centuries—because it is a prayer that brings joy to heaven! It also brings salvation to our souls in the most beautiful ways. St. Louis de Montfort also says in this regard: “St. Dominic divided the lives of our Lord and our Lady into fifteen mysteries, which stand for their virtues and their most important actions. These are fifteen pictures whose every detail must rule and inspire our lives. They are fifteen flaming torches to guide our steps throughout this earthly life; fifteen shining mirrors to help us to know Jesus and Mary, to know ourselves and to light the fire of their love in our hearts; fifteen fiery furnaces to consume us completely in their heavenly flames.” The Rosary is thus a powerful weapon and a way to give continuous glory to God and bring salvation to souls.
As such, here at the Cathedral through the month of October, we will be dedicating extra time to the Rosary of our Lady. In addition to the Rosary Rally on 13 October, we will be having preached Rosaries each Monday evening at 6:00pm, beginning this Monday, 7 October, the feast of our Lady of the Rosary. I encourage everybody to come to at least one during this month. Additionally, I wholeheartedly want to encourage the old practice of family rosaries in the evening. Fr. Peyton, who was a big advocate of this, always noted that “the family who prays together stays together.” So pray the family Rosary!
If you are interested in further reading on the glories of the Rosary, consider these two books:
-St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary
-Fr. Don Calloway, Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon
May our Lady of the Rosary intercede for us and draw us closer to Her Son, Jesus Christ! Amen.
–Fr. Mitchell Athanasius Brown
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