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October Devotion: The Holy Rosary
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Pope Leo XIII personally started the practice of devoting October to the Rosary devotion. In a letter of September 1, 1883, mindful of the Rosary's power to strengthen faith and foster a life of virtue, he outlined the triumphs of the Rosary in past times and admonished the faithful to dedicate the month of October to the Blessed Virgin through the daily recitation of her Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, in order to obtain through her intercession the grace that God would console and defend His Church in her sufferings. We highly recommend that you read Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, or "On the Most Holy Rosary." It explains even further this wonderful devotion, and introduces the optional mysteries of light, or Luminous mysteries.
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INVOCATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.
TO THE QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Queen of the most holy Rosary, in these times of such brazen impiety, manifest thy power with the signs of thine ancient victories, and from thy throne, whence thou dost dispense pardon and graces, mercifully regard the Church of thy Son, His Vicar on earth, and every order of clergy and laity, who are sore oppressed in the mighty conflict. Do thou, who art the powerful vanquisher of all heresies, hasten the hour of mercy, even though the hour of God's justice is every day provoked by the countless sins of men. For me who am the least of men, kneeling before thee in supplication, do thou obtain the grace I need to live righteously upon earth and to reign among the just in heaven, the while in company with all faithful Christians throughout the world, I salute thee and acclaim thee as Queen of the most holy Rosary:
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.
TO OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
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 fifteen 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.
FOR THE CRUSADE OF THE FAMILY ROSARY
The Family Rosary Crusade, organized and directed by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., sought to revive the practice of families reciting the Rosary daily within their homes. The Crusade has the encouragement and support of Pope Pius XII and it is succeeding admirably in realizing the desire of the Pope that no family would allow a day to pass without the recitation of the Rosary. This prayer was composed by Cardinal Spellman when the Crusade visited his Archdiocese.
O Queen of the most holy Rosary: with hearts full of confidence we earnestly beseech you to bless the Crusade of the Family Rosary. From you came the grace to begin it. >From you must come the grace to win souls to it. We beg you to bless this Crusade so that from every home the incense of this prayer will daily rise before you, O admirable Mother.
O Queen of Homes: by the power of the Rosary we beseech you to embrace all the members of our family in the love of your Immaculate Heart. May you abide with us and we with you, praying to you while you pray for us. May you preside in our homes as once you did at Nazareth with Jesus and Joseph, filling them with the holiness of your presence and inspiration.
O Queen of Peace: it is you who have placed the Rosary in our hands. It is you who bid us to recite it daily. By the power of the Family Rosary we beseech you to obtain peace for uspeace within our hearts, our homes, our country and throughout the world. Through the daily recitation of the Family Rosary we beg you to keep sin from our souls, enmities from our hearts and war from our shores. By the graces received from the devotion of the Family Rosary we pray to be made helpful to one another in following the paths of virtue so that we may be found worthy to be called children of your family, children of your home. Amen.
Cardinal Spellman
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. >From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Father Benedict Groeschel on the Rosary
THE HOLY ROSARY
Catholic Caucus: The Holy Rosary
The Power of the Rosary - A Weapon Against Terrorism
Rosary May Contribute to Unity Says Protestant Theologian
Papal Address on the Rosary as a Weapon of Peace
Very simple guide to praying/learning the Rosary
October: Month of the Holy Rosary
Tips on Praying a Family Rosary
SRI LANKA CATHOLICS START ROSARY CHAIN FOR PEACE
Rosary Aids Spiritual Growth, Says Pope
Pray the Rosary
Rosary to Mark St. Martha's Feast
From: Galatians 1:6-12
A Warning
[6] I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called
you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel--[7] not
that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and
want to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we, or an angel
from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we
preached to you, let him be accursed. [9] As we have said before, so
now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to
that which you received, let him be accursed.
[10] Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to
please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of
Christ.
God's Call
[11] For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was
preached by me is not man's gospel. [12] For I did not receive it from
man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus
Christ.
Commentary:
6-9. The Galatians had suddenly begun to go off course, for no sooner
had St Paul preached to them during his second visit, than enemies of
his appeared on the scene seeking to undermine his authority and had
won over the Galatians, especially on the matter of circumcision.
In view of this, the Apostle clearly and forcefully spells out to the Gala-
tians that there is only one Gospel, only one way to attain salvation.
"These people", St Jerome explains, "wanted to change the Gospel,
to twist it; but that is something they cannot succeed in doing, for
this Gospel is such that it cannot be true if it is tampered with"
("Comm. in Gal", 1, 7).
The content of Revelation--the deposit of faith--cannot be interfered
with. The Apostles, as their very title implies, were sent to pass on,
in all its integrity, what had been entrusted to them (cf. 1 Cor 11:23).
That is why St Paul tells his assistants in the government of the
Church, Titus and Timothy, to guard very carefully the truths he has
taught them (cf. 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:14; Tit 1:9; 2:1; etc.).
St Paul is extremely insistent on the need to protect the deposit of
faith, and he reacts very forcefully against those who seek to adul-
terate it, as we can see in this present text. Any attempt to replace
the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with a different teaching does indeed
warrant the severe judgment which the Apostle here delivers in God's
name. In the same way, "the Church which received the office of
safeguarding the deposit of faith along with the apostolic duty of
teaching, likewise possesses the right and duty of proscribing [...]
opinions that are known to be opposed to the doctrine of the faith"
(Vatican I, "Dei Filius", chap. 4).
There is, then, no "new Christianity" waiting to be discovered. "The
Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive
covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be
expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 5).
10. One of the accusations directed against St Paul was that, in order
to make it easier for people to become Christians, he tried to win them
over by not requiring Gentiles to undergo circumcision. In fact the
Apostle's only aim was to serve Christ; for him, as St John Chrysostom
put it, "to love Christ was life, the world, heaven, present well-being, the
kingdom, the promise, immeasurable good; outside of this he did not
concern himself with classifying things as sorrowful or joyful, nor did
he regard anything that one might have in this world as disagreeable
or pleasant" ("Second Hom. in Praise of St Paul").
St Paul can assert that he did not mind if there were people who did
not understand him or even rejected his teaching. He had plenty of ex-
perience of opposition to the demands of the Gospel; and this never led
him to play down the reality of the Cross in order to make more accep-
table the truth he was proclaiming. In addition to lack of response from
Gentiles, his faithfulness to Christ had also earned him enmity and per-
secution from Jews (cf. Acts 13:50).
We can learn a great deal from Paul to help us not to be cowed by
"what people may think". Although Christian living does sometimes
clash with the environment around us, we should not desist from trying
to be faithful to the demands of the Gospel. "Therefore, when in our own
life or in that of others we notice something that is not going well, some-
thing that requires the spiritual and human help which, as children of
God, we can and ought to provide, then a clear sign of prudence is to
apply the appropriate remedy by going to the root of the trouble, resolu-
tely, lovingly and sincerely. There is no room here for inhibitions, for it
is a great mistake to think that problems can be solved by inaction or
procrastination" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 157).
St Teresa, for her part, writes: "We are trying to attain union with God.
We want to follow the counsels of Christ, on whom were showered in-
sults and false witness. Are we, then, really so anxious to keep intact
our own reputation and credit? We cannot do so and yet attain to union,
for the two ways diverge" ("Life", chap. 31). If we are truly to serve God
we must be ready to face indifference and misunderstanding whenever
it may arise. "You must indeed have purified your intention well when
you said: From this moment on I renounce all human gratitude and
reward" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 789).
11-12. "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10), Paul asked at the mo-
ment of his conversion. Jesus replied, 'Rise, and go into Damascus,
and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do" (ibid.).
The former persecutor, now under the influence of grace, will receive
instruction and Baptism through the ordinary course of divine Provi-
dence -- from a man, Ananias. Thereby Jesus led him to humility,
obedience and abandonment. The Gospel which St Paul preached
was identical with that preached by the other Apostles, and already
had the character of "tradition" in the nascent Church (cf. 1 Cor 15:3;
Gal 2:2). This is compatible with Paul's claim--made in this passage
-- that his Gospel does not come from any man but through a revela-
tion from Jesus Christ. Firstly, because on seeing the risen Christ he
was given supernatural light to understand that Jesus was not only the
Messiah but also the Son of God; and also because this first revelation
was followed by many others to which he refers in his epistles (cf. 1
Cor 11:23; 13:3-8 and especially 2 Cor 12:1-4).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.