The Feast of the Most Holy Rosary is October 7, but Bishop Caggiano has asked that we celebrate that special feast of our Blessed Mother this coming weekend at all the Sunday Masses. The readings will be those of the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but the prayers of the Mass will be taken from those proper to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The reason for celebrating the Blessed Virgin Mary on this first Sunday of October is turn our hearts and minds to the important role of Mary in the history of salvation. Her “yes” to being the Mother of the Savior, her quiet presence throughout the earthly ministry of her son, her vigil at the foot of the Cross, and her reception of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in the room with disciples – all of those moments teach us to be witnesses with Mary to all that God has accomplished through his son Jesus.
The Feast of the Holy Rosary began as the Feast of Our Lady Victory which was instituted by Pope Saint Pius V in thanksgiving for victory at the battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1751. Pope Gregory XIII changed the name of the feast and Pope Pius X locked in the date of October 7. Today the Church designates October as the month of the Holy Rosary.
The Rosary prayer draws us into the life of Jesus and Mary and inspires us to model their obedience to God’s will. The joyful, glorious, sorrowful, and luminous mysteries remind us of how much God desires us to be more like Jesus and his mother. The repetition of the “Hail Mary” prayer offers us a meditation framed by the angel Gabriel’s words to Mary and asks her to pray for us now and at the time of our last breath. The “Our Father”, the prayer taught to us by Jesus, speaks of our desire that God’s will be done and echoes Mary’s submission to that will.
If you do not pray the Rosary with any regularity, I invite you to begin that practice. You will know Jesus and Mary better, you will find peace in the storms of life, you will experience consolation having meditated on the mysteries that have changed lives.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
