Oct 7 – Memorial for Our Lady of the Rosary
This day was originally observed as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. Its date was chosen to commemorate the European victory at the third naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571. This battle marked the high point of Turkish (Muslim) advance on European soil with the Balkans and the regions west and north of the Black Sea returning to Western (Christian) hands in the succeeding centuries. This victory, after two earlier defeats at the same location, was attributed to Our Lady of the Rosary as special processions were made on that same day in Rome for the sake of this crucial victory.
Pope Pius V ordered that a commemoration of the rosary should be made upon that day, and at the request of the Dominican Pope Gregory XIII in 1573, allowed this feast to be kept in all churches which possessed an altar dedicated to the rosary. In 1671, the observance of this festival was extended by Pope Clement X to the whole of Spain, and somewhat later Pope Clement XI, after the important victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene on 6 August 1716 at Peterwardein in Hungary, commanded the feast of the rosary to be celebrated by the universal Church.
- Wikipedia
Acts 1:12-14
Lk 1:26-38
All these joined in continuous prayer…
I have heard Catholics complain that the Rosary is a boring prayer which does not engage the senses. It seems very repetitive and there is a rush to just complete all the prayers. This mindset used to be something which I faced when I was young; but as I grow older, I begin to appreciate the importance of the Rosary as a form of continuous prayer. I have learnt that we may not need to say the prayer in one sitting.
The demands of our daily lives means that prayer is often relegated as a footnote. However, all the circumstances which come into our lives are opportunities for us to discover what God has installed for us. This can only come about through an in-depth moment of prayer at any point in time. It is almost like the strength of our mobile phone signals, which can range from no reception to full coverage. The strength of our connection comes from the space in where we are at in our prayer life. The deeper we are immersed in prayer, the greater the connection to God. The Rosary offers us this opportunity for us to deepen our prayer life. This is really important for us because the Rosary is a special method of prayer within the Catholic tradition. It allows us to meditate on the scriptural events of Jesus’ life and allows us to unite our joys and sorrows together with Him.
The battle which led to the commemoration of Our Lady of the Rosary was a physical one fought with weapons. We continue to battle with sin in our daily lives, and the Rosary is the weapon to enable us to win this battle. As we start a new week, it may be good for us to identify one mystery amongst the twenty mysteries which speaks to us. Do take time to pray and reflect on this mystery and see how the events of our daily life can be connected to it.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all the people who love us.
OXYGEN 
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