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
“I am the handmaid of the Lord… let what you said be done unto me.”
The Rosary has often been misunderstood as an old-fashioned prayer which is irrelevant in today’s modern times. I believe, however, that the Rosary is instrumental to the re-evangelisation of lapsed Catholics and also a way to open the mysteries of the Church.
I believe that the perceived ‘boredom’ comes from the repetitive nature of the Rosary. Yet, it is this very nature of the Rosary that draws us closer to Jesus. This way of prayer allows us to become closer to Jesus in a way which we can never do, because of a noisy and busy world which we live in. The amount of distractions we face from our mobile phones and the people around us are tremendous.
I believe that what is helpful is a change of mindset. We need to be able to see that the Rosary allows us to draw closer to Jesus through the opportunity to enter into the specific Biblical story (or episode) which happened in the history of salvation. This will allow us to discover the sheer wondrous love which God has for us. But in a more important way, it allows us to enter into a moment of peace and quiet with Jesus. This is very important as we seek to ask Jesus what is the purpose of our life on this earth.
And as we enter into this space of prayer, we learn about the value of letting go and to let Jesus take control of our lives. This is the example which Mary shows us in the Gospel today — where we accept in obedience, the plan which God has for us.
As we continue with the demands which this life gives us, let us take time to pray the Rosary and, through the words of the Rosary, allow Jesus to touch our hearts and reflect Christ to all around us.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may remain faithful to the promises of Christ.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who have shown us love when we least expect it.
OXYGEN 
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