7th October 2021
PRAYING SHAMELESSLY FOR VICTORY
MEMORIAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
MALACHI 3:13-20
PSALM 1:1-6
LUKE 11:5-13
The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary also known as Our Lady of Victory is a feast day of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated on the 7th of October, is the anniversary of the decisive victory of the combined fleet of the Holy league of 1571 over the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto.
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement of Catholic states comprising Spain and Italy arranged by Pope Pius
V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras.
The Ottoman Empire was notorious for bullying it's neighbours both economically and militarily and would invade and conquer many countries in Europe throughout the 17th and for much of the 18th century.
The victory of the Holy League is of great importance in the history of Europe because it was at a period when
Europe was torn by its own wars of religion following the Protestant Reformation.
Pope Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in thanksgiving for the crucial victory at Lepanto in which it is said that soldiers asked for the help of Mary through the rosary and emerged victorious.
One historian named Paul K. Davis wrote that, " More than a military victory, Lepanto was a moral one because the Ottoman Empire was no longer mysterious and Europe
could now be at peace."
This Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is associated with the prayer of the rosary and the month of October is the month of the rosary and the purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation.We know that a mystery leaves us in holy wonder and awe.
The main focus when praying the rosary is on Jesus- his birth, life, death and resurrection. The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus' Father is the initiator of our salvation. The
Hail Marys remind us to join Mary in contemplating these mysteries as she did when the angel visited her to tell her about the birth of Jesus.
They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her son in all the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The Glory Bes remind us that the purpose of all life is the glory of God. Pope Benedict XVI said, " The rosary is a contemplative and Christocentric prayer, inseparable from the meditation of sacred scripture,they go together because what's is in the rosary is recorded in the bible.
Since the east is about victory, it makes us aware that we are surrounded by many strong forces of evil that are detrimental to our faith and the good life that God intends for us but all these fade into insignificance in the presence of God as we seek Mary's intercession.
Our parish is under the patronage of Our Lady of the Rosary, may this feast inspire us to pray not only persistently but also shamelessly through the intercession of Mary borrowing from today's Gospel reading in which the neighbour of the petitioner deals with the shame of the neighbour in a way that brings honour to them both.
The Battle of Lepanto that was won through the prayer of the rosary on the intercession of Mary encourages us not to give up on our pursuit for victory without feeling embarrassed and pretending that all is well, the neighbour who at night went to ask for bread were not ashamed.Even Jairus the synagogue leader,the Roman centurion and the Syrophoenician woman were never ashamed when seeking healing from Jesus for those dear to them.
In the Magnificant, Mary does not hide the lowly state in which she was before God lifted her up.
May Our Lady of Rosary intercede for us and for our
Parish to be victorious
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