Acts 1:12-14 / Luke 26-38
The feast of the Holy Rosary originated from the naval victory at Lepanto on the 7th October 1571.
The small combined Christian fleet defeated the mighty Turkish armada, thus stopping the invasion of Christian Europe.
The victory was considered a miracle and Pope St. Pius V attributed it to the praying of the Holy Rosary and the intercession of Our Lady.
Indeed the Rosary is a very special devotion to Our Lady.
The Popes always recommend the Rosary and placed repeated emphasis on it.
It is not just a vocal prayer but also a mental prayer; it is a personal as well as a communal prayer.
It is a form of prayer that leads us to experience Christ through Mary.
The repetitive chant-like prayers brings our minds and hearts to a stillness that opens us to the presence of God in our lives.
In that stillness, we know we have a Mother who is always with us in prayer and who leads us to do the will of God in our lives.
The greatest battle that is fought is in our hearts and the greatest victory is when we surrender to God's will and become His servants, just like Mary did.