Acts 1:12-14 / Luke 1:26-38
Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. And this feast is also extended to the whole month of October in that October is also known as the month of the Rosary.
The Church urges that the Rosary be recommended to the faithful and that its nature and importance be explained.
It is recommended to the faithful because it is a compilation of prayers simple enough to be prayed by children, and by families, and by prayer groups.
The nature of the Rosary prayer is not just repetitive but it is actually a chant prayer where the prayers are actually repeated so that it goes deeper into the heart and at the same time helping to keep the focus.
What is important in the Rosary prayer is that the prayers are rooted in Scriptures and it has deep spiritual meanings when we are aware of what we are saying.
The "Our Father" or "The Lord's Prayer" is a prayer that is taught by Jesus Himself and it is the prayer of the Church and a prayer that we ought to know.
The Hail Mary prayer is a combination of scripture verses from the gospel of St Luke and a petition to Mother Mary to pray for us.
In the apparitions at Fatima and Lourdes, Mary urged us through the seers to pray the Rosary. It is a prayer in which she assures that she will be praying with us.
Just as Mother Mary prayed with the disciples of the early church as we heard in the 1st reading, she is also here with us in the present day Church when we pray the Rosary. Let us entrust ourselves, our Church and our world to her intercession.