Whenever we hear the Rosary being prayed, it would usually be in a church setting or a church event.
It can be presumed, and it is not difficult to imagine, that the setting would be orderly and peaceful, the voices are sober and calm.
There is no doubt that a prayer session is going on.
But on this day back in 1571, the Rosary was prayed with tensed voices and anxious hearts.
The soldiers on the Christian fleet that were sailing to stop the mighty Ottoman armada, were praying the Rosary desperately because they were outnumbered and defeat and death was imminent.
Still they prayed for courage and for divine intervention in such a desperate situation.
The Pope at that time, Pope Pius V, urged the faithful to pray the Rosary and to invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Christian fleet and for the safety of the Church, as defeat would mean invasion and destruction.
So on this day in 1571, the Rosary was prayed with desperation and tension.
But through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God granted a miraculous victory to the Christian fleet and saved the Church from being destroyed.
The despair and the distress that the Church faced then is no different for what the Church and the world face now.
May we heed the call to prayer, the call to pray the Rosary and to beseech Mother Mary to pray for us that God will look with mercy and compassion on us.
And may God answer our prayers and may He grant us, the Church and the world, His blessings of peace and salvation.