The Power and Secret of the Rosary: the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. It used to be called the Feast of Our Lady of Victory and the history comes from a miraculous story about the Rosary and the battle at Lepanto.

It was a 16th century naval attack from the Ottoman empire against Rome, and the Pope commissioned all of Europe to pray the Rosary on the day of the battle. The soldiers themselves prayed the Rosary the evening before, asking Mary to intercede for their victory in order to stop the invasion. There were estimated to be around 120,000 Ottoman soldiers and 400 ships at battle, making this one of the largest naval battles in all of history. After only a few hours, led by Don Jon of Austria, the Holy League was victorious. This victory stopped the Turks from invading Europe and is considered even by secular historians to be one of the most significant battles in history. Mary is said to have appeared to Pope Pius V at the exact moment of the victory to tell him she had obtained it, which he received word of from a messenger a few hours later.

Pope Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of Victory on October 7th in honor of Our Lady and her intercession, which was later changed to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which we celebrate to this day, and on this day.

These miraculous, glorious stories we read and hear about are reminders to us of the realities of what we practice in faith. You may not be sent out to sea to defend the Church from invasion and persecution and see a victory obtained at Mary's hand, but you will experience victory, glory, holiness and transformation in the small battles of your own life when you turn to this Mother of ours. Padre Pio, in his simple yet profound words of wisdom, said,

"The shortcut is the Virgin"

She is undoubtedly the quickest and sweetest way to Christ. Meditating on the life of Christ through the Heart of His Mother, the one who knew Him most intimately and perfectly out of any creature that ever has or ever will walk this earth brings immeasurable grace and fruit to our own souls. Mary is the enclosed garden of God, the fountain sealed, and when we enter into her Heart, when we nestle ourselves in her Motherly embrace, she carries us swiftly and sweetly to encounter Christ in a more real and mystical way. Even more, when we live in the Heart of Mary, when we enter within her womb and take her as our own spiritual Mother, she forms us into Christ; just as she did Christ Himself.

She was the way in which God chose to become man, and she is the way in which man will become like God. If Christ Himself chose her, who are we to discard her or simply ignore her so easily? All this to say, the Rosary is worth your time. Mary is worth your time. The lie that you don't have time is a cheap and timeless tactic of the enemy's to keep you at arms length from your Mother and the graces that will be poured into your life and those who you love when you live and walk with her in this way. You do have time. You can make time. If you can't do it during your day, start your day 15 minutes earlier or stay up 15 minutes later.

Mary herself has asked us time and time again to meditate on the life of Christ through the mysteries of the Rosary, to pray the Rosary for peace in the world, to consecrate ourselves to Jesus through her Heart, and to wear the Brown Scapular as a sign of this consecration. If your Mother continues to ask you to do it, it is at least worth considering and trying. And speaking from experience and the treasury of testimonies from the Saints, her presence in your life will transform your life. She will obtain victory after victory, as at Lepanto, in the battlefields of your own heart and life, and the world.

Pope Leo has asked us to pray the Rosary every day this month for peace in world, so this is the perfect time to begin alongside the entire, universal Church. Even if you are late to start, it better to start now than never. The best way to get into the habit of doing something is simply to begin. So I invite you, with all my heart, to set aside your phone or computer, to turn everything off more a moment, pick up your Rosary, and walk with Mary in the life of Christ, give your heart and the cares of your heart to your Mother.

And lastly, Mary promises 15 promises to those who pray the Rosary. A sign of her desire to bless in abundance those who give their hearts to her as their Mother.

1. Those who faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell. It will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. The recitation of the Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish. It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God. It will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6. Those who recite my Rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. In His justice, God will not chastise them; nor shall they perish by an unprovided death, i.e., be unprepared for heaven. Sinners shall convert. The just shall persevere in grace and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Those who have a true devotion to the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who faithfully recite the Rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of His graces. At the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.

11. By the recitation of the Rosary you shall obtain all that you ask of me.

12. Those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of their death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my beloved children and the brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion for my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Today, the new Rosary Ring has been launched in the shop. This is for you if the large, "normal" sized Rosary catches on things as you drive or fulfill your daily duties, if you want to pray as you move about the house and keep your spot more easily when you have to set it down, if you are at work and want to discretely pray as you work, or if you simply love smaller Rosaries. Visit the shop to see! It is a fruit of my own needs and preference while I work, tend to my baby, drive, walk, and holding something small and dainty around my finger just makes it that much more accessible to me.