#october 7th feast of the most holy rosary

[cruger2984]

The Pretty Cures and its Saints: Wonderful Pretty Cure!

With 2024 is nearly come to its conclusion - from Switzerland ended the 36-year title drought in ESC to Trump (this sick bastard) reclaims the Commander-in-Chief title, here to share with you all with their birthday corresponding with feast days that is honored and recognized by the Roman Catholic Church!

May 13 - Komugi Inukai (Cure Wonderful)

Our Lady of Fatima: Formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima, is a Catholic (Marian) title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal. The three children were Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto. José Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of Leiria, declared the events worthy of belief on October 13, 1930. Pope Pius XII granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation via the papal bull Celeberrima solemnia towards the venerated image on April 25, 1946. Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella, the designated papal legate, carried out the coronation on May 13, 1946, now permanently enshrined at the Chapel of the Apparitions of Fátima.

August 7 - Iroha Inukai (Cure Friendy)

St. Cajetan: Italian priest and religious reformer who is known as the co-founder of the Congregation of Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence aka the Theatine order. The order grew at a fairly slow pace: there were only twelve Theatines during the sack of Rome in 1527, during which Cajetan was tortured by the Spanish soldiers of Charles V who had mutinied. Canonized as a saint by Pope Clement X in 1671, he is the patron of the unemployed, bankers, workers, gamblers, jobseekers, document controllers and gamers.

December 21 - Yuki Nekoyashiki (Cure Nyammy)

St. Peter Canisius: Dutch Jesuit priest who, known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, and Switzerland. Through his preaching and writings, he became one of the most influential Catholics of his time. Canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and declared Doctor of the Church the same year, he is the patron of Catholic press and his major shrine can be found in Fribourg, Switzerland.

November 5 - Mayu Nekoyashiki (Cure Lillian)

St. Elizabeth: She was the mother of St. John the Baptist, the wife of Zechariah and a relative of Mary, mother of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke and in Islamic tradition. She was past normal child-bearing age when she conceived and gave birth to John. She is also present in art when she is greeted by Mary, and is known for the Visitation, which can be found as a Second Joyful Mystery in the Holy Rosary.

September 7 - Satoru Toyama

St. Marko Stjepan Krizin (Marko Križevčanin): Croatian missionary, theology professor and Catholic priest who was active in the 17th century. He was executed in 1619 in the course of the struggle between Catholicism and Calvinism in the region. Beatified by Pope St. Pius X in 1905, and canonized by Pope St. John Paul II at Košice, Slovakia in 1995, Marko’s relics can be found at the Esztergom Basilica in Esztergom, Hungary.

March 27 - Daifuku (Daifuku Toyama)

St. Rupert of Salzburg: 8th century Austrian bishop who is the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St. Peter’s in Salzburg, and was the contemporary of King Childebert III. By the end of the 7th century, the Agilolfing duke Theodo of Bavaria requested that he come to his residence at Regensburg (Ratisbon) to help spread the Christian faith among the Bavarian tribes. In Christian art, he depicted with a barrel of salt in his hand, thus he is the patron saint of salt miners.

[thewahookid]

October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and the month of October is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary.

The devotion so beloved among the Catholic faithful that we call the Holy Rosary originates with St Dominic in the late 12th - early 13th centuries.

'Rosary' means literally 'a crown of roses' - the rose being regarded as the 'Queen of flowers'. In many cultures, garlands of flowers are presented as symbols of honour, affection and esteem. Spiritually, the Holy Rosary is a garland of praise, woven in love, in honour of the mysteries by which we are redeemed and saved.

The form of repetitive prayer, as a means of stilling the mind and heart, was already firmly established in Christian tradition since the earliest times. In particular, prayerfully repeating the Holy Name of Jesus.

St Dominic simply took a form of prayer already familiar and enhanced it further - adding to its beauty - thus giving us a simple and effective means of uniting ourselves with God, at any time and in any place.

The Holy Rosary consists of 5 Our Fathers, 50 Hail Marys and 5 Glorias. The prayer is divided into five decades - each decade taking a mystery of the Gospel for meditation. The prayers are counted on a string of beads - familiar to many as Rosary beads.

The prayer of the Rosary engages body, mind and heart. With our lips we repeat the words which Jesus gave us as the formula for all prayer (Our Father or Pater noster) and we announce the salvation of the world as it was proclaimed to Mary (the Hail Mary or Ave Maria) - see Luke Chapter 1, verse 28 and verse 42.

At the end of each decade we adore the Most Blessed Trinity in the doxology (from the Greek which means 'words of glory') - 'Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit .....'

We use our fingers to count the prayers and our lips to repeat the sacred words. At the same time, with our minds we meditate on the mystery from the Gospel and, in our hearts, as Mary did, we worship God and ponder His marvellous work of salvation (Luke 2:19).

The prayer of our lips, the meditation of our minds and the adoration of our hearts is offered, through the hands of Mary our Mother, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. In the Holy Rosary, united with Mary, we contemplate the wonderful things God has done in saving us through His Son.

The mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary are as follows:

The Joyful Mysteries (prayed on Mondays and Saturdays): The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

The Sorrowful Mysteries (prayed on Tuesdays and Fridays): The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning With Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, The Crucifixion.

The Luminous Mysteries (prayed on Thursdays): The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, The Wedding Feast at Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, The Transfiguration of Jesus, The Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

The Glorious Mysteries (prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays): The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, The Assumption of Mary in to Heaven, The Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth.

"O God, Whose Only-Begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life: grant, we beseech you, that by meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise. Through Christ our Lord".

[pamphletstoinspire]

October, the month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary

October 7 is the feast of the Most Holy Rosary.

THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO - Part 2 by William Thomas Walsh

Conclusion of THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO

About two o'clock in the morning of Sunday, the seventh, there came up a fresh steady wind from the west, across the Ionian Sea, sweeping the stars and the wide bay clear of the wraiths of fog. Don Juan, lying sleepless in the cabin of his Real, saw that he was in the middle of what seemed a huge lake, flooded with moonlight. He gave the word, the great anchors were weighed and the sails unfurled, the whips cracked over the straining backs of the galley slaves, the great ships hove through the choppy waters, as if racing the dawn to the Albanian coast. When the sun came flaming up over the Gulf of Lepanto, Doria's lookout, in the vanguard, sighted a squadron of the enemy about twelve miles away, returning from a scouting trip to Santa Maura. The signal flag agreed upon was on the masthead of the royal frigate, where Doria was on watch.

"We must conquer or die here," said Don Juan, exultantly, and ordered a green banner displayed as a sign for all to get in battle array. The multiple banks of oars on the six great Venetian galeasses plunged into the sea, driving the massive hulks to their positions, two of them a mile in front of each of the three sections of the battle line.

The Venetian Barbarigo, with sixty-four galleys, veered as closely as possible to the Aetolian shore, to prevent an encircling movement by the enemy on the north. Don Juan commanded the center or batalla of sixty-three galleys, with Colonna and Veniero on either side of him, and Requesens in the ship behind him. Doria's squadron of sixty took the right wing, nearest the open sea, the most dangerous post of all. Thirty-five vessels were held in reserve in the rear under the Marques of Santa Cruz, with orders to give help wherever it might be needed. Thus the great fleet advanced into the Gulf of Patras, in a long arc extending over a league-and-a-half sea and gradually stiffening into a straighter line as the enemy came in sight.

The Turks, having a total of 286 galleys (for Hascen Bey had just arrived with 22 extra ones from Tripoli) against 208, had decided to fight, and were clearing their decks for action. Mohammed Siroco with 55 galleys opposed Barbarigo. Ali Pasha and Pertew with 96 faced the batalla of Don Juan. Aluch Ali with 73 took the side nearest the open sea, opposite Gianandrea Doria. There was also a squadron of reserve in the rear. The wind had shifted to the east, bringing on the Turks with bellied sails, while the Christians had to use their oars. Toward noon it almost died away. Four hours passed while both fleets made their preparations for combat.

Doria meanwhile came back in a swift frigate to consult with Don Juan and the others. According to one account he was averse, at the start, to giving battle to an enemy with so large a preponderance of heavy ships. He wanted a council of war, at least. But Don Juan cried, "It is time to fight now, not to talk"; and so it was agreed. Cabrera says Doria not only drew up the final battle order of the fleet, but suggested that the Generalissimo have the espolones cut away from the bows of his galleys. These were sharp spurs, fourteen feet long which could crash through the side of an enemy ship, doing great damage when propelled by the arms of a hundred galley slaves. It was obvious that in fighting at close quarters, hand-to-hand, ship locked to ship, they would be useless. Without them, too, Don Juan could place his bow guns lower, and hit the Turkish hulks nearer the water line. The plan was adopted. One after another down the long line the espolones splashed into the calm sea.

The young Admiral, now in his golden armor, went in a fast frigate from ship to ship, holding up an iron crucifix for all to see. "Hey, valorous soldiers!" he cried. "Here's the chance you wanted. I have done my part. Do you now humble the pride of the enemy and win glory in this holy fight. Live or die, be conquerors; if you die, you go to Heaven." The sight of the gallant young figure and the sound of his fresh voice had an extraordinary effect. A mighty shout answered him from each ship. There passed across the sparkling sea a long broken cheer as the Pope's banner of the League with the image of Christ Crucified catching the glint of the high sun, rose above the Real beside the blue flag of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On the forward mast of his flagship Don Juan had hung a crucifix which alone of all his effects survived the fire in his house at Alcala.

As the Turks advanced in a great half-moon he knelt on the prow and in a loud voice begged the blessing of God on the Christian arms, while priests and monks throughout the fleet held up crucifixes before the kneeling sailors and soldiers. The sun was now directly overhead. The clear water, almost unrippled, flashed back a tremulous replica in vivid colors of a thousand standards, streamers, pennons and gonfalons, the cold brilliant glitter of weapons and armor, the gold and silver of armaments, all wavering kaleidoscopically between the blue sea and the dazzling sky. A hush like that which comes just before the consecration of the Mass fell over the whole Armada. The Turkish side replied with the usual blood-curdling chorus of screams, hoots, jibes and groans, the clashing of cimeters on shields, the blaring of horns and trumpets. The Christians waited in silence.

At that moment the wind, which had thus far favored the Turks, shifted to the west and sped the Christian galleys on to the shock. Ali Pasha, in the Moslem center, opened the battle with a cannon shot. Don Juan answered, with another. As the Turkish oarsmen churned the sea, the six great galeasses of Venice opened fire with their 264 guns. This bombardment was not as devastating as had been expected, but it had the effect of breaking the enemy's line. The Turkish right was racing now to gain the open water between the Venetians and the Aetolian shore. Five ships closed upon the galley of Barbarigo, while the Moorish archers let fly clouds of poisoned arrows, which they preferred to firearms and used with more deadly effect. Ship to ship they were lashed now, fighting hand-to-hand. Huge Barbarigo fought like a lion, until, taking his shield from his face to shout an order, he was pierced through the eye with an arrow.

It was the Christian right that stood the heaviest attack. Doria was held in fear and respect by the Moslems. Moreover, he occupied the most dangerous post, where strategy and good sailing counted. If there was a match for him among the mariners of the Mediterranean, it was Aluch Ali, the Italian apostate. As the Turkish left tried to gain the open sea, to attack by poop and prow, Doria extended his line farther to the right, leaving a space between his squadron and the batalla. Aluch Ali swiftly changed his course and came crashing through the open space with his best ships, while his slower sailing galleys took the Genoese on the side toward the open sea. Doria, heavily outnumbered, fought a magnificent engagement. On ten of his vessels, nearly all the soldiers were killed in the first hour of the conflict. The handful of survivors fought on, desperately holding their ships in the hope of succor.

Santa Cruz' reserve, however, had gone to the aid of some of the Venetians on the left, and the whole batalla was locked in mortal conflict with the Turkish center. As soon as Ali Pasha saw where the holy flags flew over the galley of Don Juan, he drove straight for it. The two enormous hulks crashed prow to prow. Ali's ship was higher and heavier, and manned with 500 picked Janizaries.

The wisdom of Doria's advice to cut away the espolones was now apparent; while the Turk's artillery fired through the rigging of the Real, Don Juan's poured death into the ranks of the Janizaries as the ships grappled. Hand-to-hand they fought from one deck to the other, for two hours. Seven Turkish ships stood by to help the Sultana. As fast as the Janizaries fell on the decks, they were replaced by others from the hulks of reserve. Twice the horde of yelling Turks penetrated the Real to the main mast, and twice the Spaniards thrust them back. But Don Juan, with heavy losses, had only two ships of reserves. Fighting gallantly in a little ring of chosen Spanish cavaliers, he was wounded in the foot. His situation was extremely perilous, in fact, when Santa Cruz, having saved the Venetians, came to his aid and rushed 200 reserves aboard.

Heartened by this fresh blood, the Spanish threw themselves on Ali and his Janizaries so furiously that they hurled them back into their own ship. Three times the Christians charged, and three times the Turks cast them out over decks now red and slippery with blood, piled with heaps of dead men, ghastly mangled trunks, severed arms and legs still quivering. The two fleets were locked in the embrace of death, ships lashed by twos and threes in water already streaked with crimson from floating bodies and limbs. The din of musketry, screams of rage and pain, clash of steel on steel, thunder of artillery, falling of spars and lashing of bloody waters between rocking timbers resounded horribly all through the Sunday afternoon. Splendid and terrible deeds were done. Old Veniero, seventy years old, fought sword in hand at the head of his men. Cervantes arose from his bed of fever to fight and to lose his left hand. Young Alexander of Parma boarded a Turkish galley alone, and survived the experience. The moment was critical, and the issue still in doubt, when the magnificent Ali Pasha, defending his ship from the last Christian onslaught, was laid low by a ball from a Spanish arquebus. His body was dragged to the feet of Don Juan. A Spanish soldier triumphantly pounced upon it and shore away the head. One version says that Don Juan reproved him for this brutality. Another, more likely, says that the Prince impaled the head on the end of a long pike and held it up for all to see. Hoarse shouts of victory burst from the Christians on the Real, as they brushed the disheartened Turks into the sea and hoisted the banner of Christ Crucified to the enemy masthead. There was not a single hole in this flag, though the spars and masts were riddled, and the mainmast bristled with arrows like a porcupine. From ship to ship the shout of triumph was taken up, with the word that Ali was dead and the Christians had won. A panic seized the enemy, and he took to flight.

As the sun sank over Cephalonia, Doria's right wing was still furiously engaged with the Algerians. Gianandrea was red from head to foot with blood, but escaped without a scratch. When Aluch Ali saw that the Moslem fleet was getting the worse of it, he skillfully withdrew between the right and the center of the Christians. In the rear of Doria's fleet he came upon a galley of the Knights of Malta, whom he especially hated. He pounced upon it from the stern, slew all the knights and the crew, and took possession of the vessel; but when Santa Cruz attacked him, he abandoned his prize and fled with 40 of his best ships toward the open sea and the crimson sunset. Doria's fleet pursued him until night and the coming of a storm forced him to desist.

The Christians took refuge in the port of Petala, and there counted their casualties, which were comparatively light, and their booty, which was exceedingly rich. They had lost 8,000 slain, including 2,000 Spanish, 800 of the Pope's men, and 5,200 Venetians. The Turks had lost 224 vessels, 130 captured and more than 90 sunk or burned; at least 25,000 of their men had been slain, and 5,000 captured; 10,000 of their Christian captives were set free.

Don Juan at once sent ten galleys to Spain to inform the King, and dispatched the Count of Priego to Rome. But Pius V had speedier means of communication than galleys. On the afternoon of Sunday, October seventh, he was walking in the Vatican with his treasurer, Donata Cesis. The evening before he had sent out orders to all convents in Rome and nearby to double their prayers for the Victory of the Christian fleet, but now he was listening to a recital of some of his financial difficulties. Suddenly he stepped aside, opened a window, and stood watching the sky as if astonished. Then, turning with a radiant face to the treasurer, he said,

"Go with God. This is not the time for business, but to give thanks to Jesus Christ, for our fleet has just conquered."

He then hurried to his chapel to prostrate himself in thanksgiving. Afterwards he went out, and everybody noticed his youthful step and joyous countenance.

The first news of the battle, through human agencies, reached Rome by way of Venice on the night of October twenty-first, just two weeks after the event. Saint Pius went to St. Peter's in a procession, singing the Te Deum Laudamus. There was great joy in Rome. The Holy Father commemorated the victory by designating October seventh as the Feast of the Holy Rosary, and by adding "Help of Christians" to the titles of Our Lady in the Litany of Loreto.

From the very first Don Juan ascribed the triumph of his fleet to the powerful intercession of the Rosary Queen. The Venetian Senate wrote to the other States which had taken part in the Crusade: "It was not generals nor battalions nor arms that brought us victory; but it was Our Lady of the Rosary."

[servus-immaculatae]

October 7th: Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary

The Holy Rosary is a lovely instrument of prayer. By it we direct our minds and our hearts to God as we move our mouths and our fingers while we pray. The rosary was given personally to Saint Dominic by Our Blessed Lady in the year 1214, in Toulouse in France. Saint Dominic was the first great apostle of the Holy Rosary. Saint Dominic died in 1221, at the age of fifty-one. The last great apostle of the Holy Rosary was Saint Louis Marie de Montfort, who died in 1716 at the age of forty-three. The great Pope who promoted the cult of the Holy Rosary was Saint Pius V, who died in 1572. In the year 1571 he set up the feast of the Most Holy Rosary on October 7. The Catholics won a great naval victory that day over the Turks at Lepanto, who were trying to crush them and blot out their Faith. Their protection was the Holy Rosary. Another great victory of the Catholics over the Turks because of the Holy Rosary was in 1716, in Hungary, the year Saint Louis Marie died. Pope Gregory XIII, in 1573, Pope Clement Xl, in 1716, and Pope Leo XIII, in 1888, all did much to make the feast of the Most Holy Rosary on October 7 more and more observed and reverenced in the liturgy of the Church. The rosary is not only a prayer, it is a weapon. The little beads of love that are strung on the rosary are bullets of destruction against the enemies of the Catholic Faith and the enemies of one’s salvation. In a simple chaplet, five decades of the rosary, the Holy Name of Jesus is invoked fifty-four times, and the Holy Name of Mary, one hundred and seven times. No Catholic should ever be without the rosary in his possession, night or day. The devil is afraid of these beads as they lie in our pockets or are held in our hands. Excerpt: https://catholicism.org/the-most-holy-rosary.html

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary

Today’s feast actually commemorates a naval battle fought in Lepanto, off the western coast of Greece, on this day in 1571 between the Catholic Holy League, and the Turkish forces which had, ultimately, threatened the future of the Christian Faith in Europe. In other words, truth and our civilization, was under threat, and it needed to be defended. So, to whom do we turn if not to God? Hence the Dominican pope at the time, Saint Pius V, led processions in Rome, and asked the Christian people to pray the Rosary, that beautiful and distinctive Dominican prayer that God gave to the Church through our Order. As Pope Leo XIII described that momentous victory at Lepanto on 7th October 1571: “Christ's faithful warriors, prepared to sacrifice their life and blood for the salvation of their faith and their country, proceeded undauntedly to meet their foe near the Gulf of Corinth, while those who were unable to take part formed a pious band of supplicants, who called on Mary, and unitedly saluted her again and again in the words of the Rosary, imploring her to grant the victory to their companions engaged in battle”. A window in our Lady Chapel thus commemorates that victory, and we see Pope St Pius V leading the people of God in praying the Rosary. 

What these brave warriors of the Holy League were fighting for, and the victory which Our Lady won for them, was the future of Christian Europe and, by extension, Christian society and culture in our world. But as Pope Benedict XVI has observed, the West today has developed a “peculiar Western self-hatred [that] is nothing short of pathological. It is commendable that the West is trying to be more open, to be more understanding of the values of outsiders, but it has lost all capacity for self-love. All that it sees in its own history is the despicable and the destructive; it is no longer able to perceive what is great and pure”. Quite simply, the West today has forgotten what it owes to Christian faith and culture, and so its very future as a civilisation is under threat; we have forgotten Lepanto and what Our Lady gave us in 1571. 

But here in the Rosary Shrine in London – indeed, the only Shrine dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary in England – we have not forgotten. And we hope, by God’s grace and Our Lady’s prayers, to become a centre of Christian faith and Catholic culture. Some of you may recall that when Scott Hahn gave the inaugural Rosary Lecture here back in March, he voiced his belief that this would come to pass, and I very much share his belief, and I hope that you do too. Each of us has a part to play if we want to build a better country, a more loving and caring society, a more beautiful future for our children, free of the violence and drugs that plagues our communities. As our civilization is under threat, to whom do we turn if not to God? But perhaps that is a major part of the problem: for too few and too seldom turn to God in our times.

And yet, here we are today, you and I, and we are here in Our Lady’s Shrine on the feast of the Holy Rosary, not by accident but by God’s Providence. He has called you here, and he wants to make you a participant in the victory of his Son over sin, death, and evil. And this victory begins with each of us praying the Rosary, every day, at least during this month of the Holy Rosary. Pope Francis has made a special plea for us to pray the Rosary daily this October, and in doing so, he echoes many popes and saints down the centuries. As Pope Pius XI said: “If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labours.” And Saint Padre Pio, whose fiftieth anniversary we celebrated recently said: “Love Our Lady and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today”.

When St Dominic was called by God in the 13th-century to battle the heresy of the Albigensians – a heresy that threatened the family, and bodily integrity, and the goodness of God’s creation – Mary, so we believe, gave to St Dominic a weapon. We see this depicted in the Lady Chapel: Our Lady gives to St Dominic the Holy Rosary. By preaching the Gospel and using the Rosary as a means of meditating on the truth and beauty of the Gospel, St Dominic and his friars defended Europe from the Albigensians. And now, in our time, new heresies have arisen which continue to threaten the family and marriage, the integrity of the human person, and the goodness of creation and the natural order given to it by God. As in 1571, truth and our civilization are under threat, and we Christians have been called to defend the truth, to witness to the beauty and goodness of Faith in Jesus Christ, the universal Saviour, and to love our neighbours and contemporaries. And love does not ever mean tolerating error, nor does love remain silent in the face of evil done. As St Catherine of Siena said: “We’ve had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence.”

So, we must cry out, we must speak, and for many of us, this begins with us – a hundred thousand tongues – crying out the Hail Marys of the Holy Rosary. Daily, pray the Rosary, pray it deliberately and well, and so let it transform your hearts and your lives! It will, with time, give you fresh courage to preach the Gospel and to live the Gospel for the Rosary is nothing less than a meditation on the Gospel, with Mary. As Pope St John Paul II said, “With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love.” If we do this every day, how can we not turn away from the ugliness of sin, the silliness of our errors, and embrace instead the beauty and truth that is Jesus Christ? As one Bishop Hugh Doyle said: “No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up the Rosary”.

The Rosary, therefore, gives us victory over the most significant battle of all. Not the battle at Lepanto in 1571, which for so many of us can be just ancient history, but, rather, the battle that we each undertake daily against sin, against our weaknesses and addictions, against the lies, fake news, and confusion that fills our minds in the 21st century. The Holy Rosary focuses the mind on Jesus Christ who alone can save us, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and who alone is the victorious Conqueror over sin and all Satan’s assaults and lies. Together with Mary, who also pondered the mysteries of salvation in her immaculate heart, we are led to the one victory that matters, the victory over sin. Hence Pope Leo XIII said: “The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying”.

With such a great resource at hand, only the most foolish and indifferent of people would fail to take up the Rosary and use it! So, let us pick up the Rosary and pray it daily: our future literally depends on what we do with it today! 

[les-eaux-d-eunoe-blog]

Hooo boy, so it’s been a while, hasn’t it? But fear not, not only am I still making my journey through RCIA, I’m all scheduled to officially become a catechumen at the beginning of November.

So here’s a rundown of what I’ve been up to in the mean time:

RCIA started in my parish officially at the start of September. Initially, around 10 people came to the first session, but this number has slowed to a trickle of between 3-5 of us, depending on the week.

Everyone else in the group is already baptized, so I’m the only one who will officially become a catechumen rather than a candidate. Because of this, I will not be dismissed at Mass, (because I guess that would be awkward.)

I’m one of three of us in the 20-30 age group, and two in the group are over 50, (who it must be noted, show up much more regularly.)

Every Sunday, we participate in a guided bible study and prayer session, followed by Mass. 

During my inquiry, I was also given a copy of ‘33 Days to Morning Glory’  by my RCIA director, which is a DIY Marian Consecration retreat, and I’d highly recommend it. I especially loved reading about the concept of the Immaculata, which describes Mary as being, in a way, born with the life purpose to become the spouse of the personage of the Holy Spirit.

I completed my Marian Consecration on October 7th, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. As a token of the consecration, have ordered an antique French Miraculous Medal, minted in 1881. Which I also found out is the birth year of St. Pope John XXIII, who opened the Second Vatican Counsel.

The day before my consecration that rainy Sunday in the Church Garden, my boyfriend M. and I visited an elderly member of my parish to help her with her record player. In thanks she gifted me a brown scapular, which I have been wearing every day and striving to fulfill the requirements of, (which I am told is to wear it continually, remain chaste according to my state of life, and to either pray one of the prayers of The Little Office of Our Lady daily, or to abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays.)

And now, I’m tasked with finding Godparents (a bit confusing to me) and the greater task of finding my my patron saint. Which really is a task. I have about 20 lined up on a note card.

Do I, an artist and musician, chose a patron saint of the arts like St. Catherine of Bologna or St. Cecilia? Do I choose badass musician, scientist and botanist St. Hildegard of Bingen who wrote her own Gregorian Chants? The somewhat melancholic St. Faustina who wrote extensively on purgatory and whose visions detailed the Divine Mercy? Or Jewish-raised contemporary philosopher St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, who converted less than a decade before she was martyred in a concentration camp in WWII. Every day there’s another saint to enthrall and jumble up the already difficult choice.

Reading more of scripture, as well as the historical speculation of early manuscripts of the Bible and related texts, I am so struck by the absolute depth and complexity of the mystery of the Church, which is a bit vexing to know that I’ll never fully understand.

Reading primers on The Theology of the Body, I am overtaken by a greater sense of dignity for my body and vocation as a woman. I feel a deeper desire, and a stronger foundation, to build greater respect for myself and my future, because I can see the intention in myself physically. This has been one of the most transformative and uplifting branches of my study so far.

I’m in great anticipation of finding a way to really bridge and communicate for others the dualism of my secular and atheist upbringing with this sudden blossoming of Christian faith, which mystifies me as much as it does the people around me. I admit that I struggle to find the words only because they are so many. It feels like a mammoth project.

So I’ll pray for the ability to distill it into something accessible, while my perspectives from these two divided vantages is still so clear; while my path is still illuminated in its recency. I feel it’s a duty of sorts for others who might be on the same path, God willing.

Anyways, sorry for the wall o’text. It’s been a month coming.

More to come soon, and in smaller bits. With love.

[seekfirst-community]

"The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies." (The Blessed Virgin Mary: 3rd Promise to those who say the Holy Rosary).

"When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.”

"Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

"But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?

"For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?

"Therefore they will be your judges.

"But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

"When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11: 5 - 26).

Friday 7th October 2022 of 27th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is known as Lady under many titles: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, etc. Our Lady of the Rosary celebrates Mary as a powerful intercessor using the instrument of the Rosary Prayer.

In the Gospel of today from Luke 11: 15 - 26, we hear of UNCLEAN SPIRITS, DEMONS, BEELZEBUL and SATAN.

It is obvious that we are in the arena of Spiritual Warfare. "The Rosary is the means by which I attach souls to myself. The Rosary assures souls of my presence and of my protection." (IN SINU JESU). Yes. Protection in the spiritual warfare raging everywhere today in: families, work places, schools, offices, roads, etc.

We hear of demonic possessions and infestations. Do not take these happenings lightly. The Church does not ignore the many signs of the activities of evil spirits everywhere today. Neither should you. Jesus Christ speaking to one mystic says that the Holy Rosary is one of the most effective offensive and defensive tools against the Enemy of mankind.

Here is what the Church teaches about the Rosary:

"The Rosary is very pleasing to our Mother in heaven; she herself has recommended it. There are two elements of the Holy Rosary: meditation on its mysteries and vocal prayer. The Rosary surely reaches the motherly heart of Mary and moves her to obtain abundant graces for us." (Roman Missal).

Two recent popes, Pope St Paul VI and Pope St John Paul II have highly recommended the Rosary. Most saints since the 1500s have said the Rosary without fail.

"Your Rosary is like a ladder that you climb step by step, drawing you closer to our Lady, which means finding Christ. It is a devotion which leads us to Christ through Mary." (Pope St Paul VI, Marialis Cultus).

For the 15 Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-15-promises-of-mary-to-those-who.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

[seekfirstme]

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11: 5.... 13).

Thursday 7th October 2021, 27th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is known as Lady under many titles: Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, etc. Our Lady of the Rosary celebrates Mary as a powerful intercessor using the instrument of the Rosary Prayer.

In the Gospel of today, Jesus gives one of His most profound teaching on the Prayer of Petition. Here is what I got from reflecting on Jesus' teaching on the Prayer of Petition:

#1. Prayer works more than our expectation.

#2. Ask the Lord to open your mind and heart and show how prayers are answered. You will be amazed by God's mighty, merciful and mysterious Providence.

#3. Do not be unbelieving. Believe and experience the joy of answered prayer. It is sweet.

Here is what the Church teaches about the Rosary:

"The Rosary is very pleasing to our Mother in heaven; she herself has recommended it. There are two elements of the Holy Rosary: meditation on its mysteries and vocal prayer. The Rosary surely reaches the motherly heart of Mary and moves her to obtain abundant graces for us." (Roman Missal).

Two recent popes, Pope St Paul VI and Pope St John Paul II have highly recommended the Rosary. Most saints since the 1500s have said the Rosary without fail.

"Your Rosary is like a ladder that you climb step by step, drawing you closer to our Lady, which means finding Christ. It is a devotion which leads us to Christ through Mary." (Pope St Paul VI, Marialis Cultus).

St Louis Marie de Montfort, a man I have never heard of before my conversion and return to the Church introduced me to the Holy Rosary through his anointed book: THE SECRET OF THE HOLY Rosary.

I have said the Rosary every single day since over 25 years. The Rosary confirms every word of Jesus in the Gospel of today.

For the 15 Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, click the link below:

http://seekfirstcommunity.com/2020/08/the-15-promises-of-mary-to-those-who.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

[loulou1943]

7th October 2020: Feast of the Most Holy Rosary

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

7th October >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 1:26-38 for Our Lady of the Rosary: ‘Let what you have said be done to me’.

Our Lady of the Rosary

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 1:26-38

'I am the handmaid of the Lord'

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

Gospel (USA)

Luke 1:26-38

You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflections (3)

(i) Our Lady of the Rosary

Blessed John Henry Newman is to be canonized next Sunday. As you may be aware, he was an Anglican before he became a Roman Catholic. We celebrate the feast of Our lady of the Rosary and he gave the following advice about the rosary to a recent convert to the Catholic faith whom he directed, and it probably reflects Newman’s own way of praying the rosary: “Before each mystery, set before you a picture of it, and fix your mind upon that picture, (e.g. the Annunciation, the Agony, etc.) while you say the Our Father and the 10 Hail Marys, not thinking of the words, only saying them correctly. Let the exercise be hardly more than a meditation. Perhaps this will overcome any sense of tedium”. He understood the Rosary as a meditation on the great mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary. Speaking to a group of boys in Oscott College on one occasion, he said, ‘Now the great power of the Rosary lies in this, that it makes the Creed into a prayer; of course, the Creed is in some sense a prayer and a great act of homage to God; but the Rosary gives us the great truths of his (the Lord’s) life and death to meditate upon, and brings them nearer to our hearts. And so we contemplate all the great mysteries of his life and his birth in the manger; and so too the mysteries of his suffering and his glorified life’. He went on to say, ‘the special virtue of the Rosary lies in the special way in which it looks at these mysteries; for with all our thoughts of him (the Lord) are mingled thoughts of his mother, and in the relations between mother and son we have set before us the Holy Family, the home in which God lived’. Cardinal Newman shows us the essence of the Rosary. It is a vocal prayer, which is often prayed out loud, but it is more fundamentally a contemplative prayer. It puts before us the great mysteries of our Lord and our Lady for our meditation and contemplation. In that sense, the Rosary is in keeping with Mary’s own way of praying. The gospel of Luke says of Mary in relation to the words of her son, ‘His mother treasured all these things in her heart’. When we pray the Rosary we treasure in our hearts the great truths of our Lord’s life, death and resurrection and of his relationship with his mother.

And/Or

(ii) Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Today we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Catechism of the Church refers to the rosary as ‘the epitome of the whole gospel’. The Rosary invites us to reflect on the great mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Luke in his gospel presents Mary as a reflective person. In the second chapter of his gospel, in response to the words of the shepherds, Luke says of her that she ‘treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart’. Again, in response to the words her twelve year old child spoke in the temple, Luke says of Mary that she ‘treasured all these things in her heart’. Luke presents Mary as a contemplative person, reflecting deeply on all that was happening in her life. To that extent, she embodies the attitude of mind and heart that we are invited to bring to the praying of the Rosary. In praying that prayer, we too treasure and ponder upon the key moments in the journey of Jesus in this world and from this world to the Father. Mary not only pondered on what God was doing in the words and deeds of her Son, but she gave herself over to what God was doing in her own life, as shown by her response to the visit of Gabriel in today’s gospel reading, ‘Let it be to me according to your word’. As we ponder on the great mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we too will hear the call to give ourselves over more fully to God’s purpose for our lives as Mary did. Mary teaches us that our contemplating the word of the gospel is to find expression in the doing of that word, in allowing God’s word to shape us.

 And/Or

(iii) Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

The Rosary has been a very important prayer in the prayer life of the church for many centuries. It is a prayer which invites us to reflect on the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and on the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as well as on Mary in glory. The two readings this morning present us with two of the mysteries we reflect on in the Rosary. The gospel reading is the first Joyful Mystery, the annunciation to Mary. The first reading is the beginning of the story of Pentecost; the disciples are in continuous prayer, together with Mary the mother of Jesus and other members of Jesus’ family as they wait for the coming of the Spirit. In the gospel reading, Mary is told by Gabriel that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and so the child to be born of her will be holy and will be called Son of God. It could be said that Gabriel announces Mary’s personal Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was needed at this moment of crucial new beginning. The first reading reflects another moment of new beginning, the beginning of the church. Again the Holy Spirit is needed at this second moment of new beginning, and, once again, this second moment involves Mary. Having had her own personal Pentecost, she is present at the Pentecost of the whole community of believers. There are always moments of new beginning in our own lives. Regardless of where we are on our life’s journey, the Lord is always calling us to make some new beginning. The same Holy Spirit is given to us as our resource at each of our own moments of new beginning, as he was given to Mary and the early church. As we set out on whatever new beginning we are making, no matter how small, we can confidently pray, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart’.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: sjtbclontarf@eircom.net or  revmartinhogan@gmail.com

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[pamphletstoinspire]

October, the month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary

October 7 is the feast of the Most Holy Rosary.

THE BATTLE OF LEPANTO - Part I by William Thomas Walsh

From the very first Don Juan ascribed the triumph of his fleet to the powerful intercession of the Rosary Queen. "It was not generals nor battalions nor arms that brought us victory; it was Our Lady of the Rosary."

In the middle 1500's Christian Europe was an embattled fortress. Riddled by the Protestant Revolt that swept the North and England from the fold of the Church, she faced, almost in despair, yet another threat - -the mounting attack of a centuries - old enemy, the Turk.

Like an angry sea not to be denied, the Turkish menace licked and growled at the frontiers. On the eastern flank in 1529, a Moslem army stormed up from prostrate Hungary, to be turned back only at the gates of Vienna. Increasingly, Turkish pirates boldly raided the shores of Spain and Italy, going so far as to sack Ostia, the port of Rome. In 1567, Spanish Moriscos, once subjugated by Ferdinand and Isabella, were in open revolt in the West and calling for a Turkish army to invade Spain. The real threat, however, was the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, an island in the east Mediterranean long held by Venice. In 1570, the Turks barbarously conquered all Cyprus except for the city of Famagosta where the Venetians grimly held on. Cyprus in their hands, the Moslems would sweep the Mediterranean with their powerful fleet, thus exposing southern Europe, especially Italy, to invasion.

It took the faith of a great saint -- Pope Saint Pius V -- to kindle anew Europe's crusading spirit. The odds seemed hopeless. North and south Europe were split apart; William of Orange in Holland had actually intrigued with the Turks to invade Spain; jealous France held aloof from a common effort with Philip II of Spain. But Pius V refused to believe that the Moslem could not be defeated at sea, or that the Crusader's faith was dead. Early in 1571he appealed to Philip for help.

Philip, although his armies were at the other end of Europe and his treasury bare, wholeheartedly responded, naming his half-brother, Don Juan, to command the united Papal, Spanish, and Venetian fleets. And so, as a mighty Turkish fleet converged on beleaguered Famagosta in early summer of 1571, the Christian armada grew apace at Messina, readying to strike a great crusader's blow in the historic battle of Lepanto off the west coast of Greece.

"Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?"

The Turkish fleet, about that time, was setting out from Constantinople, with instructions to find and destroy the Christian navies and to complete the conquest of Cyprus. Before Ali Pasha left for the Bosphorus with forty great galleys, four Christian prisoners were crucified, and others skinned alive, as sacrifices to Mohammed for victory. While an army of 70,000 began the siege of Dolcino, on the coast of Albania, the fleet proceeded to Chios (April eighth) where it was joined by forty more vessels under Mohammed-Bey, governor of Negro ponte. A second armada was preparing to follow from Constantinople, and Aluch Ali was cruising from Algiers with twenty more. Before the end of April the Grand Turk had almost 300 heavy warships, with a huge army of crack Janizaries and Spahis on board, on the way to Cyrpus.

On May nineteenth, Mustapha resumed the siege of Famagosta, which had held out heroically for nearly a year under the Venetian, General Bragadino.

Mustapha loosed all his fury upon this city for three months. The Italian women fought in the breaches with their men. The children carried dirt and ammunition. Hunger at last got the better of them, and, in August, Bragadino agreed to surrender, if the Turks would spare their lives. Mustapha agreed; but as soon as the Christians had laid down their arms, he had them tortured and butchered, women and children with the men. The valiant Bragadino was skinned alive. There were other atrocities too horrible to mention. Mustapha went sailing off to range the Mediterranean in quest of the Christian fleet, with the stuffed skin of Bragadino swinging from his yardarm.

It seems incredible that with such dangers hanging over their other eastern possessions, and even their own shores, the Venetians should have haggled over the details of the League treaty for fully two months after the Pope had signed it.

At last, however, the treaty was signed, on May twentieth. The news reached Madrid on the Feast of Corpus Christi, and the nuncio hastened to San Lorenzo, to notify the King. Philip was attending a solemn procession in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. It was a day he had long anticipated, for the monastery portion of the Escorial was finished, and he was formally handing it over to the Jeronymite friars he had chosen as its custodians. He would not grant Castagna an audience until the next day; but he had the Cardinal of Siguenza tell him of his pleasure over the good news, and say that Don Juan would start at once. Philip was waiting for confirmation of the news from his own commissioners. This arrived on the morning of June sixth. He then gave his orders. The Prince left Madrid at three o'clock the same afternoon, reaching Guadalajara, thirty-five miles away, the same night. He was at Barcelona on the fifteenth. Don Juan of Austria was riding to the sea at last.

The Pope was pleased with what he heard of his Generalissimo, and wanted him to come to Rome. King Philip refused to allow this. Pope Pius was compelled, therefore, to send the banner of the Crusade and the Admiral's truncheon, which he blessed, to Naples, where, on August second, an immense crowd gathered to hear Mass, and to see Don Juan seated in a throne on the steps of the high altar in Santa Chiara, a noble figure in steel armor, spangled with gold, his shoulders draped with the decoration of the Golden Fleece, even his hair golden in the soft multicolored light of the old church. After Mass, Cardinal Granvelle, as viceroy of Naples and a Prince of the Church, presented to him the truncheon and the azure banner on which was emblazoned the figure of Christ Crucified, with the arms of the Pope, King Philip, Venice, and Don Juan at His feet.

"Take, O illustrious Prince," said Granvelle, "the insignia of the true Word Made Flesh. Take the living symbol of the holy Faith whose defender you will be in this enterprise. He gives you glorious victory over the impious enemy, and by your hand shall his pride be laid in the dust." "Amen!" A mighty shout like that of Clermont burst from the people. "Amen!"

On August twenty-third, when Don Juan arrived at Messina, the harbor was a cluttered forest of masts, the ancient town swarming with men of all nations. By September first, when the whole fleet was assembled, there were 208 galleys in all, 90 of Spain and her dependencies, 106 of Venice and 12 of the Pope; besides nearly 100 brigantines, frigates, and transports, mostly furnished by Spain; with some 50,000 sailors and galley slaves, and 31,000 soldiers; 19,000 of them paid by King Philip (including Germans and Italians), 8,000 Venetians, 2,000 papal troops, and 2,000 volunteers, chiefly from Spain.

Spanish galleys were by far the best built, best equipped, and best handled, and would bear the brunt of any fighting. The Venetian ships showed up so badly in a review that Don Juan inspected some of them, and found, to his disgust, that they were not even sufficiently manned. Some had hardly any crews. Others lacked fighting men. He distributed among the worst of them about 4,000 of the famous Spanish and Italian infantry. Then he held a Council of War, attended by seventy officers. Some favored a merely defensive campaign, since the Turks evidently outnumbered them, and the risk would be great, especially as the time for autumn tempests was at hand. Others said that if the Turk galleys were more numerous, they were not so efficient; and "something always had to be left to luck." Don Juan himself apparently hesitated, thinking of the King's instructions."

The Papal influence was all in favor of fighting, whatever the odds. The invincible spirit of the old saint in the Vatican was perhaps the decisive factor. When Bishop Odescalchi, his nuncio, came to bless the fleet and to give a large portion of the True Cross for distribution among the crews, each vessel having a grain of the Precious Wood, he also brought to Don Juan the solemn assurance of Pope Pius V that, if he offered battle, God would give him the victory. If they were defeated, the Pope promised "to go to war himself with his gray hairs, to put idle youth to shame." But with courage they could not fail. Had not several revelations, including two prophecies by Saint Isidore of Sevilla, described such a battle and victory as seemed imminent, won by a youth closely resembling Don Juan?

At the Holy Father's suggestion, Don Juan adopted a modus operandi seldom if ever taught in naval academies. No women were allowed aboard the ships. Blasphemy was to be punished with death. While waiting for a good wind and the return of his scouting squadron with news of where the Turks were, the Generalissimo fasted for three days. All his officers and crews did likewise. Contemporary accounts agree that not one of the 1,000 sailors and soldiers failed to confess and to receive Holy Communion. Even the galley slaves were unshackled from their long benches and led in droves ashore, to confess to the numerous priests who toiled day and night at the Jesuit College helping chaplains of the galley.

When the last of the Venetians had arrived, the Armada began to put to sea, September fifteenth, in the order agreed upon. Doria led the vanguard with 54 galleys of the right wing, flying green banners. Don Juan followed next morning with the batalla or center, under azure banners, with the blue standard of Our Lady of Guadalupe over the Real. (The Pope's Standard of the League was reserved for battle.) Marcantonio Colonna, on the flagship of the Pope, was on his right, Veniero, a cantankerous old Venetian sea-dog, at his left. The third squadron of the Venetian Barbarigo followed, with yellow banners: and the Marques of Santa Cruz (Don Alvaro de Bazan) brought up the rear with thirty Spanish galleys and some of Italy, all under white flags.

It was a sight to remember--the papal nuncio, a flaming figure in scarlet from head to foot, standing on the mole with hand uplifted to bless each ship as it passed, the crusaders kneeling on the decks, the knights and men-at-arms glittering with steel, the sailors in red suits and caps, the rowers with dark naked backs glistening with sweat, the brown sails bellying out to catch the first breeze; and on the lofty prow of the flagship, Don Juan in golden armor, like an avenging angel under the out flung blue banner of her who had trodden on the serpent's head. Thus they passed into the open Mediterranean and formed in ranks, two by two. The six great Venetian galeasses, each a bristling fort with 44 heavy guns, led the way into the sapphire studded morning light. The galeasses kept a full mile ahead, to open the fray with a heavy bombardment. Two by two the whole Armada followed, almost in battle order, according to a plan carefully worked out by old paralyzed Don Garcia de Toledo. The plan was somewhat modified, apparently, to leave spaces between the squadrons, so that Santa Cruz could intervene where his help might be needed.

Don Juan left Corfu on September twenty-eighth. While the Turkish fleet was skirting the southern shore of Aetolia, making for the Gulf of Corinth (or Lepanto) the Christian Armada, using oars because the wind was contrary, nosed through the waters of the Ionian Sea, with the Albanian shore off the port bows, past Nicopolis and that stretch of sea lying off Actium where the spirit of the East had fled from the spirit of the West in the jaded galleys of Antony and Cleopatra, and around the coast of Santa Maura to Cephalonia, with the narrow isle of Ithaca hugged under its lee shore, still fragrant with the memory of Penelope and the unconquerable fortitude of Odysseus.

It was October fifth when the fleet cast anchor among the Curzolares. That day a brigantine from Candia came by with news of the fall of Famagosta, and the horrible atrocities perpetrated by Mustapha upon the helpless Christians who had surrendered. A quiver of rage passed through the floating city of armed men. Nothing could have been better timed to make them fight like holy madmen.

The wind was east, the sky overcast, the sea gray with fog. All day Saturday and well into the night, the fleet remained inactive, not knowing that the wind which kept them there had brought the Turkish fleet across the Gulf of Patras to the Albanian shore, and that Aluch Ali, with all his Algerian galleys, was still with them. With the falling of the starless night a dead silence settled over the sea.

-- to be continued

--------------------------------------------------------

[anastpaul]

Blessed Feast of Mary Help of Christians – 24 May - Patronages:   Australia (proclaimed on 17 July 1916 by Pope Benedict XV),  New Zealand, Andorran security forces, Australian military chaplains, New York, diocese of Townsville, Australia.

Mary Help of Christians (Latin: Sancta Maria Auxilium Christianorum; Spanish: Nuestra Señora María Auxiliadora; Filipino: Maria, Mapag-ampon sa mga Kristiyano), is a Roman Catholic Marian devotion with a feast day celebrated on May 24.   Saint John Chrysostom was the first person to use this Marian title in year 345 as a devotion to the Virgin Mary. Don Bosco also propagated Marian devotion under this title.   Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical coronation towards the Marian image bearing the same title on 17 May 1903, now presently enshrined within the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.   Pope Benedict XVI during his Regina Caeli papal address on 24 May 2009 invoked this Marian patronage, under the venerated title of Our Mother of Sheshan, calling for Chinese Catholics to renew their fidelity to the Pope as the sole successor of Saint Peter.   Below is the image of Mary Help of Christians enshrined in her Turin basilica, where Pope Leo XIII granted a Canonical coronation on 17 May 1903 and the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, founded by St. John Bosco

As Mother of God’s children, Mary has responded by helping Christians throughout the ages. She has done this by coming to the aid of individuals, families, towns, kingdoms and nations.

In 1214 she gave the Rosary to Saint Dominic as a weapon to combat the Albigesian heresy which was devastating Southern France. It is very clear to Christians and it is also the Will of God that we have and will continue to have the Help of Mary through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.

In the year 1531 Our Lady appeared in Mexico to an indian named Juan Diego. He was a humble peasant aged 51. As a result of the apparitions, over 10 million indians were converted to Catholicism, the sacrificial killings of babies stopped, and Our Lady left an image which is a reflection of herself imprinted miraculously on the tilma of Juan Diego.

In 1571 the whole of Christendom was saved by Mary Help of Christians when faithful Catholics throughout Europe prayed the Rosary. The great battle of Lepanto occurred on October 7th 1571. For this reason this date has been chosen as the feast of the Holy Rosary. In 1573 Pope Pius V instituted the feast in thanksgiving for the decisive victory of Christianity over Islamism.

Near the end of the 17th century, Emperor Leopold I of Austria took refuge in the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Pasau, when 200,000 Ottoman Turks besieged the capital city of Vienna. Pope Innocent XI united Christendom against the ominous attack of Mohammedanism. A great victory occurred thanks to Mary Help of Christians. On September 8th, Feast of Our Lady’s Birthday, plans were drawn for the battle. On September 12, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Vienna was finally freed through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. All Europe had joined with the Emperor crying out “Mary, Help!” and praying the Holy rosary.

In 1809, Napoleon’s men entered the Vatican, arrested Pius VII and brought him in chains to Grenoble, and eventually Fontainbleau. His imprisonment lasted five years. The Pope smuggled out orders from prison for the whole of Christendom to pray to Our Lady Help of Christians, and thus the whole of Europe once again became a spiritual battle ground, not of arms against ruthless arms but of Rosaries against ruthless military might. Soon Napoleon was off the throne and the Pope freed from prison.

After proving her maternal help, throughout the centuries, Our Lady has continued to appear in hundreds of places throughout the world mainly during the 20th century, Lourdes and Fatima being the most famous apparitions. She has brought help from Heaven, and has warned her children to do prayer and penance as a formula for peace. She has stressed that her children must pray the Holy Rosary daily.

[tradcathsermons]

Tweeted

It's that time of year again where we pray the Rosary Crusade in preparation for the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary for 15 Saturdays corresponding to the fifteen mysteries up until October 7th.https://t.co/ajZiA4bgLv Our Lady is counting on us! #AdmitSedeVacante pic.twitter.com/d5PFtv0xuI

— Daily Catholic (@dailycatholic) June 28, 2019

[romancatholicreflections]

7th Oct >> ‘Establishing this Feast’ ~ Daily Reflection on Today’s Gospel Reading for Roman Catholics on Saturday, Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time.

This feast, focussed on the intercessory power of our Blessed Lady, was instituted by Pope Saint Pius V in thanksgiving for the great naval victory of a Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, a favour widely attributed to intense recitation of the Rosary. This crucial battle saved Europe from being overrun by the forces of Islam. This Lepanto victory over the Ottoman Empire, is commemorated by the invocation "Help of Christians," inserted in the Litany of Loreto. Many years later the Turks were again defeated at Belgrade on the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, in 1716. Another victory that year on the Octave of the Assumption motivated pope Clement XI have the Feast of the Rosary celebrated by the universal Church. Leo XIII added the invocation "Queen of the most Holy Rosary, pray for us," to the Litany of Loreto.

In modern times successive popes have urged the faithful to pray the Rosary regularly, as a form of contemplative prayer focussed on the life of Christ. It calls prayerful attention to the saving mysteries of Christ and Mary's close association with her Son in his mission. Pope St John Paul II called the rosary a "Christocentric prayer" containing the Gospel message in its entirety. His letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002) expanded the scope of the rosary to include five extra mysteries ("Mysteries of Light") to summarise the life and mission of Jesus. These are: 1) The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. 2) The Wedding Feast of Cana. 3) The Announcement of the Kingdom. 4) The Transfiguration. 5) The Institution of the Holy Eucharist.