Hi Friends!
Happy October!!! You probably know that October is considered the month of the Holy Rosary, but do you know why? If you're listening the evening this episode goes live, it's the eve of Our Lady of Victory's feast day, also known as Our Lady of the Rosary! This feast day was established during the pontificate of Pope Pius V after an astounding victory of Christian forces against the Ottoman Turks on October 7th, 1571. The Battle of Lepanto! The Christian forces by all accounts shouldn't have won... They were outnumbered and fairly inexperienced with naval battle. But the leader, Don Juan of Austria, issued a weapon to each of his soldiers upon the eve of battle: a Rosary. And all the soldiers knelt and prayed it together before heading into battle and Our Lady came to their aide.
In this episode, you'll learn all about the Battle of Lepanto, hear some personal rosary experiences of ours, and learn about some other miracles attributed to the rosary, one of them in late 1970s!
Our Lady has been clear: over and over she has asked us to pray the rosary daily for peace in the world. She never said it had to be prayed all in one 'sitting' or while sitting in a chair with candles lit. We need to pray it as we CAN not as we CAN'T. A decade here, another decade there, maybe even a decade or two as a family or with your spouse. And as evidenced by our miracle stories today, Mary honors our efforts. To close: here are a few quotes to inspire and encourage.
“Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.”
-St. Padre Pio
“Say the Holy Rosary. Blessed be that monotony of Hail Mary’s which purifies the monotony of your sins!”
-St. Josemaria Escriva
“You always leave the Rosary for later, and you end up not saying it at all because you are sleepy. If there is no other time, say it in the street without letting anybody notice it. It will, moreover, help you to have presence of God.”
– St. Josemaria Escriva
“The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.”
– Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Have you experienced a miracle through the rosary? How do you get your rosary in every day? Share your tips in the comments!
Your sisters in the Small Things,
Nancy and Katie
In this episode:
Nancy's new Rosary Board Books
Fr. Calloway's lecture at Steubenville
Fr. Calloway's book Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon
Chesterton's poem Lepanto
This image of Mary wrapping the infant Christ in her mantle
