The Pastor's Desk

If you were to walk into almost any Catholic home you would likely find a few common items: a crucifix on the wall, a Bible on a shelf, and somewhere, perhaps on a bedside table or a table beside a chair, a rosary. It’s a simple thing, right? A string of beads with a crucifix. It has no moving parts, it doesn’t require electricity. And yet, this simple string of beads is not a mere piece of jewelry, but in the words of popes and saints, it is a spiritual weapon.
This past week, October 7th, the Church celebrated the Feast day: Our Lady of the Rosary. It was first known as Our Lady of Victory, instituted by Pope Pius V in 1571 after the Christian fleet, against all odds, defeated the powerful Ottoman Empire navy at the famous Battle of Lepanto. As the forces of Islam threatened to overrun Christian Europe, the Pope did not call for more soldiers or better weapons as a first resort; he called upon the whole Church to pray the Rosary. And against all expectations, they were victorious. The Christians knew that day that their victory was not won by their power alone, but the power of God, unleashed through the humble, faithful prayers of countless people holding and praying the Rosary.
The Rosary is a school of prayer. It is a method, a guided meditation that leads us directly to the heart of our faith: the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we pray the Rosary, we are not just telling Mary how great she is. We are asking her, the one who knew Jesus best, to do for us what she did for the unborn John the Baptist at the Visitation: to lead us to her Son, and to help us contemplate His face.
Think of the mysteries. In the Joyful Mysteries, we stand with Mary as she says “yes” to God, as she visits her cousin, Elizabeth, as she gives birth to the Savior in the poverty of a stable. In the Luminous Mysteries, we walk with Jesus during his public ministry, hearing the Father’s voice at His Baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan River, witnessing His first miracle at Cana, listening to His teaching on the Kingdom of God. In the Sorrowful Mysteries, we accompany Him in His Passion, feeling the weight of His agony and the sting of the thorns. And in the Glorious Mysteries, we burst forth with joy at His Resurrection and Ascension, and at the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
With each “Hail Mary” our minds and hearts are freed to dive deep into these sacred scenes. The repeated prayers become the setting, and the mysteries open our hearts to the Sacred Hearts of Mary and Jesus.
Praying the Rosary calls us to remember who God is, and what He has done for us. It fights despair, in a world filled with bad news, anxiety, and fear, the Rosary walks us through the entirety of the Gospel, always ending in the glory of the Resurrection. It reminds us that no cross is the final word. When we pray the Rosary, we are never alone. We pray with Mary, our Mother. We join our prayers with the saints in heaven and millions of the faithful on earth. We are part of a great army of prayer. By meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s life, we come to know Him better, and learn His heart, His Way to the Kingdom of God, His love.
The Feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary is a celebration everyday for all who pray the Rosary. Mary points to her Son, Jesus. She holds out to us this simple, powerful tool and invites us once more: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Our Pope Leo has called all of us to pray the Rosary during this month of October for Peace in the world. Let us take up this spiritual weapon and together with Mary to pray for peace in our troubled world, for conversion of hearts, for our families, and for our own deeper conversion. Let us allow Mary to lead us, bead by bead, mystery by mystery, deeper into the luminous and life-giving mystery of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us ~
St. Jude, our patron saint, pray for us ~

Fr. Ryan