Newsletter - 20 October
Our Lady of the Rosary
October is a month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.
The Rosary is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium.
Pope Saint John Paul II in the APOSTOLIC LETTER “ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE” wrote:
“The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvellous prayer! Marvellous in its simplicity and its depth… Against the background of the words Hail Mary the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the complete series of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother. At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”.
The reason the Rosary is so “profound” is simply that it originates in God’s own Word. Popes Pius XII and Paul VI have called it “the compendium of the entire Gospel” (or, the Gospel on a string) because it encompasses all the highlights of the history of our salvation – namely, the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.
When in the Rosary we plead with Mary, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35), she intercedes for us before the Father who filled her with grace and before the Son born of her womb, praying with us and for us.
Many Saints discovered in the Rosary a genuine path to growth in holiness. Blessed Bartolo Longo, a true apostle of the Rosary, had a special charism. His path to holiness rested on an inspiration heard in the depths of his heart: “Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!”. As a result, he felt called to build a Church dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Pompei. Blessed Bartolo Longo wrote: “Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”.
Pope Saint John Paul II
Focus of the Week
World Mission Sunday
20 October 2024
The Holy Father invites all Catholics to support Missio – his charity for world mission – through a special collection.
This day of prayer, solidarity, and giving unites Catholics worldwide to share the Good News of God’s love which has the power to transform lives and heal our world.