This month of October is one of two months each year when faith and tradition have continually stressed the place of Mary in our lives. Each spring we celebrate the Blessed Mother as part of the new life of spring, reminding us of her role in redemption after our sin and suffering in this world.

 

During October, however, our Catholic faith reflects upon Mary and especially upon the special prayer to her, the rosary. Of course Oct. 7 is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. 

 

That feast was established by Pope Pius V. He did so following an intense campaign of praying the rosary by the Christian faithful throughout Europe and the Christian military forces prior to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 off the coast of Greece. At that battle the Muslim invasion of Europe was halted, protecting Europe and the Christian faith there.

 

There are several lessons to be drawn from that feast that serve us well in the daily battle of faith. First, we learn from that feast and from the recitation of the rosary that Mary is truly our mother. When Jesus in His agony on the cross said to John, “Behold your mother” it was more than simply His desire that John care for Mary. Our faith has understood that at that moment all of us were entrusted to Mary’s maternal care.

 

With the strategic threat to Europe and the Christian faith in 1571, Pope Pius V chose not to trust only in the human efforts of the Christian fleet. At his urging the faithful turned to Mary, invoking her maternal link to us.

 

The Church recognized in the victory at Lepanto a positive response to this great prayer of petition. There are many other such positive responses, in matters big and small, that the faithful have received from Mary’s intercession.

 

But the lesson of the rosary cannot be limited only to prayers of petition for matters of this world. More widely, the rosary is a divine plan of spiritual formation for individuals and for the Church.

 

The structure of the rosary, with the five decades spread over four different sets of scriptural reflections (the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and Luminous mysteries) is intended to remind us continually of the life of Jesus and Mary. The constant repetition of the rosary, especially if carried out regularly and over the course of a lifetime, makes possible the continuing work of grace at various stages of life. Our own joys and sorrows will be reflected and incorporated into the meaning of those scriptural moments.

 

Similarly, the rosary is an antidote to one aspect of our current culture. We live in a virtual moment. The constant checking of cell phones, the addiction to the internet, the decades-long reliance on television for distraction, all have reduced our attention span. The modern mind has been trained to constantly seek novelty and changing presentations of new entertainment.

 

The quiet and repeated recitation of the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be to the Father in each decade of the rosary give place for spiritual reflection that is so needed. Pondering again and again the scriptural scenes offer a chance for new insights and the reception of grace.

 

Even more, the repetition built into the rosary helps us fend off the inevitable occasional struggle against distraction and even boredom, forcing us to make our own efforts toward personal discipline. In this way, through Mary, we take on the struggle to open our hearts more fully to Christ, as Mary herself did.

 

The great gift of the rosary is to be drawn closer to Mary our Mother. And through her, we are inevitably drawn closer to Christ. A great gift indeed.