October is always a transition month. Summer is hinting at lingering on its way out the door. The leaves will be beautiful and then gone. We could even see the first snowflakes by the end of the month. And, alas, the stores are already gearing up for the Christmas excesses.

This October will have its own special character. With the conclusion of the visit of Pope Francis to our country last Sunday, October will be a special time in the immediate aftermath.

All of the Holy Father’s talks and gestures need to be studied and prayed over. First impressions need to give way to deeper reflections. Lessons need to be learned and faith deepened. That first month after his visit will be a time to reread his messages, to think about them and above all to pray.

It’s natural that the afterglow of such an event begins to fade a bit with time. Still, Peter has been among us. We should use October for a deeper reflection on what that has meant.

Of course the Holy Father no sooner returns to Rome and the Synod of Bishops on the Family will begin at the Vatican. It continues the prayer and the conversations that started last October.

Pope Francis highlighted the family in many of his talks last week. And he concluded his visit with his own presence at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Synods of bishops are advisory meetings where representative bishops from all over the world convene, meet, discuss and, finally, counsel the Holy Father. Such gatherings, however, are not empowered to change Church teaching, which ultimately comes not from bishops or from the faithful, but from Christ Himself.

Still, with the tremendous threats facing the family, especially in the west and in the industrialized world, October should be a month for us to follow the synod and especially to pray for those discussions.

The Holy Spirit has many ways to guide us and the fidelity of the Church. The synod of bishops is one of those privileged ways.

So we can use this October as a month of reflection and a month of the family. That coincides well with another traditional place of October in our life of prayer and faith. It is the month of the rosary.

On Oct. 7 of each year we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Historically that recalls the intercession of Mary to assist the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. But over time, the rosary has been a source of strength, of reflection and of teaching of the faith for generations.

The repetition of the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be to the Father are often familiar to many before or after we attend Mass.

The dedication of the decades of the rosary to the Joyful, the Sorrowful, the Glorious and the Luminous Mysteries have been reminders of the various moments in the life of Christ and His mother as contained in the Scriptures and tradition.

In a world of blaring music, endless talk shows and general distractions of life, work and society, a structured means of quiet reflection and, yes, meditation, such as the rosary is a welcome gift of prayer.
Above all, the rosary centers on Mary as the Mother of Jesus and as the best of His followers. We are united to Mary in seeing her faith, her sorrows and her life with Christ, all a reflection of our own travels through this valley of tears.

We walk with her in the temple presenting Jesus. We stand with her at the foot of the cross having nothing more to give but our faith and acceptance of God’s will. We pray with Mary in the room with the disciples as the Holy Spirit comes upon the Church at Pentecost. We reflect on Mary’s bodily assumption to heaven, foretelling our own glorification if we are faithful to her son.

October promises to be a full month for the Church in many ways. Don’t forget to make Mary a central part of it.

If you haven’t been praying the rosary, why not start this month? She is the mother of the Church and the mother of each of us. And who doesn’t benefit from time spent with their mother, and from the dispensation of motherly wisdom? Mary is that kind of mother.