October 7th marks the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the title dedicated to Mary out of thanks for the Christian victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.
The development of the Holy Rosary was an odd one as originally, it was the praying of 150 Our Fathers in imitation of the 150 Psalms. Then, there was the orientation towards praying 150 Hail Marys to Our Lady. Then, when they began attaching mysteries to each set of Hail Marys, they were split into the three sets of Mysteries: the Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious. In October of 2002, Pope St. John Paul II released his apostolic letter titled Rosarium Virginis Mariae. In it, he announced the Luminous mysteries.
“Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Para. 21)
By 1453, the Turks had invaded the Byzantine Empire and moved to occupy an increasingly larger portion of Christian territory. Fast-forwarding a century, the Turks turned their attention to the Mediterranean and an eventual invasion of Rome. In 1571, the Holy League launched a fleet to repel the Turks off the coast of Greece.
In preparation for the battle, the soldiers of the 200 ship Christian fleet prayed the Rosary to Our Lady for a favorable outcome. It is said that as they prayed, Pope St. Pius V saw a vision of the Christians winning the battle handedly. After the battle, he was informed that 287 of the 300 Turkish ships were either sunk or captured. Following the battle, the feast was instituted, and it was fittingly known as Our Lady of Victory for a time. However, several centuries later, it was changed to Our Lady of the Rosary as Our Lady’s intercession was attributed to this powerful prayer that placed the Christian intentions in her hands.
Something that Relevant Radio has tried to impress upon its listeners is the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her intercession. We launched this campaign to extend to you the amazing stories, miracles, and proof that we are not alone in our journey to grow closer to Christ. Nobody knows Him better than His mother, so we go to her every night in the Family Rosary Across America. We have seen miraculous recoveries from illnesses and injuries, we have seen people return to the Church after long absences, and we have seen battles won, physical or otherwise, as a result of the Rosary.
Join us tonight and every night at 7pm CT to pray the Holy Rosary!
Or go to: Relevantradio.com/family
