Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In much of the culture around us, October is seen as a season of spookiness. As the daylight grows shorter and the holiday of Halloween looms at the end of the month, many people go out of their way to decorate their houses, plan for parties, and generally embrace getting a bit scared throughout the month. The reality is, there are many real life things for us to have concern over. Issues that our country and nation are grappling with, and a variety of strong opinions on what is the best course of action with them. It’s tempting to allow the things we see and hear in the news to unnerve us, and I’m not saying that we shouldn’t, but I’d like to suggest that there is something within our faith to help us with all that, which is also highlighted in the month of October. I’m speaking of the great prayer known as the Rosary.
I think it can be argued that the Rosary is most common of religious objects among all Catholics. How many of us received a rosary for our First Holy Communion? How many of us have been gifted a rosary from someone who just went on a pilgrimage somewhere? Personally speaking, I couldn’t even guess at the amount of physical rosaries I’ve gotten over the years, but I know that it’s a high number. And so, the Rosary, as a physical object and as a prayer, is something that many of us are very familiar with and within that, perhaps don’t always appreciate the power that it has.
Padre Pio is credited with describing the Rosary as powerful, spiritual weapon, meant to be wielded against the evils of the world around us. Did he mean for us to start swinging it around and hitting others with it when we see an injustice occurring? No, but rather, that engaging in prayer, using it as a means to combat what is wrong through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, yields tremendous results. I can personally attest that praying the Rosary on a regular basis has helped me fight against certain personal temptations and sins. And on a global level, we might recall Our Lady of Fatima’s encouragement to pray the Rosary for the conversion of the world. These aren’t just pious thoughts or good intentions, the Rosary really is a great weapon in challenging the evils of the world and of our personal lives.
And so, in this month of October, with its dedication to the Rosary and with everything we’re witnessing in the world around us, may we all be mindful of this devotion and the great good found within it. And whether it’s said privately, within the family, or through a nightly recitation throughout the world like on Relevant Radio, praying the Rosary is something I highly recommend to us all!
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
Recent Comments