OUR LADY of the ROSARY
(Commemorating the Victory of Lepanto)
(1571)
We have related in the life of Saint Pius V the victory of Lepanto; here we will speak of the Rosary itself, granted to Saint Dominic by Our Lady Herself in the thirteenth century, with promises of the greatest blessings for those who recite it well. The Rosary of fifteen decades affords a simple means of meditation on the principal mysteries of our holy Religion, and a means of drawing closer to the Saviour through the intercession of the One to whom He never refuses anything. One can also say the chaplet of five decades, since the fifteen are divided into three groups of five: The Joyful, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious Mysteries of the life of Christ.
On the crucifix, one recites the 'Credo' or Apostles' Creed, which the Apostles themselves composed at the first Council of Jerusalem, before their definitive separation, thereby resolving the question of what exactly should be taught to the neophytes. By it we honor the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity and express our faith in the Church established by God; in the Communion of the faithful, whether living or deceased; in the pardon of sins, the general resurrection at the end of the world, and eternal life.
Before each decade, the 'Pater Noster', or Our Father, taught by our Saviour Himself when His Apostles asked how they should pray, includes three petitions for the glory of God in heaven: May His Name be sanctified, rendered holy in the sight of all nations; may His Kingdom come - the interior reign of God which renders Him the Sovereign governing every heart and mind by His love - this, while we await Christ's own final return as visible King of His Church and all creation; thirdly, may His Will be accomplished on earth, to perfection, as it is in heaven. There follow four petitions for ourselves and our salvation. We ask, under the general term of "our daily bread," that God provide for all our needs, both spiritual and material; we beg His forgiveness for our sins, in the same measure we have forgiven our neighbor's offenses, real or imaginary. And we implore to be spared temptation or to be delivered from succumbing to it and all other evils that would separate us from God.
In the Ave Maria or Hail Mary, we repeat the words of the Angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:18), repeated and augmented by Saint Elizabeth at the Visitation (Luke 1:42), adding the invocation of the Church for Her aid at the present moment and at the formidable hour of our death. Think about it; we are repeating words by a being which is constantly in front of the Divine Majesty Itself!
After each decade, we add the Gloria Patri or Doxology, to honor the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
The Joyful Mysteries: The Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity of Jesus, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple.
The Sorrowful Mysteries: The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.
The Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, the Assumption of Mary, the Crowning of the Blessed Virgin in Heaven.
Can one imagine a more perfect prayer than the Holy Rosary of the Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin and Mother Mary? It would require large volumes or even an entire library to narrate the graces and miracles that have been obtained by its humble recitation.
Pope Leo XIII was particularly devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary, producing 11 encyclicals on the subject of this feast and its importance in the course of his long pontificate.
In the first of them, 1883's 'Supremi Apostolatus Officio', he echoed the words of the oldest known Marian prayer (known in the Latin tradition as the 'Sub Tuum Praesidium'), when he wrote, “It has always been the habit of Catholics in danger and in troubled times to fly for refuge to Mary.”
“This devotion, so great and so confident, to the august Queen of Heaven,” Pope Leo continued, “has never shone forth with such brilliancy as when the militant Church of God has seemed to be endangered by the violence of heresy … or by an intolerable moral corruption, or by the attacks of powerful enemies.” Foremost among such “attacks” was the battle of Lepanto, a perilous and decisive moment in European and world history.
Now, a recalling of the battle itself:
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place between the ships of the Catholic Holy League under Don Juan of Austria and the navy of the Ottoman Empire under Ali Pasha, supported by a large fleet of corsairs. The Ottoman Empire was far too powerful for any one Christian kingdom to stand against, and although all of Western Europe was threatened, only Spain, the Papal States, the Duchy of Savoy, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, and the Knights of Saint John took a stand against them. Altogether they still had only 212 ships against no less than 278 ships.
For hundreds of years the Ottoman Empire had been making advances into Europe, while also making lightning raids along the coastlines to pillage and take slaves. They intended to eventually overwhelm all of Europe, and at that time Catholics stood almost alone against them as no Protestant force would do anything to oppose the invasion.
The advantage in this contest went strongly to the Turks, and so Pope Pius V implored all of Christendom to pray the Rosary to the Blessed Virgin Mary to obtain her intercession before the throne of God for their victory. Admiral Andrea Doria sailed to meet the Turks with an image of the Blessed Virgin prominently displayed in his flagship’s state room.
The Venetian forces on Cyprus had been under siege by the Turks during the time that the Catholic forces were preparing to meet them. On August 1 they surrendered after being assured that they could leave the island unopposed. The Ottoman commander broke his solemn oath, however, taking the Venetians captive and flaying their captain while he was yet alive. Once he had completed this unspeakable torture, his dead body was hung from a spar on Mustafa’s flagship alongside the heads of all the Venetian commanders. This was the type of barbarism the Catholic forces sailed to oppose.
The engagement took place on the 7th of October, 1571, only 6 years after the Knights of Saint John defeated a powerful Ottoman army at Malta. Don Juan of Austria encouraged his men by telling them that “There is no paradise for cowards.” If they should lose the engagement, the Mediterranean Sea would be opened up to assist future Ottoman invasions. Victory would mean at least a brief reprieve.
The Ottoman Turks had not lost any significant naval engagements in the memory of any living man, yet they were defeated. It was widely recognized that the battle was won through the power of Mary, Our Lady of Victory. TheTurks had come up like fire from the East, plundering, raping, enslaving, threatening to master the whole of Christendom, but had been defeated at Lepanto through the power of the Rosary.
The Turks had lost nearly 9 of every 10 ships, and 30,000 men went to a watery grave. The Holy League lost only 17 galleys and 7,500 men. Many historians rank Lepanto as the most decisive naval engagement since the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, proving to the Christians that the Turks could be beaten. Although the Turks soon rebuilt their fleet, many of their best soldiers and sailors were already dead at Malta and Lepanto.
This feast also celebrates another Christian victory, as in 1716, Mary, Queen of Victory, was chosen to protect her children again at Petenwardein. This battle was fought on August 5, 1716, between the Austrian army of Prince Eugene and the Turks at Peterwardein in Hungary, and it was also won through the power of Mary Most Holy.
To help equip the Christian army against the Turks, Pope Clement XI emptied the Papal treasury.
The two armies met on the morning of the feast of Our Lady of the Snows; the Christian army was outnumbered ten to three; the enemy had the advantage of position; but the Christian strength lay in the right of their cause and in Mary, who watched over them. The battle was long and hot, but, behind the lines in the churches of Europe, Catholics prayed: their prayers were heard. That evening the sun set on a free Hungary. Mary’s men had won the day; Mary’s banner floated victoriously over a Christian land.
The news filled the Christian world with joy, but nowhere more than at Rome. In thanksgiving to the Mother of God for her help, glorious, solemn, pontifical ceremonies of gratitude were held in the basilica of Saint Mary. After Lepanto, Pope Pius V instituted the feast of the Holy Rosary in Rome, and Clement XI extended it to the world.
Today other more sinister errors eat at the heart of Christian culture: Naturalism undermining man’s faith in God and himself. Communism is Mary’s enemy; it transforms the state into a god to which men must be sacrificed. Men are children of God, sons of Mary, not slaves of the state.
Against the errors of our time, we must appeal to Mary; she is our guide, our Queen of Victories and of Peace. For her and for her blessed Son we struggle, and on her powerful intercession with the Prince of Peace we place our trust.
We struggle today to preserve our birthright as sons of God. Never in her history has America been so evidently on God’s side. And Mary, our Mother, the Queen of Victory and of Peace, stands for our final victory, for our peace. She is also the 'Patroness of the Americas'. Victory and peace must and will be ours, if we cling to the Mother of God. She said herself at Fatima in 1917: "I am your only hope!" Mary will once again crush the head of the Serpent, and this time, again, by means of her Rosary, if we have recourse to her through it.
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