The Rosary consists of a chaplet of roses, so to speak, dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Heaven and earth. She gave the beads the name “Rosary.” As we pray the Rosary, our mind should concentrate on the mystery of Our Lord’ s life and death and resurrection from the dead. His work was something with which the Blessed Virgin was intimately associated. The Our Father, Apostle’s Creed and Glory be are also said, and the 150 Hail Mary’s, the Angelic Salutation, take the place of saying the 150 psalms.
Although the Rosary has been around for many centuries, the Feast of the Holy Rosary was established to commemorate the victory of the Christians over the Mohammadens on Sunday, 7th October 1571, when a superior Turkish fleet was destroyed by the Christian forces at Lepanto, in Portugal, which kept the Islamic invaders out of Western Europe. Pope St. Pius V had asked that the fate of Europe be placed in the hands of Our Lady and had requested that all Christians pray the Rosary. Were we to say the Rosary with the fervour of those Christians of long ago, we could make the world a paradise, free of abortion, hatred and war. At this particular time, the Rosary is particularly appropriate, and we should petition Our Lady daily to end war which is, after all, a punishment for sin. Today is Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels whose job is to guide us daily and defend us from evil and the devil. Although not commemorated in the Mass under the newer rubrics, pray especially today to your own guardian angel to protect you from sin and evil.