Daily prayer
to St. Jude

O kindSaint-Jude, our faithful intercessor to Jesus, receive the following special intentions : to present them to the Almighty Lord, Root of all good. Above all, grant us an increase of our faith in His love. May each day find us closer in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. KindSaint-Jude, you who has revived hope in our hearts, you whose model merits and life bring us the divine blessings and graces, be our advocate, and lead us to Jesus and Mary. With you, blessed apostle, we give thanks and praise God with all our heart for His innumerable kindnesses. Amen.

The Monthly Note

October 2012

The Rosary, a power for the World

«Blessed is the fruit of your womb» (Luke 1,42)

by Marcel Dumont, OP

The month of the Rosary!  The charm of autumn colours and the month of the Most Holy Rosary is already upon us in this year 2012.  History reminds us that on October 7th, date chosen by Saint Pope Pius V to celebrate the Queen of the Rosary, comes from a famous naval battle in the Gulf of Lepanto, in Greece in 1561.  While the Ottoman armies threatened to conquer all of Christian Europe, the Pope, under the patronage of the Holy Rosary, called upon the gathering of a naval force to stop the advance of the Turks, the Muslims.  The defeat was such for the latter that it spelled the end of the conquest in Christian territories.    The Queen of the Holy Rosary truly interceded to protect the advance of the Kingdom of her Son in the World.

The advance of the Kingdom of her Son! What can we expect from the prayer of the Rosary, when we recite it with faith, even today?  Neither more nor less than the advance of the Kingdom of her Son in this World.  Of course, we are not taking about great naval battles anymore, but there are always battles, much more discreet, but none less highly charged and efficient.  Because the Rosary directly does battle against the forces of darkness.

When a mother takes her rosary to pray for her family, for a child who may be addicted to drugs; going through a divorce and little children who suffer; grappling with problems because of her husband’s unemployment, it is the forces of darkness that loses its hold on those she loves.  When a pastor takes his rosary for his parishioners, parishioners grappling with the agnosticism of our society, grappling with the secularism of our institutions or, worse, with the cancer that is internet pornography, it is the power of darkness that is retreating. Do we really believe it?

To celebrate the month of the Holy Rosary, is to celebrate the strength of our faith; it is to celebrate the grace that we have received straight from Heaven in the gift of the Holy Rosary; gift that the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit gave us during the centuries; it is to celebrate the power of intercession that the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of the Son of God, still possesses on the World so that she may help her Son in the advancing of the Celestial Armies for the victory of the Kingdom of Heaven!  Celebrating the month of the Holy Rosary, it is celebrating the love and consideration of Our Heavenly Mother for all her children!  May this grace fill us during this month of charm of autumn colours and of the mystic Rose, the Rosary!