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Pondicherry Archdiocese
 

A HOME GOING PRIEST WILL MAKE A CHURCH GOING PEOPLE

Dear Friends

The month of October is known as Rosary month. A special month dedicated to the most powerful prayer “Rosary”. On 7th October the Catholic Church celebrates the yearly feast of Our Lady of the Rosar y, known for several centuries by the alternative title of “Our Lady of Victor y”, the feast day takes place in honour of a 16th Century naval victory at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, secured Europe against Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intersession of the Blessed Virgin Mar y, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray the Rosary throughout Europe.

The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary focuses on the intercessory power of Mar y. It shows that when Christians are in danger, they can go to Mar y. And when an individual is in pain, discouraged, or having trouble in accepting God’s will, he or she can also go to Mar y. She will  pray to her Son for anyone who calls on her. Anyone who prays to Mary no longer feels alone because she prays with them and for them. Mary encouraged praying the Rosary in her apparitions. At Lourdes when she appeared to St. Bernadette, Mary had a Rosary. As Bernadette prayed it, Mary joined in on the ‘Glory be’ prayers. At Fatima, Mar y exhorted the three children who saw her to pray the Rosary for peace.

The Rosary is a deep prayer because as we recite the Our Father, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes, we meditate on the mysteries in the lives of Jesus and Mary. No wonder it pleases Our Lady when we pray the Rosary. The full Rosary, praying all the four, Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries is called the lay man’s breviary. This well loved prayer has its roots in the 150 Psalms. People who could not read began praying 150 Hail Marys instead, the equivalent of three of our modern rosaries covering the original three sets of mysteries. It is Pope St. John Paul II through his encyclical “ Rosarium Virginis Mariae” added the Luminous mysteries and made the praying of the Rosary a meditation of the full life of Jesus.

The genesis of the Rosary is according to Dominican tradition, in 1206, Dominic De Guzman was in prouille, France, attempting to correct the Albigensians back to the Catholic faith. The young priest had little success until one day he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin, who gave him the Rosary as a tool against heretics.

The purpose of the Rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pope Pius XII called it a ‘Compendium of the Gospel’. The main focus is on Jesus – His Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection. The ‘Our Fathers’ remind us that Jesus’ Father is the initiator of salvation. The ‘Hail Mary’s’ remind us to join with Mary in contemplating   these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The ‘Glory Bes’ remind us that the purpose of all life is the Glory of the Trinity.

The Rosary appeals to Mar y. It is simple. The constant repetition of words helps to create an atmosphere in which to contemplate the mysteries of God. We sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in the joys and sorrows of life. We grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the Glory of Jesus and Mary forever.

I feel pained to say that family prayer with praying Rosary, the Litany of Mary and Saints and the reflective reading of the Word of God is disappearing from most of our catholic families due to T.V, Internet and other engagements. That is why there are problems, quarrels, lack of peace and love, disunity and separation of spouses. “The family that prays together stays together”. Today what I am is because of the family prayer that I grew as a child in my family. My Father always lead the family prayer. He would see that all the members are present. It was a wonderful spiritual experience. He would pray the Rosary, the Litany of Our Lady and a litany proper to the saint of the day then reading from the Bible, and would conclude with praying for various needs. Finally we, all the children would kneel before our parents and get the blessings. Today what I am is because of the family prayer that I grew in as a child. I request all the families in our archdiocese to make a commitment in this Rosary month of October to have family prayers daily with all the members without fail. Let no day pass in our life without praying the Rosary in family prayer. I also request all my priests to visit all the families regularly and encourage family prayer. ‘A home going priest will make a church going people’. I also request all the Religious working in the archdiocese to make regular family visits as their main  ministry.

May Our Blessed Mother Our Lady of the Rosary draw us closer and help us to have the devotion to the most powerful prayer, the Rosary.