Prayers for October

October 14, 2017 Fr John Paul MacKinnon

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As fall descends on the Northern Hemisphere, the Catholic liturgical year draws to a close. In the traditional calendar, many of the feasts between mid-September and the First Sunday in Advent make reference to conflicts between Christianity and Islam, and great victories in battles in which the Church—and, more broadly, Christendom—was threatened. The memory of these events turns our thoughts to the end times, when the Church will undergo trials and tribulations before the return of Christ the King.

It may not be obvious how dedicating the month of October to the Holy Rosary fits into this pattern. But the rosary—and, more specifically, Our Lady of the Rosary—is credited with victory in a number of the battles that those feasts celebrate. Chief among these is the Battle of Lepanto (October 7, 1571), in which a Christian fleet defeated a superior Ottoman Muslim fleet and stopped the westward expansion of Islam in the Mediterranean.

In honor of the victory, Pope Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, which is still celebrated today as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7). And, in 1883, when Pope Leo XIII officially dedicated the month of October to the Holy Rosary, he made reference to the battle and the feast.

The best way to celebrate the Month of the Holy Rosary is, of course, to pray the rosary daily; but we can also add some of the other prayers below to our daily prayers this month.

by Scott P. Richert