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October Devotion: The Holy Rosary

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Pope Leo XIII personally started the practice of devoting October to the Rosary devotion. In a letter of September 1, 1883, mindful of the Rosary's power to strengthen faith and foster a life of virtue, he outlined the triumphs of the Rosary in past times and admonished the faithful to dedicate the month of October to the Blessed Virgin through the daily recitation of her Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, in order to obtain through her intercession the grace that God would console and defend His Church in her sufferings.

We highly recommend that you read Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, or "On the Most Holy Rosary." It explains even further this wonderful devotion, and introduces the optional mysteries of light, or Luminous mysteries.

INVOCATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

TO THE QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Queen of the most holy Rosary, in these times of such brazen impiety, manifest thy power with the signs of thine ancient victories, and from thy throne, whence thou dost dispense pardon and graces, mercifully regard the Church of thy Son, His Vicar on earth, and every order of clergy and laity, who are sore oppressed in the mighty conflict. Do thou, who art the powerful vanquisher of all heresies, hasten the hour of mercy, even though the hour of God's justice is every day provoked by the countless sins of men. For me who am the least of men, kneeling before thee in supplication, do thou obtain the grace I need to live righteously upon earth and to reign among the just in heaven, the while in company with all faithful Christians throughout the world, I salute thee and acclaim thee as Queen of the most holy Rosary:

Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

TO OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the study of thy fifteen mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the holy Rosary, through Saint Dominic, thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of thy mysteries, and the faithful imitator of thy virtues. Amen.

FOR THE CRUSADE OF THE FAMILY ROSARY
The Family Rosary Crusade, organized and directed by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., sought to revive the practice of families reciting the Rosary daily within their homes. The Crusade has the encouragement and support of Pope Pius XII and it is succeeding admirably in realizing the desire of the Pope that no family would allow a day to pass without the recitation of the Rosary. This prayer was composed by Cardinal Spellman when the Crusade visited his Archdiocese.

O Queen of the most holy Rosary: with hearts full of confidence we earnestly beseech you to bless the Crusade of the Family Rosary. From you came the grace to begin it. >From you must come the grace to win souls to it. We beg you to bless this Crusade so that from every home the incense of this prayer will daily rise before you, O admirable Mother.

O Queen of Homes: by the power of the Rosary we beseech you to embrace all the members of our family in the love of your Immaculate Heart. May you abide with us and we with you, praying to you while you pray for us. May you preside in our homes as once you did at Nazareth with Jesus and Joseph, filling them with the holiness of your presence and inspiration.

O Queen of Peace: it is you who have placed the Rosary in our hands. It is you who bid us to recite it daily. By the power of the Family Rosary we beseech you to obtain peace for uspeace within our hearts, our homes, our country and throughout the world. Through the daily recitation of the Family Rosary we beg you to keep sin from our souls, enmities from our hearts and war from our shores. By the graces received from the devotion of the Family Rosary we pray to be made helpful to one another in following the paths of virtue so that we may be found worthy to be called children of your family, children of your home. Amen.

Cardinal Spellman

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Pray the Rosary

Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. >From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

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Papal Address on the Rosary as a Weapon of Peace

Very simple guide to praying/learning the Rosary

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From: Luke 9:51-56

Some Samaritans Refuse to Receive Jesus

[51] When the days drew near for Him (Jesus) to be received up, He set
His face to go to Jerusalem. [52] And He sent messengers ahead of
Him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready
for Him; [53] but the people would not receive Him, because His face was
set toward Jerusalem. [54] And when His disciples James and John saw
it, they said, "Lord, do You want us to bid fire come down from Heaven
and consume them?" [55] But He turned and rebuked them. [56] And
they went on to another village.

Commentary:

51. "When the days drew near for Him to be received up": these words
refer to the moment when Jesus will leave this world and ascend into
Heaven. Our Lord will say this more explicitly during the Last Supper:
"I come from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am
leaving the world and going to the Father" (John 16:28). By making His
way resolutely to Jerusalem, towards His Cross, Jesus freely complies
with His Father's plan for His passion and death to be the route to His
resurrection and ascension.

52-53. The Samaritans were hostile towards the Jews. This enmity
derived from the fact that the Samaritans were descendants of marriages
of Jews with Gentiles who repopulated the region of Samaria at the time
of the Assyrian captivity (in the eight century before Christ). There were
also religious differences: the Samaritans had mixed the religion of Mo-
ses with various superstitious practices, and did not accept the temple
of Jerusalem as the only place where sacrifices could properly be offered.
They built their own temple on Mount Gerizim, in opposition to Jerusalem
(cf. John 4:20); this was why, when they realized Jesus was headed for
the Holy City, they refused Him hospitality.

54-56. Jesus corrects His disciples' desire for revenge, because it is
out of keeping with the mission of the Messiah, who has come to save
men, not destroy them (cf. Luke 19:10; John 12:47). The Apostles are
gradually learning that zeal for the things of God should not be bitter
or violent.

"The Lord does everything in an admirable way [...]. He acts in this way
to teach us that perfect virtue retains no desire for vengeance, and that
where there is true charity there is no room for anger--in other words, that
weakness should not be treated with harshness but should be helped.
Indignation should be very far from holy souls, and desire for vengeance
very far from great souls" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam,
in loc.").

An RSV footnote after the word "rebuked" in verse 55 points out that other
ancient authorities add "and He said `You do not know what manner of
Spirit you are of; for the Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives but
to save them'". These words appear in a considerable number of early
Greek MSS and other versions and were included in the Clementine Vul-
gate; but they do not appear in the best and oldest Greek codexes and
have not been included in the New Vulgate.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter
Publishers, the U.S. publishers.