October is traditionally the month of the Holy Rosary. And there could hardly be a better reminder than the example of Pope Leo XIV in Lourdes last weekend, when he joined thousands of pilgrims for the Rosary and candlelight procession, walking and praying with his own Rosary in hand. Earlier that day, he had asked the whole Church to pray the Rosary throughout October, particularly for peace and an end to war. We will do this at St Mary’s throughout this month, and I would encourage you to do the same at home and in your families.

The Rosary is much more than a nice devotion of the pious and elderly. It is one of the great spiritual weapons of the Church. The Battle of Lepanto in 1571 is a story every Catholic should know. The Christian West was under attack, and St Pius V called the faithful to pray the Rosary for victory. The Christian fleet, against all the odds, won, resulting in the saving of Christian civilization. The anniversary of this victory eventually became the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which we celebrate on 7^th October. The battle continues today. We may not face an enemy fleet, but as I continually remind you, we are engaged in a spiritual battle against sin, temptation and the powers of darkness. Our families are under pressure; our children are exposed to evil influences, marriage and purity are attacked, and the Faith is abandoned by many. The Rosary is our protection. St Padre Pio called it “the weapon.”

One of the most important places for the Rosary is the family home. There is something wonderfully Catholic about a family gathering each evening around a statue or picture of Our Lady and praying the Rosary together. All it needs is a bit of time and perseverance. Don’t worry if children become restless or distracted. They are learning to pray. The important thing for children to learn is that prayer is an important part of family life. If five decades seems too long to begin with, start with one decade and establish the habit. You can gradually increase it to the full five decades. It will become the source of many graces in the home and family.

Every Rosary contains a prayer for the moment of our death. “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” We are asking Our Lady to accompany us through life, and to be with us at the moment upon which eternity depends. It is a prayer for a happy death. There is an old story of a man who had lived a very sinful life and was dying without showing any sign of repentance. Those around him urged him to make his peace with God, but he refused. Then someone started to pray the Rosary by his bed, and when they reached the words, “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” the dying man suddenly asked them to stop. He asked them to repeat the words. The Rosary continued, and after a while the man asked for a priest. He made his confession and received the Sacraments before he died.

We do not know when the hour of our death will come, which is why the Church teaches us to pray these words every day, especially in the Rosary – not only for ourselves, but for our loved ones, and indeed for all sinners. Then that prayer we have repeated thousands of times in the Holy Rosary will surely become a reality: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”

Finally, the Rosary has been prayed by saints, popes, families, soldiers, the sick and the dying. It was prayed before the Battle of Lepanto. It has been prayed at Lourdes, Fatima, and Akita. And last weekend, the Successor of St Peter prayed it once again publicly before Our Lady in Lourdes. Let us do the same. Take up the Rosary. Pray it faithfully. Pray it with your family, and pray it for peace, for the Church, for the Pope, and for the salvation of souls.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC