FEAST OF OUR LADY, QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY/OUR LADY OF VICTORY: 10/7; NOVENA BEGINS: 9/28:
Since The Most Holy Rosary was given directly from The Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Dominic, founder of the Dominicans, in A.D. 1215, it has helped many to live and die holily. St. Dominic was given The Most Holy Rosary, so that he could successfully combat the Albigensian heresy, which saw everything that had to do with the flesh and material things as being evil, and everything that was spiritual as being good. Basically, this was a reliving of the ancient heresy, Manicheism, which St. Augustine had followed for a while. The Abligensians actually believed that marriage was evil, because of the physical relationship between the couple, and they believed, even worse! that suicide was good. This heresy permeated especially southern France, and the civil war, which was fought by those in northern France against those in southern France, still has an effect, today. According to St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort’s wonderful book: Secret of the Rosary, St. Dominic converted 100,000 Albigensian heretics through his preaching of The Most Holy Rosary — get the book — it’s online in English at:
http://www.montfort.org/content/index2.php?action=article &article=29&lang=EN
but it can also be found in French, Italian, Spanish, etc., so please check out, print out, and devour his writings!
The Feast of our Most Blessed Lady, Queen of The Most Holy Rosary was originally called: our Lady of Victory. Why? The Pope in A.D. 1572 forcefully requested that all Catholics pray the Most Holy Rosary for a victory against the Muslims, who were, once again, trying to invade and conquer western Europe, and they began with Cyprus. With God’s Intervention, as usual, through our Queen of The Most Holy Rosary, a ragtag, Catholic “navy”, heavily outnumbered, who were wearing rosaries and swinging weapons, won at LePanto in A.D. 1572.
The Most Holy Rosary is a great gift, given to us by God, through His Mother. It is a scriptural set of prayers and meditations, and, at the beginning, when it was accurately and powerfully preached and prayed, there were meditations, sometimes a paragraph-long (according to the meditation I saw from a 15th-century English, rosary book), which were to be read on the major Mysteries (events) of Jesus’ Most Sacred Life here on earth, in between each one of the 10 “Hail, Mary’s”, which were prayed for each decade. When the Most Holy Rosary is only prayed, using the prayers, without the ten meditations, the skeleton, but not the soul of the Rosary is prayed, and it is not as powerful a defense against the devil or as useful and powerful a tool to help us grow in faith, hope, and charity. When the Rosary is “prayed” this way, St. Louis de Montfort, an expert and apostle of the Most Holy Rosary, called it: “counting the beads”. In the future, this site will have a set of meditations for each of the 15 decades of the traditional Rosary. While waiting for that to happen, one can always obtain a small booklet with a “Scriptural” Rosary, which has very short Scriptural quotes for each “Hail, Mary”.
Novena Prayers:
Firstly, pray at least 5 decades of The Most Holy Rosary daily.
Other Prayers:
O QUEEN of the Most Holy Rosary, in these times of brazen impiety, show forth thy power, with the signs, which accompanied Thy victories of old, and from the throne where Thou art seated, dispensing pardon and grace, in pity watch over the Church of Thy Son, His Vicar, and every order of the clergy and laity, suffering in grievous warfare. Hasten, O Most Powerful Destroyer of heresy, hasten the Hour of Mercy, seeing that the Hour of Judgment is daily challenged by innumerable offenses. Obtain for me, the lowest of men, kneeling suppliant in Thy presence, the grace which may enable me to live a just life on
earth, and reign with the just in Heaven, whilst with the faithful throughout the world, O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, I salute Thee and cry out: Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.” Amen.
(taken from: Raccolta (http://www.saintsworks.net/books/The%20Raccolta%20-%201910.pdf, A.D. 1910), #263 Leo XIII, Card. Vic. July 3, 1886.)
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 St Dominic, Thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of Thy Mysteries, and the faithful imitator of Thy Virtues. Amen.”
(taken from: Raccolta (http://www.saintsworks.net/books/The%20Raccolta%20-%201910.pdf, A.D. 1910), #266, St. Pius X , March 15, 1907)
© & All Rights Reserved, The Holy Family House, A.D. 2012 and on. Can be copied & distributed, GRATIS ONLY, with attribution. + A.M.D.G.