October is known as the month of the Rosary because of tomorrow's feast, the Feast of the Holy Rosary, which was originally called the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.
450 years ago this week, a naval battle took place between the light, fast and militarily advanced Moorish corsairs and the outnumbered members of the Holy League in their heavy, sluggish ships. The odds were against the Holy League, yet they still sailed into battle with no worldly hope to defend Rome from the Moorish conquest of the eternal city and all of Christendom. The story reads like a scene from the Lord of the Rings - the forces of Sauron against the dying light of the West - and it was in fact that epic.
The Pope in his wisdom asked every ship to hoist the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe while sending riders to all of Europe asking Catholics to pray the rosary for the battle's success. As the ships began to do battle, a strong wind blew against the Moorish navy, whipping up waves that pushed them into reefs and sandbars, rendering their military advantage obsolete. They were too light to withstand the storm. The Holy League, in their heavy ships, broke the back of the Moorish advance and defeated them. The West was protected by the Rosary and Our Lady.
We like to think of Our Lady as a gentle, loving mom and the rosary as a nice devotion prayed by grandmothers before or after Mass. But, we all know never to get between a mother (or grandmother for that matter) and her children. We must not forget it is Mary's heel that crushes the serpent. Every saint implores us to pray the rosary. In fact, many saints refer to it as a "spiritual weapon." Our Lady instructs us to pray the rosary daily in her apparitions at Fatima. This is not something to take lightly or ignore.
At Catholic.store we are blessed to work with wonderful artisans who have a devotion to making beautiful, functional and durable rosaries. Artisans like Abundantly Yours - who learned how to make rosaries by hand from her grandmother as a little girl and now passes that tradition on to our customers. Everyone needs a rosary - it is truly the most effective spiritual weapon. If you or a loved one don't have a rosary, we've curated a short list of our favorites for the whole family. Perfect as a surprise gift, stocking stuffer or treasured keepsake - we should never delay in giving the rosary to those we love.
Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!
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