The month of the most holy Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary. Many would frown at this repetitive and seemingly annoying prayer but they do so because they are not able to appreciate its actual relevance for the current world we are living in.

What is this ancient yet ever new prayer, which is so dear to Mother Mary since it leads straight to her beloved son Jesus as contemplated in his joyous, luminous, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of salvation? Pope Benedict XVI gives us a succinct yet thorough reply during the address he gave on October 10, 2010 before praying the midday Angelus.

“The Rosary is a biblical prayer, completely interwoven with Sacred Scripture. It is a prayer of the heart in which the repetition of the Hail Mary orients one’s thought and affection towards Christ, and thus one confidently supplicates his Mother and ours. It is a prayer that aids meditation on the Word of God and is likened to Eucharistic communion on the model of Mary, who carries in her heart all Jesus did and said and his presence itself”.

Moreover, the Rosary is an excellent prayer through which Mary is particularly loved and venerated. Thanks to the Rosary we invoke her to come to our and our neighbour’s aid in order to guide us safely to our heavenly homeland. Whenever we pray the Rosary with faith we personally experience Mary’s faithful loving companionship in this valley of tears that ends up in the beatific vision of the triune God in the heavenly Jerusalem.

The Rosary incarnates our loving trust in Mary’s maternal solicitude as beautifully portrayed by St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows: “Love Mary! … She is lovable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been.

She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity”.

Let us make the Rosary our daily prayer, fully confident in the Lord that in regularly contemplating the mysteries of Christ under the assuring maternal intimacy of Mary, we not only experience God’s consolation for us but, in return, are changed into consoling presences for the afflicted, the suffering and the needy ones who are struggling around us!