Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates together the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, remembering Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who has kindly shown and given to us the gift of the Holy Rosary, the means of prayer and devotion which has been meant to help us in our journey towards the Lord through the guidance and help of His loving Mother, who is also our own mother as well. Mary, the Lady and Queen of the Holy Rosary, has always shown us all her love and kindness, her concern and compassionate care, desiring and hoping as always that each and every one of us as her children, we can find our way back to the Lord and to His salvation, through the genuine and interior conversion of our hearts, minds, souls and indeed, of our whole entire being, that our lives truly are worthy of the Lord.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles the account of the time when it was shortly after the Risen Lord Jesus had ascended into Heaven in glory, and the disciples who witnessed it were returning to Jerusalem just as the Lord had instructed them to do, to await for the coming of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit from God that would come upon all of them to strengthen and to guide them all. The Lord gave them all His Holy Spirit so that they might be empowered and encouraged throughout their ministry and to remain strong and firm in faith despite the challenges and trials that they might have to face in life. And most prominently, we heard in that same passage, that Mary, the Mother of God was also present among them as well, praying with them together and strengthening one another.

This is important because it highlighted the prominence of Mary in our faith and the Church, as we must all remember that the Lord had entrusted to her all of us, to be our mother, guide and role model, and at the same time she has also been entrusted to us as our own mother. Mary has been the loving mother that has always shown us her care and concern, ever watching over us and praying for us, interceding for us from the side of her Son’s Throne in Heaven. The rosary is one of her many gifts to us, together with her many Apparitions throughout history, as part of her loving efforts to reach out to us and to help us in our journey to reach the Lord and His salvation. She certainly does not want any one of us to be lost to her and her Son because of our sins and the darkness all around us.

Then in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Luke, the account of what happened at the moment of the Annunciation, that is the moment when the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary in Nazareth to announce to her the Good News that all of us mankind had been awaiting for a very long time, that is the coming of God’s salvation. And the Archangel Gabriel revealed to Mary that she was to become the Mother of the Son of God Most High, and because the Son is indeed also the same God as the Father and the Holy Spirit, thus, Mary is also indeed the Mother of God. Mary accepted her role with great faith and committed herself wholeheartedly to the Lord with the words, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.’, showing us the kind of faith that all of us as Christians should also have in the Lord.

This passage further highlighted to us why we all revere and honour Mary as truly someone special and the greatest of all the saints, our great role model and inspiration in life, for us to follow in our own journey towards the Lord. For Mary is not revered just because she is the Mother of God, but also because of her own exemplary faith and life, which she has shown us great examples and faithfulness in all that she had done throughout her whole life. Her great faith in the Lord and her trust in Him, her dedication and her commitment to the mission which had been entrusted to her is among the many reasons why we honour her greatly and why so many of us have the devotion to her, our beloved and loving Mother, who has always loved us all and who has been very devoted to us all as well.

This Feast of our Lady of the Rosary itself has been instituted from the origin of the great victory of the forces of Christendom, the Church and God’s faithful people against the forces of those who sought the destruction of the Church and the Christian faith, and those who sought to dominate the world and oppress the ones who believe in the true path of the Lord, our God and Saviour. At that time, approximately four hundred and fifty years ago, the mighty and growing Ottoman Empire had been swallowing many Christian states and dominions, and has set its eyes to attack more of Christendom, threatening many Christian nations and even the city of Rome itself. Hence, the combined forces of Christendom was assembled by the Pope together with the cooperation of several Christian states in a great Holy League.

The mighty forces of the Ottoman Empire did not discourage the combined forces of Christendom from various countries and states then assembled at the site of Lepanto in what is today part of Greece. At that place, a great battle therefore took place, which forever changed the balance of power and marked a major turning point in the then constant warfare and struggle between the Ottomans and the forces of Christendom. According to eyewitness accounts of the battle, there were those who saw a great heavenly vision of Mary appearing on the skies, together with mighty host of Angels, fighting together with the forces of Christendom against the forces of the unbelievers, crushing them and destroying the mighty fleet of the Ottomans.

The great victory and triumph was celebrated by the whole Christendom, and the Pope ordered that all the church bells ought to toil and ring for the celebration of this great triumph, and he also instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, on this very date, which was the date of the Battle of Lepanto, and eventually this Feast of Our Lady of Victory is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, reminding us all of the constant intercession and help that Mary, our loving Mother has always provided for us, and also the power of the rosary and our prayers in our constant and daily struggles with sin and evil, with darkness and all the forces of the evil ones. Let us all not forget to spend the time to pray to the Lord, with the company of His loving Mother, Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, who is also our mother, and all the saints.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all continue to grow ever stronger in our faith in the Lord, doing our very best so that in everything that we say and do, in our every moments in our lives, we will always continue to do what is right and just in the sight of the Lord and His people, to be good examples and inspirations for one another in faith just as Mary, our loving Mother has been great example and inspiration for all of us. Through the holy rosary, let us deepen our relationship with the Lord through His loving Mother, so that we may continue to grow ever stronger in this relationship and be ever more worthy of God’s loving grace and Presence, now and always, in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.