Feast of our Lady of the Rosary

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Sunday, 7 October 2018 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s readings from the Scripture, we are reminded of the gift of blessings from God, in the form of holy matrimony, which God had decreed from the moment that He created us mankind, man and woman, to complement each other and to be united with one another in a holy union blessed by God. This union was mentioned in the first reading we have today, in the Book of Genesis.

The Lord created mankind first with a man, Adam, who was all alone among his race, while God created all creatures male and female, according to their natures. And that was why, God created a woman, Eve, who was taken from the man, in a very symbolic act of taking the bone and the flesh from Adam when he was in a deep sleep, and God made woman out of man. Regardless whether it was how God actually created us mankind, the truth and reality remains that God made us man and woman.

And the act of taking the bone and the flesh from Adam is in fact God’s reminder for us that we were created to be for one another, to share the love that God has given us, and to complement each other. And our relationship and union, in the sacred bond of matrimony, between a man and a woman, is in fact a reflection and imitation of God’s own perfect union of love, which is present in the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Through the sacred bond of matrimony, God also blesses us with children, as His gifts of love for us, to be fruitful and bountiful just as He has commanded us man at the beginning of creation, and to multiply and to fill the earth with our kind. This was the foundation of families and the foundation of our human communities, and indeed, the foundation of our faith and our Church.

For all of us have been born into this world as a small, little baby, each one of us, growing up in a family, where God’s love was given to us through our fathers and our mothers. And it is in the family that all of us learn what it truly means to be human beings, to be those whom the Lord has given intellect, wisdom and the ability to survive in this world. Without our families, then our human society will eventually perish and be destroyed.

Similarly, the family is the foundation and the core part of our Church and faith, as it is through the family that the faith, which has been preserved by the Church, is imparted at the beginning to the small children, baptised and raised in good faith by their parents. If the children were not raised well by their parents, ultimately, not only that they will likely lose faith, but they will also grow to be people who are without love in their hearts, capable of committing all sorts of wickedness and atrocities.

Unfortunately, brothers and sisters in Christ, the reality is such that, the foundation of our family and marriage life has always been shaken very badly right from the beginning of time. Throughout the Bible, in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament, there had been cases when the people who have agreed to be joined in blessed union of matrimony, sought instead to break that bond for various reasons, that is divorce.

First of all, we must understand that the Church does allow for certain exceptional cases where the marriage was not consummated and with various other valid considerations and conditions where the Church decided that the couple can be granted an annulment. An annulment is different from the case of divorce, in that the marriage was considered to have never taken place at all in the eyes of God and the Church.

However, what the Lord Jesus was referring to, in our Gospel passage today, when the Pharisees looked for Him and tried to test Him on the matter of marriage and divorce, was that of validly contracted marriages and unions which were deliberately sought to be broken by the desires of man. And the Pharisees argued that they were allowed to divorce as according to the Law of Moses, as long as settlement has been made and documents have been signed and agreed on, the marriage can be dissolved easily.

But God made it very clear to the people, that the matter of marriage is in fact not just a formality, which can be easily overwritten and overridden by the statutes of human laws, customs and practices. Instead, as mentioned, the bond of marriage is a matter of divine law, a divine union blessed by none other than God, Who has decreed that a man and a woman are united in the same love that unites the Holy Trinity together, and what He has united, no man should divide.

This, in truth, is the foundation of our marriages and families, and why we should indeed put a lot of attention to them. The devil knows this as well, and that is why, he is always on the offensive, trying to strike at us, God’s children, in our marriage and family life, that by destroying this important unit and foundation of our Church and faith, he can lure more souls into the damnation in hell.

In many cases of divorce, it was caused by our human frailty and inability to resist the temptation of the pleasures of the flesh, as well as other desires. Many people fell into adultery because of their inability to resist the temptations of their flesh, which are constantly persuading them to turn away from the Lord’s path and into the path of debauchery and unfaithfulness. Many have not been faithful to their respective spouses, and this resulted in the breaking away of families.

And when we become divided, we end up losing our faith, and the children are also badly and negatively affected. The devil then has a great time trying to pull us into ever deeper trap of his temptations and false promises of pleasure, of glory, of material goods and other things that have become thorns in the body of our family and marriage. We find it hard to restrain the temptation to sexual pleasures, to materialism and many more things that made us to desire separation and ending of the sacred bond of matrimony.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the same time, we need to realise that there are just a lot of things that each one of us as Christians can contribute to help all those who are troubled in their family and marriage life. Even there may be those who are in our midst, and among those whom we know, that are currently suffering in their family and marriage. Are we then going to ignore them should they come to us seeking help, advice or assistance? Or are we going to lend them a listening ear and to extend our hands to help wherever possible?

Today, all of us also celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, on the seventh day of October every year. This feast was once also known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, commemorated after the great victory of the Christian army and forces at the Battle of Lepanto against the enemies of Christ and His Church. At that time, the enemies of the Lord and His Church mustered a massive and overwhelmingly powerful forces, that threatened the very existence of Christendom, but through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, the Christian forces managed to obtain a decisive victory.

The significance of that event and this celebration then goes beyond just the historical importance of that victory to the survival of Christendom and the Christian faith as we know it. All of us must realise that we are in a constant battle, every single day and every single moments of our lives, against the devil and all of his evil forces seeking our downfall and damnation. He is the source of all of our troubles, including all the current forces and efforts aimed at the dismantling of our institution of sacred matrimony and the family.

That is why, at this moment, it is all the more important that we seek for necessary help in order to prevent us from falling into the temptations and into threat of eternal damnation. And the Lord has provided us a very good source of help, in His beloved mother, Mary, and through the rosary which she has introduced to us, through St. Dominic, and many other saints, through whom she revealed to us the rosary as a means by which we can come closer to God.

Why is that so? That is because the rosary is a series of prayers, which prominently involved the Hail Mary, a prayer invoking the prayers from Mary, the Blessed Mother of Our God, and also extolling the virtues of her life. Far from being a meaningless and repetitive prayer as many of its opponents and detractors often claimed, the rosary is a very effective weapon in our battle of life, against the forces of evil.

Many of us do not realise that we have often been lacking in our prayer life and in our spiritual development. And through the rosary, we are in fact reminded of the need to reorientate our lives to the Lord, by following the examples and the inspiration of Mary, the Mother of God, who is the perfect disciple and follower of God, in how she obeyed the Lord and put her trust in Him so completely, allowing God to do His wonderful works through her.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all keep the sanctity of both our married life and family life, by putting God at the centre of our lives, by devoting ourselves more to His mother, Mary, that in this month of October, month of the Holy Rosary, we should spend time to pray together, as a family, together between husband and wife, and the children, asking for the intercession of Mary, that she will continue to pray for our sake and ask her Son to help us in our battle against evil.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us sinners and help us that we may imitate your examples in faith, in your obedience and devotion to your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 October 2018 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Mark 10 : 2-16

At that time, some Pharisees came and put Jesus to the test with this question : “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

People were bringing their little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this. When Jesus noticed it, He was very angry and said, “Let the children come to Me and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

Then He took the children in His arms and, laying His hands on them, blessed them.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Mark 10 : 2-12

At that time, some Pharisees came and put Jesus to the test with this question : “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?”

He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.” Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked Him about this, and He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

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Sunday, 7 October 2018 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Hebrews 2 : 9-11

But Jesus, Who suffered death, and for a little while, was placed lower than the Angels, has been crowned with honour and glory. For the merciful plan of God demanded that He experience death, on behalf of everyone.

God, from Whom all come, and by Whom all things exist, wanted to bring many children to glory, and He thought it fitting to make perfect, through suffering, the initiator of their salvation. So, He Who gives, and those who receive holiness, are one. He, Himself, is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters.

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Sunday, 7 October 2018 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 127 : 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Blessed are you who fear YHVH and walk in His ways. You will eat the fruit of your toil; you will be blessed and favoured.

Your wife, like a vine, will bear fruits in your home; your children, like olive shoots, will stand around your table.

Such are the blessings bestowed upon the man who fears YHVH. May YHVH praise you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosperous all the days of your life.

May you see your children’s children, and Israel at peace!

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Sunday, 7 October 2018 : Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Genesis 2 : 18-24

YHVH God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him.” Then YHVH God formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air and brought them to man to see what he would call them; and whatever man called every living creature, that was its name.

So man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air and to every beasts of the field. But he did not find among them a helper like himself. Then YHVH God caused a deep sleep to come over man and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and filled its place with flesh. The rib which YHVH God had taken from man He formed into a woman and brought her to the man.

The man then said, “Now this bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.” That is why man leaves his father and mother and is attached to his wife, and with her become one flesh.

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Friday, 7 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of the Rosary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the feast of our Lady of the Rosary, also once known as the feast of our Lady of Victory, a celebration of the great triumph and victory of the soldiers and the defenders of Christ and His Church in the great Battle of Lepanto in the year 1571, or about four hundred and forty-five years ago against the mighty forces of the enemies of the faithful, the pagan and the wicked Ottoman Turks.

On this day, at that time, the mighty Ottoman Empire had captured much of the eastern portion of Christendom, including the holy city of Constantinople, enslaving and ruling over many of the faithful, whose lives were made quite difficult, where they were not truly able to manifest their faith and devotion to God, and coercion as well as persuasion to abandon their faith were rampant.

And the same Ottoman Turks were then menacing and threatening the rest of Christendom with their mighty army and fleet, and there was then a very real possibility that they might just be able to overcome the rest of Christendom and destroy the Church and the faithful people of God just as they had done over vast areas of lands that they have conquered.

But of course the faithful people of God did not just stand by and let the devil and his armies to roll over them. Led by the brave and the courageous leaders of the forces of Christendom, many answered to the call made by a holy and devout saint, Pope St. Pius V, who called on all the faithful to defend the Church and their Faith and made a stand against the forces of the enemy, in which the decisive battle was fought at the sea in Lepanto.

Before the battle began, the forces of the faithful asked for the intercession of the holy saints and especially that of the Blessed Mother of our Lord, Mary, who was since then would be known as our Lady of Victory and later on as our Lady of the Rosary for the role which she played in that battle. Through her intercession of behalf of her Son, our Lord and God, it was told that the winds and the clouds themselves rallied against the enemy forces, and a vision apparently appeared to the Turks, that so terrified them that many abandoned their ships and the battlefield.

Eventually, the forces of the faithful triumphed in the battle, and Christendom and the people of God were saved from what was once a certain defeat and destruction in the hands of those who served the devil and the dark forces of this world. And in order to commemorate that great victory, thus this day was therefore forever marked to be celebrated as the Feast of our Lady of Victory, and later on also known as the Feast of our Lady of the Rosary.

We all are aware of the rosary and how to pray the rosary. But do we actually pray the rosary with genuine faith and devotion? Do we really dedicate ourselves heart, mind and soul when we handle the rosary and offer the prayers to God through His mother Mary? Or do we just mutter out prayers and words without really understanding them? Perhaps we should reflect on this and think about how we really should pray the rosary.

The rosary is a tool which the Blessed Virgin Mary herself had presented to the world, to those who are looking for a path towards the Lord. Mary is mankind’s greatest ally, for who else but the mother of our Lord, God and Saviour is able to assist us in so many ways, bringing us closer to the love and grace of God, and helping us to find our way to her Son? Through the rosary, she is trying to help us out, and to lift us out from the darkness that threatens our heart, mind and soul.

Rather, the rosary should be prayed with full sincerity, devoting ourselves and our time to offer this bouquet of prayers to Mary, that she may bring those prayers to our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the rosary we are shielded and protected from the depredations and attacks by the forces of the devil, that is the spiritual battles that are constantly striking against our souls.

The Lord sent us His guardian Angels who are always in constant battles with the devils and the demons desiring to see our downfall. And if we are not spiritually strong inside us, and if our faith is not resolute and strong, we may fall into temptation and therefore collapse into sin. Just as those Turks did so long ago, where they came bearing harm and destruction upon the faithful people of God, but this one is even more dangerous.

Why is that so? It is because, sin is a great harm upon our souls, and if we lose this spiritual battle, and if our souls are lost to the Lord, we will be condemned forever in suffering in the depths of hell and darkness. But that is exactly why our loving and merciful God wants us to be saved from such a sorry fate, and that was why He sent us Mary, His mother, who then revealed to us the gift of the rosary, the spiritual prayer bouquet, through which we will be able to steel ourselves with resolve for the Lord.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, from now on, let us all commit ourselves to the Lord and His ways, and pray the rosary with fervent devotion, so that in our great faith for God, His mother Mary may notice us and intercede for our sake, that her Son Jesus may intervene and help us to be freed from the darkness and the sufferings of this world. May God bless us all. Amen.

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Friday, 7 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of the Rosary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 1 : 26-38

In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

The Angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the Angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call Him Jesus.”

“He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the kingdom of David, His ancestor; He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and His reign shall have no end.”

Then Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the Holy Child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible.”

Then Mary said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said.” And the Angel left her.

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Friday, 7 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of the Rosary (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White
Luke 1 : 46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my Saviour!

He has looked upon His servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!

From age to age His mercy extends to those who live in His presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out His hand to Israel, His servant, for He remembered His mercy, even as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.

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Friday, 7 October 2016 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of the Rosary (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White
Acts 1 : 12-14

Then the disciples of Jesus returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is a fifteen minute walk away. On entering the city they went to the room upstairs where they were staying.

Present there were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James, son of Alpheus; Simon the Zealot and Judas son of James. All of these together gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

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Wednesday, 7 October 2015 : 27th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of our Lady of the Rosary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate a great feast of the Church, in the memory of the Blessed Mother of our Lord, Mary, one of whose title is the Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, or also known as our Lady of Victory, the beginning of this feast celebrated on every seventh day of the month of October, as the commemoration of the great triumph and victory of the forces of the faithful at the Battle of Lepanto against the infidel Ottoman Turks.

The feast of our Lady of Victory, which would later become the feast of our Lady of the Rosary, was instituted by Pope St. Pius V, who led the forces of Christendom and all the faithful in the great struggle against the heathen and pagan forces of the Ottoman Empire, which at the time was a huge menace to all the faithful, being at its peak, and marching deep into the Christian heartlands.

At the time, the forces of the faithful desperately needed some hope and victory amidst constant retreat and defeats against the mighty forces of the enemy, and at that time, the forces of the infidels were threatening to overrun the entire lands of the faithful, and the threat of persecution and destruction was very real, and many of the faithful feared for their lives.

Led by Pope St. Pius V, and several other prominent civil and military leaders of Christendom, the Church gathered together a force readying itself to defend the faithful ones of God, and they met the forces of the infidels at Lepanto, on the seventh day of October of the year 1571, about four and a half centuries ago. The leaders of Christendom asked for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary before the battle.

And during the great battle, the forces of the enemy were frightened and scared by what they described as a great vision in the clouds of innumerable saints and angels, led by the Blessed Virgin Mary at the side of Christ who is leading His forces against the forces of those who refused to believe in the One, True God. And the enemy forces were scattered, and their ships were sunk, ending the battle in a great and mighty victory for Christendom.

Thus, in thanksgiving, Pope St. Pius V devoted and dedicated the day of the battle as an annual feast in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the patron of the great triumph against the forces of evil. It was the intercession of Mary that has allowed the Lord to be moved to defend His faithful ones, as the prayers of the faithful were gathered by Mary, who brought them to the presence of her Son in heaven, being the closest to the Throne of God.

And today has then been associated with our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, because of the significance of the rosary in the battle that is raging in us, around us and at all times for the sake of our souls. The rosary is a great spiritual weapon that is a great tool for us, our sword and shield against the forces of Satan, all the evil and wickedness arrayed against us.

Why is this so? This is because the rosary itself originated with the vision of our Blessed Mother to St. Dominic de Guzman, many centuries ago, who appeared to him and asked him to spread and propagate the devotion of the rosary, as a means for the faithful to strengthen their spiritual life and defend themselves against the assaults of the devil.

And it was the same Pope St. Pius V who established with formality the devotion of the rosary, and approved it as a method of spiritual prayer to ask for the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary, ever Virgin, to strengthen our defence against the assaults of the evil one. The rosary is named after the rosarium, a crown of roses, apparently what the Blessed Virgin Mary showed to St. Dominic de Guzman who first promoted the use of the rosary.

In each of the flowers or the beads of the rosary, each of these consist of a prayer that is a great weapon against the devil, namely the Ave Maria, or the Hail Mary, signifying the woman and the glory and the honour God gave her, because of the role she played in the salvation of all mankind, and how Satan had been defeated in totality through what she had done, in accepting the role she was to play in our salvation, by bearing the Saviour of the world in herself.

And every time we pray the rosary, Satan and his fellow fallen angels will be reminded of the failure that they had encountered, in failing to corrupt this holy woman whose immaculate conception and freedom from sin, as well as her immaculate and impeccable actions, completely and totally devoted to the Lord her God, is a blinding light that burns the devils and tears them apart.

If we pray the rosary, let us all pray not for the sake of praying or saying the prayers, as praying the rosary in just saying the words, is meaningless and without benefits for us or our salvation. Instead, when we pray the rosary, all of us ought to open ourselves and look deep inside our hearts, and bare everything open to the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking her to help us by interceding for us poor sinners, who need help in order to resist the temptations and assaults by the evil one.

Let us pray the rosary with full devotion and intention of heart, that just as the faithful at the Battle of Lepanto cried out to the Lord through His blessed Mother, we too cry out with one voice, asking for help and deliverance from the forces of evil and darkness that engulfed us and oppressed us. God will surely hear us if we ask Him with the help of Mary, His mother. After all, if we remember the wedding at Cana, where Jesus performed His very first miracle, He did listen to Mary even though He said that His time was not up yet.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore dutifully devote ourselves in the rosary, to solidify our prayer and spiritual life, and then enhance it with loving actions and deeds, helping others who are in need around us, so that our hearts, minds, bodies and soul may all be attuned strongly to the Lord, and we may be defended against the assaults of Satan and his allies. May God bless us all always, and may His blessed Mother, our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, our Lady of Victory always intercede and pray for us sinners. Amen.