Honoring Mary in the month of October

The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7. It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.

The Rosary is appealing and simple. The purpose of the Rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Every time we pray the Our Father, we are reminded that Jesus’ Father is the initiator of salvation. Praying Hail Mary reminds us that we are joining with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. In addition, they help to make us aware that Mary was and is still intimately joined with her son, Jesus, in all the mysteries of earthly and heavenly existence. The constant repetition of prayer creates an atmosphere of contemplation. The fifteen traditional Mysteries of the Rosary were finalized by the sixteenth century. The mysteries are grouped into sets: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, the Glorious Mysteries. The dedication of the month of October to the Holy Rosary became common in the Church thanks to Pope Leo XIII, an enthusiastic promoter of the rosary. In the span of only five years, Pope Leo wrote eleven encyclicals on the rosary.

St. John Paul II called the rosary his favorite prayer, “in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a Mother meditated on in her heart (Lk. 2:19.).” and in 2002 he announced the new Luminous Mysteries. Will you pray the Rosary with your Holy Family Catholic Community and families daily in this month of October? It is a month during which we need to increase our Marian spirituality. It is good to get a statue or Holy picture of Our Lady and place it at a prominent place in your home. You can decorate it with a bouquet of flowers or in your own creative way. In our Churches we have placed the statue of Our Lady. You can always bring your kids and the elderly or sick members of your family to pray the Rosary in Church. You can light candles at the grotto and pray inside the Church. “The Mother of Christ and of the Church is always with us. She walks with us always, She is with us.” Particularly, in the month of the Rosary, we Catholics should honor Her. As we begin praying our rosary daily this whole month, we will be able to feel that she is on our side and we shall gain many

rewards through Her intercession to Her Son, Jesus Christ. As we give honor to Her in this month, let us ask Her to pray for our needs and the needs of others. May she help us in our faith as we treasure Jesus in our hearts and in our homes ultimately bringing peace to our lives. In this month of October, let us consider this beautiful prayer of the Rosary as a means that we too can use in order to draw closer to Jesus and Mary by meditating on the great mysteries of our salvation and pray for the spiritual and communal growth of the Holy Family Catholic Community.

We also celebrate in October Respect Life Month. I recommend that the Catholic Community of Holy Family to give witness of its dedication to the month of Rosary and Respect Life Month in two ways: First, I invite and encourage families to pray the Rosary together every day; second, I strongly recommend that Rosary be communally prayed half an hour before every WEEKDAY AND WEEKEND celebration of the Eucharist. Again, October rosary for life special prayer intention is for all of us here on earth to be treated with dignity and respect from conception until natural death. To you, who shine on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope, do we entrust ourselves, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary. Amen. God bless, Fr, John

Mission Statement

To live the Great Commandment
Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  And
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22: 37-38