On October 7, we observed the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.  The Church exhorts us to promote the Rosary during the month of October.  How beautifully this coincides with our need to pray in these difficult times for peace.

In our own time, most people know little about the origin of this feast and its significance.  The Popes, however, remind us that the devotion to our Lady through the Rosary brought about her powerful intercession in time of crisis and war ...

In 1571, the Turkish navy threatened Europe, and was met by the combined papal, Spanish, Venetian, and Genoese fleets under Don John of Austria on October 7 at Lepanto (now Naupactos) on the western shore of Greece.  The Turks had 208 warships and 66 small ships, while the Christian fleet had about the same number.  Back in Rome, Pope Pius V exhorted the faithful to pray the Rosary for heavenly aid.

At the end of the battle, the Christian forces were victorious.  Almost miraculously, they sunk 15 ships and seized 177 others, liberating 12,000 to 15,000 Christian rowers who had been slaves on the Turkish warships.  As Pius XI declares, "When the impious Mohammedan power, trusting in its powerful fleet and war-hardened armies, threatened the peoples of Europe with ruin and slavery, then -- upon the suggest of the Sovereign Pontiff -- the protection of the heavenly Mother was fervently implored and the enemy was defeated and his ships sunk" (Ingravescentibus Malis, n. 3).

It may seem strange to some that Our Lady, Queen of Peace would grant peace through military action.  So often now we hear prayer advocated as an alternative to war.  And yet, the history of devotion to Our Lady through the Holy Rosary shows us that one way that she gives peace is through victory by arms over the enemies of the Church and Christian civilization ...

During the month of October, let us renew our dedication to Our Lady of the Rosary.  We should never forget the power of her intercession, and the influence she has over our worldly affairs, an influence forcefully emphasized by the Sovereign Pontiffs.  Let us also renew our devotion to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, recognizing that true peace comes when the Church is free to proclaim her message of salvation to the world, and men are free to accept it.

Dr. Arthur M. Hippler, Director of the Office of Justice and Peace in the Diocese of LaCrosse, Wis.

SOURCE:  The Wanderer, October 17, 2002