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By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion. The month of October is dedicated to the holy rosary, one of the best known of all Catholic devotions. October includes the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary which is on October 7. The best way to celebrate the month is, of course, to pray the holy rosary. Specially nowadays, our country truly needs prayers and praying the holy rosary together with our families would certainly do a lot of help.
I could still recall those nights spent with my family praying the holy rosary. The picture of my tatay saying “Pag nagdasal ka ng rosaryo, para ka na ring nagbigay ng roses para kay Mama Mary” remains vivid in my memory. In every mystery, we lift up our intentions and concerns. Since we are five in the family, all of us have an assigned mystery in which we serve as prayer leaders, one for a certain mystery. I guess that was the most wonderful family bonding I’ve ever had. But sadly, due to some conflicts on scheds, we can no longer pray the holy rosary together.
I really miss the old times. I wish that this month, I would be able to invite my parents and my two other sisters to pray the rosary. Our concerns are no longer the same and perhaps, I would get to know their hopes and fears best in prayer. I truly believe in Fr. Patrick Peyton’s popular line, “The family that prays together, stays together.” Our family has been through a lot of challenges for the past decade and we are so blessed to have each other in our most trying times.
To all Batanguenos, I hope we could celebrate the month of October by praying the holy rosary together with our loved ones.
Meanwhile, a lot of people would still ask why do we need to pray the rosary? The following are a few others reasons why the rosary should be prayed often, even daily:
“Among all the devotions approved by the Church none has been so favored by so many miracles as the devotion of the Most Holy Rosary” (Pope Pius IX).
“Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world” (Our Lady of Fátima).
“There is no surer means of calling down God’s blessings upon the family . . . than the daily recitation of the Rosary” (Pope Pius XII).
“We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that we put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils of our times” (Pope Pius XII).
“No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up the Rosary” (Bishop Hugh Doyle).
“The Rosary is a magnificent and universal prayer for the needs of the Church, the nations and the entire world” (Pope John XXIII).
“The Rosary is the compendium of the entire Gospel” (Pope Paul VI quoting Pope Pius XII).
“Meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary . . . can be an excellent preparation for the celebration of those same mysteries in the liturgical actions [i.e. the Mass] and can also become a continuing echo thereof” (Pope Paul VI).
“My impression is that the Rosary is of the greatest value not only according to the words of Our Lady at Fátima, but according to the effects of the Rosary one sees throughout history. My impression is that Our Lady wanted to give ordinary people, who might not know how to pray, this simple method of getting closer to God” (Sister Lucia, one of the seers of Fátima).
“How beautiful is the family that recites the Rosary every evening” (Pope John Paul II).
Pope John Paul II has called the Rosary his “favorite prayer,” after the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.
St. Louis de Montfort warns us against both the ignorant and scholars who regard the Rosary as something of little importance…”the Rosary is a priceless treasure inspired by God.”
