Hôm nay chúng ta mừng lễ Đức Mẹ Mân Côi, trước đây người ta thường gọi là ngày tưởng niệm Đức Mẹ Chiến thắng, Vì Đức Giáo Hoàng Piô V đã đạt cho mẹ để tạ ơn cho cuộc chiến thắng của các lực lượng Kitô giáo đã kết hợp chống lại các lực lượng hải quân Ottoman trong trận Lepanto, ở vùng tây Hy Lạp năm 1571, Nhờ sự chuyển cầu của Đức Mẹ Mân Côi. Việc tưởng niệm Đức Mẹ Mân côi hôm nay là một minh chứng cho sức mạnh của việc Đức Mẹ cầu bầu cho chúng ta và sức mạnh của những chuổi Kinh Mân Côi. Vì Kinh mân Côi được coi như là những lời cầu nguyện hữu hiệu và cần thiết trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta.
Sức mạnh và những điều đã được tiết lộ mà Chúa ban cho họ không phải là phần thưởng cho sự thông minh của họ, hay thành tích là việc của họ. Nhưng họ đã được Chúa ban cho là vì sự cởi mở tâm hồn, lòng trí của họ và lòng ước muốn của họ để làm theo ý của Thiên Chúa. Có bao giờ chúng ta dừng lại ít phút mỗi ngày để suy ngẩm và cảm ơn Chúa vì tất cả những gì mà Ngài đã ban cho chúng ta trong này. Có bao giờ chúng ta biết cám ơn Ngài vì Ngài đã mời gọi chúng ta và giúp chúng ta được trở nên một phần trong Nước Trời của Ngài
The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as the Memorial of Our Lady of Victory, was instituted by Pope St. Pius V in thanksgiving for the victory of the combined Christian forces against the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto, off western Greece in 1571, attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Memorial is a testimony to the intercessory powers of our Mother and the power of the holy Rosary as prayer. As we hear the Gospel Message today, Jesus gave seventy-two of his dsciples a lot of spiritual power for their mission. Indeed, even Satan was thrown down, for the critical part of Jesus' mission had arrived. Some of them were overly impressed with themselves so Jesus warned them that these powers were nothing far more important was the fact that their names were written in heaven.
The power that they were given and the things that were revealed to them were not rewards for cleverness, education, or achievement. They were given because of the openness of their hearts and minds and their desire to do the will of God. Jesus is our teacher and revealer and it is to him we turn for enlightenment and the gift of the spirit. We are too received the Baptism from Jesus, We are all capable of doing great things in the Lord.
Do we ever stop to reflect and thank God for having invited us to be part of his kingdom? Can we see what a wonderful privilege is available to us, to receive the Spirit's revelation and to know God's touch on our hearts?
In 1203, Saint Dominic was traveling through southern France on a diplomatic mission when he encountered this grave heresy. In the two decades to follow, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to rooting out this heresy through preaching and debates. Legend has it that at some point, frustrated with the difficulties he was facing in that mission, he retreated for a few days of prayer and fasting to beseech Our Lady for guidance. Our Lady appeared to him, giving him the Rosary, revealing the mysteries to be meditated upon during the fifteen decades, and exhorting him to preach the mysteries and to pray the decades as a spiritual weapon. The word “Rosary” comes from the Latin rosarium, which means “rose garden.” Each Hail Mary is a spiritual rose; together, they make up the garden of roses. Saint Dominic did as Our Lady instructed him and became quite successful in converting the heretics.
Today’s feast of Our Lady of the Rosary has its roots in a feast named Our Lady of Victory. In the late sixteenth century, the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire were expanding into southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean region. In 1571, Pope Pius V, who was a Dominican, formed an alliance between the Papal States, Spain, Venice, and several other smaller Christian states, called the Holy League, in order to stop Ottoman aggression. On October 7 of that year, the Holy League confronted the Ottoman navy in the Mediterranean, and the pope called upon all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. Victory was achieved. In gratitude, Pope Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory to be celebrated on the first Sunday of October every year. Two years later, Pope Gregory XIII changed the name to the Feast of the Holy Rosary. In 1671, the feast was extended to all of Spain, and in 1716, after another important victory against the Muslims, the feast was extended to the entire Church. In 1913, Pius X changed the date from the first Sunday in October to October 7 to preserve the Sunday celebration. Today, this feast is celebrated under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary as a mandatory memorial on the Roman Calendar.
Though war is always gravely unfortunate and should be avoided if at all possible, defense of one’s family and nation is a moral duty when an unjust aggressor attacks. In this case, prayer is the greatest weapon of war, and after the Mass, the Rosary is the greatest prayer to be prayed.
In addition to physical war to protect one’s nation, the Rosary is among the greatest spiritual weapons to fight against every form of evil. Often, even during times of national peace, spiritual chaos ensues. Today, due to instant worldwide communication technologies, we are well aware of the many spiritual evils that plague societies and peoples everywhere: wars, corruption, immoral living, flamboyant sins of the flesh, murders, thefts, crimes of hate, moral decay, poverty, and so much more. Rather than just criticizing and condemning such evils, praying the Rosary for those intentions is the best way to combat them.
As we celebrate this feast in honor of the holy Rosary and Our Lady, seek to renew your trust in her intercession, using this powerful spiritual weapon. Every crime, abuse, cruelty, hatred, and evil of any kind is first and foremost a spiritual defect. It is a sin. The greatest remedy for sin is repentance. The greatest method of winning over sinful hearts to repentance is through prayer, and one of the greatest forms of prayer is the Rosary. The Church, in its popes, bishops, and saints, has held up the Rosary throughout the centuries. Countless saints prayed its beads every day, offering a spiritual bouquet to Our Lady so she could, in turn, lavish the spiritual roses of that bouquet upon the world.
Prayer: Our Lady of the Rosary, you entrusted this holy prayer to Saint Dominic, and through him to the world. You are always attentive to the prayers of the Rosary and never fail to pour forth God’s grace in response. Please pray for me, that I will more deeply comprehend the power of the Rosary and will never fail in my duty to pray it every day. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. The Thorny and Anxious Heart of Martha: In his answer to Martha, Jesus points out her anxiousness and her worry about many things. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus spoke about four places the Sower’s seed fell: along the path, upon the rock, among the thorns, and into good soil. When Jesus interpreted the Parable of the Sower, he identified the thorns with those who hear the word of God, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. Martha’s problem wasn’t the riches and pleasures of life, but the anxieties and worries of life. Being consumed by these worries was a real danger for Martha. The word of God was in danger of being choked within her and of not bearing mature fruit for the Kingdom of God. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus put his disciples on guard against worrying about what they would eat, drink, or wear (see Matthew 6:25, 28, 31). The same teaching is given in Luke: “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. … For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. … And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? … Instead seek [the Father’s] kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well” (Luke 12:22-31).
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