With great joy I welcome each and every one of us to this new month and yet another month of prayer match.

“Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother.” – Padre Pio

The Feast of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7th and the month of October is traditionally the month of the rosary. Without having to say, this is the month to commit to praying the rosary more regularly and if you can, every day.

Why did our Mother Mary ask us to pray the rosary at many of her approved apparitions such as at Fatima? Why should we pray at all?

The rosary is a powerful prayer and weapon and can affect and benefit us significantly each time we pray it. The most important reason for strongly encouraging the practice of the Rosary according to Pope John Paul II is that it represents a most effective means of fostering among the faithful that commitment to the contemplation of the Christian mystery; the life of Jesus and Mary’s role in Salvation. Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus.

The rosary is not only a vocal prayer but also a meditative prayer.

The Devotion:

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Pope Leo XIII personally started the practice of devoting October to the Rosary devotion. In a letter of September 1, 1883, mindful of the Rosary’s power to strengthen faith and foster a life of virtue, he outlined the triumphs of the Rosary in past times and admonished the faithful to dedicate the month of October to the Blessed Virgin through the daily recitation of her Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, in order to obtain through her intercessions the grace that God would console and defend His Church in her sufferings.

Never mind if you’re a bit rusty, or if it’s been ages since you last prayed your rosary. It’s never too late to begin again, and everyone deserves to experience the power of the rosary.