October – Month of the Rosary
The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. During this month, let us reflect on the words found in Rosarium Virginis Mariae, the apostolic letter written by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
“The Rosary of the Virgin Mary is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.
From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life. The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. Twenty-four years ago, on 29 October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted:
“The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvellous prayer! Marvellous in its simplicity and its depth. […].
It can be said that the Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer that discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church.
Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the complete series of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother.
At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Our personal concerns and those of our neighbour, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us.
Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”.