October - Month of the Rosary

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates the month of October to the holy Rosary, one of the best known of all Catholic devotions. During this month especially, we are asked to pray the Rosary. The Rosary has been a sign of hope and a source of many graces.  We are told that in 1214, Our Lady appeared to Saint Dominic and gave him the Rosary as we know it today. 

The Rosary draws its mysteries from the New Testament and is centered on the great
events of the Incarnation and Redemption with each decade referring to an event in the life of Jesus and Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary give us “thumbnails” of the life of Christ and to his Mother Mary.

• The Joyful Mysteries are taken mostly from Saint Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament. They involve the joyful events of Jesus’ childhood.
• The Luminous Mysteries bring a deeper understanding to the public life of Jesus. They fill in the blanks between the childhood of Jesus and His suffering and death on the cross.
• The Sorrowful Mysteries remind us of how much Jesus loves us. They recall how He suffered and died just for us.
• The Glorious Mysteries tell us what happened after Jesus died-His Resurrection, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the love Jesus had for his Mother.

In this month of October, at St Paul’s we will aim to recite a decade of the Rosary daily as a means to help our students draw closer to Jesus and Mary. In Kindergarten, students will say the Hail Mary daily. All classes have been supplied with a class set of Rosary Beads and a statue of Our lady of the Rosary to place in the class sacred space.

Praying the Rosary as a family is also a highly encouraged practice. Children can learn to pray the Rosary at an early age, due to the simplicity and repetition of the prayers. They can begin by simple listening then move to responding, and eventually to leading one of the decades.  The process can take time, but will eventually prove fruitful.  One can only imagine what the power of the Rosary and children’s prayers can accomplish. They may not understand what they are saying at first, but understanding will come with time.  Reading small passages from a children’s Bible and explaining the significance of the Rosary and the meaning and power of the prayers, may help children understand the true power and value
of the Rosary.

The month of October is a powerful time to draw close to Our Blessed Mother by praying the Rosary.  During her lifetime, Mother Teresa always carried a rosary in her hand.  In this way, she said, she was holding Mary’s hand. Saint Louis de Montfort said, “Mary is the safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus.”  May she draw us ever nearer to her Immaculate Heart and to that of her beloved Son.

Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Victory – Pray for us!

Maria Debrincat
Religious Education & Pastoral Care Coordinator