Feast of the Holy Name of Mary
One
The Battle of Vienna
Today, September 12th, is the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, celebrating the fact that victory, when it comes, comes through Mary.
In 1571, the Muslim Holy War to destroy Christianity and conquer Europe was stopped at the Battle of Lepanto, due primarily to lots and lots of ordinary people praying the Rosary. I’ll share that story with you on October 7th, the Feast of Lady of Victory.
With that failed sea invasion, the Muslims sought to conquer Europe and Christianity by land. By 1683, the Islamic forces had reached the heart of Europe and laid siege to Vienna. The Emperor fled Vienna and King Louis XIV of France ignored their cries for help. Less than 15,000 defenders were trapped within the city walls of Vienna, while the Muslim army swelled to more than 150,000. If Vienna fell, nothing would stop the Muslims from sweeping through the rest of Europe.
The small number of fighters left in the city were abandoned by their leaders and surrounded by a much larger force bent on their destruction. It certainly looked like there was no hope. But God and Our Lady never abandon their children.
Two
King Jan Sobieski and Mary
Blessed Marco d’Aviano, a Franciscan monk and chaplin to the Christian army in Vienna encouraged everyone trapped in the city under siege to resist by praying the Rosary every day.
Rejected by the King of France, Pope Innocent XI then appealed to King Jan Sobieski of Poland to come to the aid of Vienna and all European Christianity. Sobieski led the most feared cavalry in Europe, called the Winged Hussars because they had sown eagle’s feathers to back of their armor and looked like eagles flying as they rode into battle.
More importantly, Sobieski was ardently devoted to Mary and the Rosary. When he received word from the Pope, he summoned his cavalry and army, and went straight to Czestochowa, where the miraculous Icon of the Black Madonna is kept. There they consecrated themselves to Mary, then marched more than 400 miles, to Vienna. Sobieski ordered his army to pray the Rosary as they journeyed.
Three
Sobieski and his forces arrived outside of Vienna on the evening of September 11th, 1683. This was supposed to be the day Islam launched its final blow to Christianity, but they did not account for Sobieski and the Mother of God.
At 4:00 AM, on the morning of September 12th, King Jan Sobieski and his forces celebrated Mass and reconsecrated themselves to Mary. Without hesitation they threw themselves into the assault. Sobieski’s soldiers ran with abandon down the hill toward the Muslim army, shouting as they ran, “Jesus and Mary, save us!” while the famed cavalry, the Winged Hussars charged with 18,000 strong, the largest cavalry charge every. And Jesus and Mary did save them, as well as the city of Vienna.
By the end of the day, the massive Muslim Army was completely destroyed and those who survived fled in disarray, leaving everything behind in their camps. After the battle, King Jan Sobieski related the events of the victory to Pope Innocent XI, describing to the pontiff exactly what had happened that day. He said, “I came, I saw, and God conquered!”
Upon his return to Poland, Jan Sobieski went immediately to the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving and laying the captured Muslim flag before the miraculous icon of Mary.
Once again, the victory came through Mary, the Rosary and the countless faithful who responded to her call. In gratitude the Pope declared September 12th the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. And that is why I only drink Sobieski vodka!
Four
What enemies do we face?
Scripture tells us there are three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil.
God has overcome the world and Satan. The only enemy left is the flesh, that doesn’t mean my body, it means me. My fallen human nature with my disordered desires that cause me to sin.
Our lady comes calling us to convert to change, but before we will change, we have to identify the problem within ourselves. Identify our fallen human desires. That takes an examination of conscience. How do we do an examination of conscience?
Look at what we’ve done or said that was wrong or the times we have failed to do what was right. The best place to begin an examination of consciences is with the Ten Commandments. I suggest you open up the catechism and read through the Ten Commandments. You might find areas that we have broken the Ten Commandments that might surprise us.
Then we need to get to the root of the problem. Ask yourself “Why did I do that?” What motivated me? Pride, vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony or lust. All sin flows from these root vices. So we take this threefold approach in our examination of conscience asking what have I done that was wrong and when I have failed to do what was right? We look at the Ten Commandments. Then we get down to the roots pride seven deadly sins. Then we have a good examination of conscience. That is the beginning of overcoming the enemy.
Five
Mary comes to remind us of the weapon God has given us against our Goliath – five “stones” to overcome evil in our lives
The first stone is the Holy Mass. Our Lady says, “Let Mass be your life.” And “May the Mass, the most exalted and most powerful act of prayer, be the center of your spiritual life.” (August 2, 2008)
The second stone is Prayer. “Dear children!” Our Lady says, “Today I am calling you to be people of prayer. Pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and a meeting with the Most High. He will transform your hearts and you will become people of love and peace. Do not forget, little children, that Satan is strong and wants to draw you away from prayer. Do not forget that prayer is the secret key of meeting with God. That is why I am with you to lead you. Do not give up on prayer.”
She calls us to pray the Rosary every day, to Pray with the Heart, that is, don’t let the Rosary be a rote saying of words as your mind wanders. Make the Rosary a real meditation on the Word of God. That is the reason for the third stone, to read and meditate on the Word of God, the Bible every day.
The fourth stone is the Sacrament of Confession. “Dear children! In the great love of God, I come to you today to lead you on the way of humility and meekness. The first station on that way, my children, is confession. Reject your pride and kneel down before my Son.” (July 2, 2007) “Monthly Confessions will be a remedy for the church in the west… whole sections of the Church could be cured if the believers would go to Confession once a month.”
The fifth stone is fasting. Our Lady asks for a bread and water fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. But Our Lady accepts alternatives. I think we need to fast from the two things that keep us from daily prayer and more frequent reception of the Eucharist, those two things are busyness that comes from overcommitment that wipes us out and then we think we need to veg out with entertainment. Fast from these, cut them down and cut them out.