Our Lady of Victory
Today, October 7th, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, originally the Feast of Our Lady of Victory because when the victory comes it will come through the Rosary!
One
October 7, 1571 - Battle of Lepanto
Throughout the 1500s, the Muslim Ottoman Empire grew in strength, especially by means of its domination of the Mediterranean Sea. In 1571, their fleet of 300 ships was massed, just south of Greece, in the Gulf of Lepanto, poised to invade Europe and wipe out Christianity. Pope St. Pius V saw this danger looming on the horizon. In response, he begged the leaders of the West to stop fighting among themselves and unite against the force that was a threat to all. But they were too consumed with building their own kingdoms to come to the defense of the Kingdom of God. So he turned to the Christian people, asking them to take up the weapon of the Rosary and pray it daily.
Pope St. Pius V finally found support in Don Juan of Austria, who cobbled together a much smaller fleet of about 200 ships. Giovanni Andrea, a Genoese admiral, agreed to lead the Christian armada against the Islamic onslaught. He possessed one of only five copies of Our Lady of Guadalupe and had been touched to the original Tilma, a gift from the King of Spain, which he hung in his flagship. On October 6, 1571, the night before the battle, Don Juan required all his sailors and soldiers to pray the Rosary while St. Pius V himself led the rosary at the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. He knew that if Europe was to be saved, it would only be through the intervention of the Mother of God and the Rosary.
Two
On October 7, 1571, the Christian and Muslim fleets entered into Battle in the bay, south of the town of Lepanto (Greece).
The Muslim fleet, led by Ali Pasha, were arranged in the formation of a massive quarter moon. The Christian fleet was arranged in the shape of a cross, divided into three squadrons: left, center, and right. The battle started badly for the Christians: the Muslim fleet broke through the left and center squadrons, heading right for Admiral Doria’s ship. Doria slipped down to his cabin, where he had hung the painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe, fell on his knees, and began to pray the Rosary. At that moment, the winds shifted against the Islamic fleet and scattered it. The Christians regrouped and destroyed two-thirds of the Ottoman armada. It is said that the sea was red with blood for miles around by the end of the battle.
In Rome, Pope Pius V knew the Christians were victorious before a message could possibly have reached him. During a meeting in the Vatican, the pope suddenly rose up and gazed out the window, saying “This is not a moment for business; make haste to thank God, because our fleet this moment has won a victory over the Turks.”
When the official news reached Rome, Pope Pius V gave credit to the Virgin Mary.
He declared October 7th the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, which we celebrate today as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary because the victory came through the Rosary.
Three
The enemy we face today is not Islam. St. John Paul II in his letter to the world on the Holy Spirit explained that the main enemy today is materialism.
Materialism does not mean the vice of seeking pleasure by getting and possessing wealth and things. That is greed. We are not talking about greed.
Materialism is something completely different. Materialism is a system of thought which tries to explain reality divorced from God, without God, and without a spiritual realm. Materialism is a system of thought that radically excludes the presence and action of God in the world and in man because he does not want to accept God’s existence. Why would man do this? Simple, so that he can be God and do whatever he wants with no consequences.
The enemy is thinking we don’t need God. And then the whole world begins to forget about God.
The problem in the world is that man has forgotten God and turned away from him.
Four
Now we know the enemy, so what’s the plan to defeat it?
In January of the year 2001, John Paul said, okay I’m going to lay out the plan to overcome the demonic influence of atheistic materialism that is overrunning our world. He did so in a letter to the world called Novo Millennio Ineunte – the beginning of the new millennia.
He was very clear. He said, “We don’t need any new programs. (Novo a. 29) Political programs, military programs and even Church programs will fail. We need Jesus. Only Jesus can fix us and only Jesus can fix the world.”
The most immediate way to come into contact with Jesus so that He can save us and the world is by prayer. What the world needs is a deep friendship with Jesus and that is prayer.
So what is the plan to save your loved ones and to save the world? To lead people to meet Jesus in prayer. John Paul said, “If Christians don’t develop this deep life of prayer, then they can’t reach holiness and they will be not only mediocre Christians, but worse, Christians at risk.” Because without prayer they will be defeated by the world that forces upon them from every direction the lie of materialism.
Five
The Battle of Lepanto shows us that God always brings victory through Our Lady and the Rosary.
Why the Rosary? Because Mary always leads us to Jesus and forms him in our soul – then we are saved.
So, John Paul says that all our parishes should become schools of prayer, training people in the art of prayer. And the greatest teacher of prayer is Mary. That is why John Paul says we should sit at the School of Mary every day in the Rosary.
The world has turned away from God. But Mary is calling us to turn back to Jesus through prayer.
We don’t need a political, military, or Church program. We just need to commit to prayer, especially the Rosary.
I often feel like the enemy parachuted in and all the good guys dropped their weapons and ran. Now, I’m just going around to find out who's on the side of God, ask them, “Ddo you have a weapon – a Rosary – and do you know how to use it?”
The battle for souls rages – what are you going to do about it?