From The Editorial Desk

The Rosary: Prayer of Power and Consequence

By Stephanie Engelman

The Rosary has a long and rich history. While it’s origins are often disputed, one thing those who pray the Rosary can agree with is this: it is a prayer of great power and consequence. From turning the winds to bring about victory in battle, to turning a satanist into a saint, this prayer of Our Lady has proven its importance, and been witnessed to by countless popes.

The Battle of Lepanto

In 1571, the Ottomans were on a mission to conquer Christian lands,  but there was one city the Turkish sultan wanted more than any other – the Holy City of Rome. He dreamt of turning St. Peter’s Basilica into a mosque, just as they had done with the Hagia Sophia. One battle stood between the sultan and the Christian east.

Knowing the magnitude of what was at stake, Pope Pius V ordered churches throughout Italy opened, and instructed the faithful to take up their rosaries. Aboard the ships of the Holy League, priests heard confessions and offered Masses on every boat the night before battle, and the Pope gave a plenary indulgence to every member of the Holy League army. Commander Don John unchained the prisoners who were rowing belowdecks and gave them all weapons, promising their freedom if they fought bravely. More importantly, he gave every man the most powerful weapon of all: a rosary. The men spent most of the night in prayer, joining together in one final prayer before the battle began.

Shortly after the battle began, the wind shifted 180 degrees. The sails of the Holy League were filled, while the Ottoman’s, suddenly sailing against the wind, were forced to take down their sails and resort to rowing, a task carried out by Christian slaves beaten by whips below decks.

Against all odds, the Christians won the battle. Of the 300 Turkish vessels that entered into the battle, only 13 remained, and more than 30,000 Turks were slain. The Christian west was saved, and – though it wouldn’t be the last battle fought – it was the seminal moment that turned the tide in protecting Christianity in Europe and beyond. Attributing the victory to the work of Our Lady, through the Rosary, Pope Pius declared a day of celebration. Ultimately, this day would come to be celebrated on October 7th as the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

Conversion of Sinners

The Rosary provides in spiritual conflict as well. Bartolo Longo was the son of wealthy and devout Catholic parents, both of whom prayed the Rosary every day. In the late 1800s a young and disillusioned Bartolo, having lost his beloved mother, was studying law at the University of Naples. Through the influence of acquaintances, Bartolo began dabbling in the occult and pagan rituals. He was eventually “ordained” a satanic priest, after which he focused on undermining the Catholic Church and ridiculing all things Christian. His demonic obsession (slightly different than possession), began to cause declining physical health, extreme depression, paranoia, and eventually a mental breakdown. After hitting bottom, he heard his deceased father’s voice telling him: Return to God!

A friend of Bartolo’s put him in touch with a Dominican priest who heard his confession and received him back into the Church. Shortly afterward, Bartolo experienced a mystical locution, during which he heard the priest repeating these words to him: “If you seek salvation, promulgate the Rosary.” He was so moved that he dedicated his life to spreading devotion to the Rosary. He eventually became a Third Order Franciscan, taking the name Brother Rosario. Today, the basilica he built in Pompeii still welcomes millions of pilgrims a year to see the church built by a former satanist who dedicated the rest of his life to sharing the truth of the faith through the Rosary. Having been beatified in 1980, Bartolo is now “Blessed Bartolo,” proving that the Rosary can save souls as well as win battles.

The Devotion of Popes

Countless popes have been significantly influenced by the Rosary, and held strong devotion to the prayer. Both Pope Pius V and Pope Leo XIII have been called the “Pope of the Rosary,”

In these times, when violence stretches its fingers into our concerts, our schools, and our churches, let us remember the power of the Rosary. It is a power that doesn’t rest in beads laying dormant on our coffee tables, but in prayers that issue from our hearts as we supplicate:

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Queen of Peace, pray for us.

This article was taken from the web site: tektonministries.org and edited for the Olive Tree. We are not affiliated with, and do not necessarily condone or endorse all that is on their web site.

Herein Is Love

"Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."  (St. Matthew 22:37)

In the Twenty-Second Chapter from St. Matthew's Gospel, we hear that the Pharisees had heard that Our Lord had put their "arch-enemies," the Sadducee's to silence and they saw this as their opportunity to put Our Lord in His place. Now, they probably should have known better but they took their chances and sent out a lawyer which, St. Matthew reminds us was "tempting Him" and asked: "Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?" Now, this lawyer might not have been the sharpest knife in the bunch because it seems to me if he was trying to trip up Our Blessed Saviour, it seems as though he would have picked a tougher question than this. You see, any devout Jew would have known the answer to this question, let alone a learned Rabbi such as Our Lord. And, so Our Lord responds very easily: "Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind." (St. Matthew 22:37.)

Now for us listening today to these words, they can be a bit overwhelming, can't they? I mean when we hear the words: . . . . with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind . . . . especially if we emphasize the word "all" . . . it can be a bit overwhelming especially to those of us who lead busy lives. If you are anything like me, you are constantly doing things and going from one place to the next. So, your day, your week, your month is broken up into "pieces." In other words a piece of your day goes to work; another piece goes to doing things at home; another piece goes to relaxation; another piece goes to shopping; another piece goes to running errands; etc. And in between running errands and relaxation and going to work, etc., if you have some spare time in between you give this "piece" to God.

Now, there is no way getting around being busy. All of the things I just mentioned are very important in their own right and need to be done, but the key is to somehow involve God in each one of our tasks, whether it be going to work, or doing chores, or fixing up the house, or going shopping, etc. If we find a way to involve God in each one of our tasks on a daily basis, it is at that point that we can truly say that we love God "with all of our heart, all of our mind, and with all of our soul."

Now, interestingly enough, recently, (September 29th to be exact), is also the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels or as sometimes referred to as Michaelmas. Now, you know what St. Michael the Archangel was known for, don't you? He was the Prince of the Heavenly Host and he had a fierce battle with Satan and kicked Satan out of Heaven:

"And there was a war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:7-9)

Now the reason why there was a battle resulting in Satan and his angels being thrown out of Heaven is because, quite frankly, Satan got a little bit too big for his britches. In other words, even though he was an angel, and was supposed to be in service of Almighty God, he decided that he didn't want to be in service of God any longer. He wanted to do things his way and not God's way.

"How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:12-15)

As you can see, the problem with that old serpent Lucifer was that he got to be too good for God. In other words, he was too big for God and did not need God any longer. He thought he was so good and so mighty and so powerful that he did not need God any longer. He was in Heaven but Heaven was not enough for him, he wanted more than Heaven.

In a strange sort of way, this story reminds me of another episode also heard about in the Old Testament. Go back to the Book of Genesis. We hear the following conversation between that old serpent and Eve in the Garden of Eden:

"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took fo the fruit thereof and did eat." (Genesis 3:5-6)

Now, we know the rest of the story: Eve got her husband Adam to eat of the apple as well . . . . because we know that all husbands do exactly as they are told . . . and both Adam and Eve did something that they should not have done. They knew that they should not have done it because God told them not to. But despite the fact that they were in Paradise, paradise was not good enough for them. They wanted more than paradise. They wanted it all. They wanted paradise plus more just like Heaven wasn't good enough for Satan. He wanted Heaven plus more.

As Christians, we are called to acknowledge the fact that we are in need of God. As Christians, we are called to acknowledge the fact that we are not perfect, that we are fallen, that we are in need of the Messiah. Lucifer, and also Adam and Eve, decided that they did not need God. They could do things on their own, and in their minds, better than God since they didn't need to rely on God. We, on the other hand, acknowledge that everything we have is a gift from God.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord." (Romans 6:23). God gives the gift of Christ to us on a daily basis. God gives of Himself to us especially in the Blessed Sacrament so that He can nourish us, fortify us, and strengthen us for the journey of life.

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 St. John 4:10) God loved us before we were even born. God has loved us every day that we have been alive. Whether we are 30 or 70 or 90 years old, no matter what our age, God has thought about us every single day our entire life. Can we say the same thing about God, though? Have we thought about Him every day? God has given the gift of His Son to you. Give God the gift of your love and devotion to Him."

Make A Beginning Every Single Day

from the Letter of Saint Mark the Ascetic
to Nicholas the Solitary

 This, my son, is how you should begin your life according to God. You should continually and unceasingly call to mind all the blessings which God in His love has bestowed upon you in the past, and still bestows for the salvation of your soul. You must not let forgetfulness of evil or laziness make you grow unmindful of these many and great blessings, and so pass the rest of your life uselessly and ungratefully. For this kind of continual recollection, pricking the heart like a spur, moves it constantly to confession and humility, to thanksgiving with a contrite soul, and to all forms of sincere effort, repaying God through its virtue and holiness. In this way the heart meditates constantly and conscientiously on the words from the Psalms; 'What shall I give to the Lord in return for all His benefits towards me?' (Ps. 116:12).

Thus the soul recalls the blessings of God's love which it has received from the moment it came into existence: how it has often been delivered from dangers; how in spite of having often fallen by its own free choice into great evils and sins, it was not justly given up to destruction and death at the hands of the spirits of deception; and how God with long-suffering overlooked its offences and protected it, awaiting its return. It also recalls that although through the passions it had become the willing servant of hostile and malicious spirits, He sustained it, guarding it and in all ways providing for it; and finally that He guided it with a clear sign to the path of salvation, and inspired it with the love of the ascetic life. So He gave it the strength gladly to abandon the world and all the deceitfulness of worldly pleasure, adorning it with the angelic habit of the monastic order, and providing for it to be received by holy men in an organized brotherhood.

Can any man consciously call these things to mind and not be moved always to contrition of heart? Having so many pledges from past blessings, will he not always have firm hope, in spite of the fact that he himself has so far done nothing good? He will say to himself: 'Though I have done nothing good and have committed many sins before Him, living in uncleanness of the flesh and indulging in many other vices, yet He did not deal with me according to my sins, or reward me according to my iniquities (cf. Ps. 103:10), but gave me all these gifts of grace for my salvation. If, then, from now onwards I give myself completely to His service, living in all purity and acquiring the virtues, how many holy and spiritual gifts will He not grant me, strengthening me in every good work, guiding and leading me aright.' If a man always thinks in this way and does not forget God's blessings, he encourages and urges himself on to the practice of every virtue and of every righteous work, always ready, always eager to do the will of God.

Therefore, my dear son, since through the grace of Christ you possess natural understanding, continue always to occupy your mind with such meditation. Do not let yourself be overcome by destructive forgetfulness or by the laziness which paralyzes the intellect and turns it away from life; do not allow ignorance, the cause of all evils, to darken your thinking; do not be lured by the corrosive vice of negligence; do not be seduced by sensual pleasure or defeated by gluttony; do not let your intellect be taken prisoner by lust through assenting to sexual thoughts, defiling yourself inwardly; do not be overcome by the anger which causes you to hate your brother and for some pathetic reason to inflict and suffer pain, leading you to store up malicious thoughts against your neighbor and to turn away from pure prayer. Anger enslaves the intellect, and makes you regard your brother with bestial cruelty; it fetters the conscience with uncontrolled impulses of the flesh, and surrenders you for a time to be chastised by the evil spirits to whom you have yielded.

Eventually your intellect, at a loss where to turn, is overwhelmed by dejection and laziness and forfeits all its spiritual progress. Then in deep humility it sets out once more on the path of salvation. Laboring much in prayer and all-night vigils, it uproots the causes of evil within itself through humility and confession before God and our neighbor. In this way it begins to regain the state of watchfulness and, illumined with divine grace and understanding of the Gospels, it perceives that no one can become a true Christian unless he gives himself up completely to the cross in a spirit of humility and self-denial, and makes himself lower than all, letting himself be trampled underfoot, insulted, despised, wronged, ridiculed and mocked; and all this he must endure joyfully for the Lord's sake, not claiming for himself in return any human advantages: glory, honor or praise, or the pleasures of food, drink or clothes.

Such are the contests and such the prizes that lie before us. How long, then, shall we mock ourselves by pretending to be devout, serving the Lord with hypocrisy, being thought one thing by men but clearly seen to be quite different by Him who knows our secrets? Other people regard us as saintly, but we are still savage. Although we have indeed an outward form of godliness, we do not possess its power before God (cf. 2 Tim. 3:5). Other people regard us as virginal and chaste, but in the sight of Him who knows our secrets, we are inwardly defiled by our assent to thoughts of unchastity, and made filthy by the activity of the passions. In spite of this, thanks to our seeming asceticism, we attract men's praises and are bowled over and blinded in our intellect.

How long shall we continue in this manner, our intellect reduced to futility, failing to make the spirit of the Gospel our own, not knowing what it means to live according to our conscience, making no serious effort to keep it pure?

Lacking real knowledge, we still trust solely in the apparent righteousness of our outward way of life, and so lead ourselves astray, trying to please men, pursuing the glory, honor and praise which they offer. But the Judge who cannot be deceived will certainly come, and 'will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness, and reveal the purposes of hearts' (1 Cor. 4:5). He neither respects the wealthy nor pities the poor, but strips away the outward appearance and reveals the truth hidden within. In the presence of the angels and before His own Father, He crowns those who have truly pursued the spiritual way and lived according to their conscience; and in the presence of the heavenly Church of the saints and of all the celestial hosts, He exposes those who possessed merely an outward pretence of devotion, which they displayed to men, vainly relying on it and deceiving themselves; and He banishes them in shame to outer darkness. Such people are like the foolish virgins (cf. Matt. 25:1-12), who did indeed preserve their outer virginity, yet in spite of this were not admitted to the marriage-feast; they also had some oil in their vessels, that is, they possessed some virtues and external achievements and some gifts of grace, so that their lamps remained alight for a certain time. But because of negligence, ignorance and laziness they were not provident, and did not pay careful attention to the hidden swarm of passions energized within them by the evil spirits. Their thoughts were corrupted by these hostile energies, while they themselves assented to this demonic activity and shared in it. They were secretly enticed and overcome by malicious envy, by jealousy that hates everything good, by strife, quarrelling, hatred, anger, bitterness, rancor, hypocrisy, wrath, pride, self-esteem, love of popularity, self-satisfaction, avarice, listlessness, by sensual desire which provokes images of self-indulgence, by unbelief, irreverence, cowardice, dejection, contentiousness, sluggishness, sleep, presumption, self-justification, pomposity, boastfulness, insatiateness, profligacy, greed, by despair which is the most dangerous of all, and by the subtle workings of vice. Even the good acts which they performed and their life of chastity were all for the sake of being seen and praised by men; and though they had a share in some gifts of grace, this they sold to the spirits of self-esteem and popularity. Because of their involvement with the other passions, they mixed their virtues with sinful and worldly thoughts, so rendering them unacceptable and impure, like Cain's sacrifice (cf. Gen. 4:5). Thus they were deprived of the joy of the Bridegroom and shut out from the heavenly bridal chamber.

Pondering, assessing and testing all this, let us realize our situation and correct our way of life while we still have time for repentance and conversion. Let us perform our good actions with purity, so that they are really good and not mixed with worldly thoughts; otherwise they will be rejected, like a blemished sacrifice, because of our irreverence, negligence and want of real knowledge. Let us be careful not to waste our days, lest we undergo all the effort of the life of virginity - practicing self-control, keeping vigil, fasting, showing hospitality - only to find at the end that, because of the passions we have mentioned, our apparent righteousness, like the blemished sacrifice, proves unacceptable to the heavenly Priest, Christ our God.

Therefore, my son, he who wishes to take up the cross and follow Christ must first acquire spiritual knowledge and understanding through constantly examining his thoughts, showing the utmost concern for his salvation, and seeking God with all his strength. He should question other servants of God who are of the same mind and engaged in the same ascetic struggle, so that he does not travel in the dark without a light, not knowing how or where to walk. For the man who goes his own way, traveling without understanding of the Gospels and without any guidance, often stumbles and falls into many pits and snares of the devil; he frequently goes astray and exposes himself to many dangers, not knowing where he is going. For many have endured great ascetic labors, much hardship and toil for God's sake; but because they relied on their own judgment, lacked discrimination, and failed to accept help from their neighbor, their many efforts proved useless and vain.

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Saints from East and West

Saints whose feasts are celebrated this month

October 15 (Byzantine) - Saint Lucian of Antioch

The Monk-Martyr Lucian, Presbyter of Antioch, was born in the Syrian city of Samosata.

At twelve years of age he was left orphaned. Lucian distributed his possessions to the poor, and went to the city of Edessa to the confessor Makarios, under the guidance of whom he diligently read Holy Scripture and learned the ascetic life. For his pious and zealous spreading of Christianity amongst the Jews and pagans, Lucian was made presbyter.

At Antioch Saint Lucian opened a school, where there gathered many students whom he instructed in book wisdom. Saint Lucian occupied himself with teaching work, and he corrected the text of Holy Scripture, having been corrupted by copyists and heretics. (The entire Greek text of the Bible corrected by him was hidden away in a wall during the time of his confessor's deed, and it was found during the time of Saint Constantine the Great).

During the persecution of Diocletian, Saint Lucian was arrested, having been informed on by heretics, and he was dispatched to prison in Nicomedia, where over the course of nine years he encouraged Christians together with him in the confessor's deed, urging them not to fear tortures and death.

Saint Lucian died in prison from many terrible tortures and hunger. Before death, wanting to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ on the feast of Theophany, the hieromartyr, bound by chains to a box, was compelled to offer the Bloodless Sacrifice upon his chest, and all the Christians situated there in prison communed.

The body of the holy martyr was thrown into the sea, but after thirty days dolphins brought it to shore. Believers with reverence buried the body of the much-suffering Saint Lucian.

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October 12 - Saint Ethelburga, Abbess of Barking

Ethelburga is said to have been born in the seventh century at Stallington in Lindsey, and she was the sister of Saint Erconwald, of whom it is said they were "bound together by a common love, one in heart and one in soul." Fired doubtless by the example of her brother, Saint Ethelburga determined to become a nun, and nothing could shake her resolution, for the world loses all its influence upon a mind which is wholly taken up with the great truths of faith and eternal salvation. Erconwald, before he became bishop of London, founded a monastery at Chertsey and another for both monks and nuns at Barking in Essex. Over this he set Ethelburga as abbess, and as she and her sisters were quite inexperienced, Saint Hildelitha was fetched from a French abbey to train her. We are told there was somewhat of a competition in austerity between the two saints, and Ethelburga, when the rule of the house was entrusted to her, by her example and spirit sweetly led on all the other nuns in the path of virtue and Christian perfection. "She behaved in all respects as became the sister of such a brother, living according to the rule, devoutly and orderly, providing for those under her, as was also manifested by heavenly miracles," of which Saint Bede relates several.

When an epidemic carried off some of the monks they were buried in the ground adjoining the church, and a discussion arose among the nuns as to where they should be buried when their time came: in the same part of the churchyard or another part. They could come to no decision, till one morning after Matins they were praying by the graves of the dead brothers, when suddenly a great light fell first upon them and then upon another side of the church; which light they understood "was intended to show the place in which their bodies were to rest and await the day of resurrection."

Saint Bede tells a touching story of a little boy of three years old, who was being brought up in the monastery and who died calling for one of the nuns, Edith, who shortly followed him; and of another nun who, dying at midnight, asked for the candle to be put out, exclaiming, "I know you think I am mad, but I am not. I see this room so filled with light that your candle there looks dark to me." And when they left it, she said, "Very well; let it burn. But it is not my light, for my light will come to me at daybreak." And at the dawn she died.

Saint Ethelburga's approaching end was foreseen in a vision by a nun called Theorigitha, who for nine years had been an invalid; and Ethelburga's life "is known to have been such that no person who knew her ought to question but that the heavenly kingdom was opened to her directly she left this world," says Bede. Three years later Theorigitha herself was dying, and had lost the use of her tongue. Suddenly she spoke and said, "Your coming is a great joy to me. You are welcome," and began to talk with an invisible person about how much longer she had to live. The bystanders asked whom she was talking to, and were told, "With my most dear mother, Ethelburga." The feast of Saint Ethelburga is to this day solemnly observed in the diocese of Brentwood.

 

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Pray for the Holy Father! Pray with the Holy Father!

• Your prayers are asked this month and every month for the intentions of the Holy Father, Pope Michael.

• Keep us in your prayers as we begin our new Podcast Ministry, a new way to reach out in the missionary work of the Church! We ask for prayers for our other activities world wide. We have made good contacts in the Philippines and Japan and ask prayers that these contacts will bear much fruit for the salvation of souls.

• Be sure to keep St. Helen Catholic Mission in your prayers. Why not go on over to the site now and see what they have to offer and how you might be able to help!

• Also we ask you to keep in prayer for our Mission: St. Ignatius of Antioch in Arkansas City, Kansas.

• Your prayers are asked for Father Francis Dominic as he embarks upon the important work entrusted to him within the Church.

• Pray for those outside the Church and those who do not know God, that they may see the light of grace and be led safely home to the refuge of the Holy Catholic Church.

• As always, we also ask that you pray for yourself! Never forget your own state of soul. God is calling you to His service in His love. We know that our Lord can count on you to answer.

• We are all praying especially for you, too. May you correspond with every grace of God!

• In what other needs or intentions may we pray for you? Let us know!

• Let us remember that the Church runs on prayer. Without your prayers, God will not work in hearts and souls to bring them to a knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:4)