Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
October is the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary
Month of Mission, World Mission Sunday, October 19: "Missionaries of Hope Among All Peoples"
Respect Life Month: "Life: Our Sign of Hope"
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY,
OUR LADY OF VICTORY,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Welcome to October, dear faithful readers. Yes, indeed, you can be sure that I am wearing my Little Flower footies today.* For all the saints ... Ready or not, then, this is a great month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. Why not accept the invitation of Pope Leo XIV, one he extended in a recent General Audience. On September 24, 2025, after he delivered his catechesis, the Holy Father made this announcement:
Dear brothers and sisters, the month of October is now approaching, and in the Church it is dedicated in a special way to the Holy Rosary. Therefore, I invite everyone, every day of the coming month, to pray the Rosary for peace: personally, in the family, in the community.
On this first day of month of October, we get started. With peace as our quest and aim (see the Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue 17), then, a rosary a day keeps the doctor away. Remember that we pray for peace that the world cannot give as Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid" (John 14:27). After all, "He is peace ... He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father" (Ephesians 2:14, 17-18).
What does peace mean to you? One way to look at peace is through the eyes of Jesus. How did Jesus respond to division, lack of faith, unrest, anxiety, doubt, rejection, betrayal, dismissal? When Jesus rebuked the disciples, He clearly told them that He, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders" (Luke 9:21-22). We too suffer and are rejected by others, sometimes those we love. Our privilege is to suffer with Jesus and be rejected with Jesus. I marveled at the witness of Saint Therese Couderc (1805-1885), who became the first member of a new religious community in 19th century France, one dedicated to operating retreats for women, work that was a dangerous novelty at the time. Not daunted, Therese led the community to grow in numbers, even though they faced poverty and harsh climate. When the community ran into debt, Therese was blamed. She humbly stepped aside. Successive superiors blamed and ignored Therese and assigned her menial tasks. When the community became divided, Therese was called in to reconcile arguments among the sisters. Alas, Therese was overlooked again. Therese's response is not entirely unpredictable. As related, Therese "learned a great deal about loving God during times of trial and how to peacefully accept His will" (Magnificat, "Saint Who?", September 26, 2025, p. 371).
Since God certainly loves us no matter what, we, in turn, love Him no matter what. So, as we pray the Most Holy Rosary each day this month, most especially on Mondays and Saturdays with the Joyful Mysteries, and the first mystery, The Annunciation, we pray with Mary, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). And on Tuesdays and Fridays, when we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries, and are with Jesus in the garden in the first mystery, we pray with Jesus, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). We are united in faith and prayer and remember something Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), one of the great Doctors of the Church commemorated on October 15, wrote in The Interior Castle, that is, "Let the Christian be valiant." Together, with Jesus and Mary, we pray for peace this month, personally, in the family, in the community. May the peace of Jesus fill our hearts with joy and hope.
And not without a few voices (I meant to have more so be on the lookout) to encourage us and plenty of saints to intercede for us, we keep going.
The Rosary is the book of the blind where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying then the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description.
(Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, 1885-1979)
We can pray fifty times or more each day: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners how and at the hour of our deaths. Amen." Is it likely that the Blessed Mother will abandon us in our final hour if we say this prayer each day?
(Blessed Franz Jagerstaetter, 1907-1943)
The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessings.
(Blessed Alan de la Roche, 1428-1478)
To pray the rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother.
(Pope Saint John Paul II, 1920-2005)
Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance.
(Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, 1673-1716)
The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.
(Saint Francis de Sales, 1567-1622)
If by chance your conscience is burdened by sin, take your Rosary and say at least part of it ... [Jesus] will plead for you and will obtain for you contrition and the forgiveness of your sins.
(Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, 1673-1716)
To be always close to Jesus, that's my life's plan.
The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.
The Rosary is the ladder to climb to Heaven.
(Saint Carlo Acutis, 1991-2006)
The Rosary is not a devotion to the Blessed Virgin, it is the devotion to Mary.
(Blessed Pauline Jaricot, 1799-1862)
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
(Saint Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226)
Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.
(The Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux, 1873-1897)
The heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. Many a man will live and die upon a dogma: no man will be a martyr for a conclusion.
(Saint John Henry Newman, 1801-1890)
I need nothing but God and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.
(Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, 1647-1690)
All the elect die in the love of God. but it is the privilege of few to die of the love of God ... And to die of the love of God is the surest way of going to Him at once.
(Mother Saint Theodore Guerin, 1798-1856)
There is no place for selfishness-and no place for fear! Do not be afraid, then, when love makes demands. Do not be afraid when loves requires sacrifice.
(Pope Saint John Paul II, 1920-2005)
Every one of us is entrusted is to the care of an angel. That is why we must have a lively and profound devotion to our own guardian angel, and why we should often and trustfully repeat the dear prayer we were taught in the days of our childhood.
(Pope Saint John XXIII, 1881-1963)
Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, and guide.
Amen.
It's your Church, Lord, I'm going to bed. ☺
(Pope Saint John XXIII, 1881-1963, when turning in for the night)
SAINT THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS "THE LITTLE FLOWER,"
THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS,
SAINT MOTHER THEODORE GUERIN,
THE BLESSED MARTRYS OF SUSSEX,
SAINT THOMAS CANTILUPE,
BLESSED ANDRE DE SOVERAL AND AMBROSIO FRANCISCO FERRO,
SAINT FRANCIS BORGIA,
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI,
SAINT FAUSTINA KOWALSKA,
BLESSED FRANCIS XAVIER SEELOS,
SAINT PELAGIA THE PENITENT,
THE MARIST MARTRYS OF BARCELONA,
SAINT BRUNO,
BLESSED MARIE ROSE DUROCHER,
SAINT DENIS OF PARIS,
SAINT JOHN LEONARDI,
SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN,
SAINT PAULINUS,
SAINT DANIEL COMBONI,
POPE SAINT JOHN XXIII,
SAINT KENNETH,
BLESSED WILLIAM HOWARD,
SAINT WILFRID,
BLESSED JAN BEYZYM,
SAINT CARLO ACUTIS,
OUR LADY OF APARECIDA,
SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR,
POPE SAINT CALLISTUS I, MARTYR,
SAINT TERESA OF AVILA,
SAINT HEDWIG,
SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE,
SAINT MARGARET D'YOUVILLE,
SAINT RICHARD GWYN,
SAINT GALL,
SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, BISHOP, MARTYR,
SAINT LUKE, EVANGELIST,
SAINTS JOHN DE BREBEUF, ISAAC JOGUES AND COMPANIONS,
SAINT PHILIP HOWARD,
SAINT FRIDESWIDE,
SAINT PETER OF ACALNTARA,
SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS, PRIEST,
BLESSED DAUDI OKELO AND JILDO IRWA,
BLESSED CHARLES (KARL) OF AUSTRIA,
BLESSED DIEGO LUIS DE SAN VITORES, PRIEST, AND SAINT PEDRO CALUNGSOD,
POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II,
SAINT JOHN OF CAPISTRANO,
SAINT ETHELFLAEDA,
SAINT ANTONY MARY CLARET, BISHOP,
SAINT MAGLIORE,
BLESSED CARLO GNOCCHI,
FREI GALVAO,
SAINT CHAD,
SAINT CEDD,
SAINT OTTERAN,
SAINT SIMON, APOSTLE,
SAINT JUDE, APOSTLE,
SAINT FRUMENTIUS OF ETHIOPIA,
SAINT AEDEIUS,
THE BLESSED MARTYRS OF DOUAI COLLEGE,
SAINT COLMAN MACDUAGH,
SAINT NARCISSUS,
BLESSED CHIARA BADANO,
SAINT MARCELLUS,
THE BLESSED MARTYRS OF WINCHESTER,
SAINT THOGAR,
BLESSED DOMINIC COLLINS,
BLESSED MARIA TERESA TAUSCHER,
SAINT ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ,
SAINT WOLFGANG OF RATISBON,
PRAY FOR US.
*See sockreligious.com
This month's photo: For Our Lady, raindrops on a rose. Mt. Angel, OR. Lord, hear my voice!
© Gertrude Feick 2025
