October is the month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary
Readings from the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 7:59 Humility - Ch 11 The Celebration of Vigils on Sunday
Take care of this vine.
MARY, MIRROR OF JUSTICE,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
(Ph 4:9)
Welcome to the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time in the month of October dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. And if you don't know who Blessed Alan de la Roche (1428-1478) is (I just met him ☺) or what Blessed Alan de la Roche (1428-1478) said about the rosary, please allow me to pass along his words that I just heard: "The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessings." So, "recite your Rosary with faith," says Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673-1716), and "with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance." After all, "the greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary" (Saint Francis de Sales, 1567-1622). Hail Mary, full of grace ... Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.
As it turns out, the Church offers us some of my favorites today. The first is quoted in the reading from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. There we hear an echo of the Psalmist and the Prophet Isaiah: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" (Ps 118:22-23/Is 28:16). And it occurred to me during First Vespers yesterday afternoon that, because of this gift, I should certainly "have no anxiety all" (Ph 4:6), as Saint Paul writes. And that leads me to another favorite, not in the readings today, namely, "Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it" (Ps 127:1). It is the Cornerstone, the Rock, the firm foundation upon which we stand. Build your house on Him. Yes, "by the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes" (Ps 118:23). And "in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Ph 4:6-7).
United in faith and prayer, let us sing about our friend and His vineyard (see Is 5:1), and go forth.
And now a word or two from our sponsors in heaven to keep us going.
Make my language clear, my Savior, open my mouth and, after filling it, penetrate my heart so that my acts may correspond to my words.
(Saint Romanus the Melodist, late 5th century-556)
Let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin ... We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God's sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be Father's children who do His work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Saint Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226, From a letter written to all the faithful, in Office of Readings, October 4)
O life so monotonous, how many treasures you contain! When I look at everything with the eyes of faith, no two hours are alike, and the dullness and monotony disappear.
(Saint Faustina Kowalska, 1905-1938)
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
(Saint Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226)
Take every day as a ring which you must engrave, adorn, and embellish with your actions, to be offered up in the evening at the altar of God.
(Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774-1821)
God's works are done with clasped hands and on our knees. Even when we "run" we must rest spiritually on our knees before Him.
(Saint Luigi Orione, 1872-1940)
And to encourage us to pray the rosary during this month dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary, we have "Land of Lincoln" Illinois born, Venerable Fulton Sheen.
The rosary is the book of the blind where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world have 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 Sheen, 1895-1975)
MARIST MARTYRS OF BARCELONA,
SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON,
SAINT DENIS AND HIS COMPANIONS,
SAINT JOHN LEONARDI,
SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN,
BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERI,
SAINT PHILIP NERI,
SAINT PAULINUS,
SAINT DANIEL COMBONI,
SAINT KENNETH,
BLESSED WILLIAM HOWARD,
SAINT WILFRID,
BLESSED JAN BEYZYM,
OUR LADY OF APERECIDA, PATRONESS OF BRAZIL,
OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR, PATRONESS OF SPAIN AND THE AMERICAS,
BLESSED CARLO ACUTIS,
SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR,
POPE SAINT CALLISTUS
POPE SAINT JOHN XXIII,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's photo: And protect what Your right hand has planted.
© Gertrude Feick 2023
