Homily for Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Homily for the Memorial of
Our Lady of the Rosary

Oct. 7, 2022
Gal 3: 7-14
Provincial House, New Rochelle

“Those who have faith are children of Abraham” (Gal 3: 7).

On Oct. 7, 1571, a fleet of galleys—the sort of oared ships we watched in Ben-Hur—from Spain, Venice, Genoa, and the Papal States won a stunning victory over a Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Patras, off Lepanto in western Greece, crushing a force poised to invade Italy.  It was the last sea battle involving galleys, involving hundreds of vessels on each side.  But heavily gunned sailing vessels were the future of naval warfare.

That’s a matter of history, as is the fact that Catholic Europe had been praying desperately for the expected Turkish assault to be stopped.  In particular, Pope St. Pius V urged the praying of the Rosary, and aboard the Christian galleys, so did the commander, Don Juan of Austria (half-brother of Philip II of Spain).

It’s reported that in Rome at the moment of victory, Pius V had a vision that the battle had been won.  Gratefully, he added the invocation “Help of Christians” to the Litany of Loreto and instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory, soon changed to Our Lady of the Rosary.

Faith interprets the historical facts to agree with the Pope’s vision.  Victory is attributed to the Mother of God for inspiring the Christian battle tactics, guiding the seamanship of the commanders, causing a beneficial shift in the wind, even choosing the narrow confines of the gulf as the place for the 2 fleets to meet.

Faith, St. Paul writes, led to Abraham’s being blessed by God, and blessings for all who have faith like Abraham’s.  Faith in Christ leads to the grace of redemption.  The collect today, so familiar to us from the Angelus, speaks of the Incarnation of Christ, which is a faith statement—for Christ is not merely Jesus of Nazareth but the Son of God in flesh.  The collect speaks of Christ’s passion and cross.  His birth, suffering, and death are historical facts, like Lepanto.  Faith tells us those facts are prelude to resurrection and eternal life, not only for Jesus of Nazareth but for all who believe in the power of his cross and all the great works of the Lord, all his wondrous deeds (Ps 111:2,4), including the victory of Jesus over the powers of hell (cf. Luke 11:15-23).

That was the faith lived by the Virgin Mary when she assented to Gabriel’s message (collect), took her baby Son into exile, prodded him to act at Cana, stood under the cross, and joined the 120 faithful disciples in the Cenacle.

We look at our own lives:  mentors, events both happy and sad, the voices of homilists and other preachers, reading, the brothers whom we live with.  What does faith tell us thru all those facts?  How does prayer reveal to us the path to victory in our experience, in those whom we’ve met and listened to.  There are facts—and there are faith-meanings to be discerned, in which to be challenged, comforted, or encouraged.