Month of the Holy Rosary
October is known as the Month of the Holy Rosary because the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. That feast is associated with the Christian victory at Lepanto in 1571, when Catholics prayed the Rosary for help. Pope Gregory XIII later gave the feast the title of the Holy Rosary.
The Rosary itself developed over time as a way to pray and meditate on the life of Jesus. Catholic tradition particularly associates its promotion with St. Dominic. In 1883, Pope Leo XIII urged Catholics to dedicate the whole month of October to the Rosary—a custom that continues today. In praying it, Catholics ask Mary to accompany them as they contemplate Christ’s life, death, and Resurrection.
PRAYER
Most holy Virgin, you have revealed the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary. Inspire my heart with a sincere love for this devotion, so that by meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in it, I may gather the fruits and obtain the special graces I ask of you, for the greater glory of God, for your honor, and for the good of my soul. O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of the Rosary may be for me each day, amid my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a delightful refreshment, and an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of my state in life. Let the mysteries of your Rosary form in me little by little a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding and will, my heart and memory, my imagination and my whole being, so that I shall acquire the habit of praying while I work. Most holy Virgin, obtain for me the grace of imitating the purity of your Annunciation, the charity of your Visitation, the tenderness of your love for Jesus born in a stable, the humility and obedience of your Presentation, so that we may merit also to find Jesus in the temple of glory after having sought him eagerly on earth. Sorrowful Virgin, teach me the divine patience that associated you with the Passion of Jesus and made you co-redemptrix of the human race. Let me learn from you the way of Calvary, Christian resignation, and love of the Cross of your divine Son. Glorious Virgin, obtain for me that by meditating on the mysteries of your glorious and triumphant life, I may merit to be in heaven one day, among the ranks of your blessed servants, to render to you joint and eternal homage of filial love.
Most holy Virgin, you have revealed the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary. Inspire my heart with a sincere love for this devotion, so that by meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in it, I may gather the fruits and obtain the special graces I ask of you, for the greater glory of God, for your honor, and for the good of my soul. O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of the Rosary may be for me each day, amid my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a delightful refreshment, and an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of my state in life. Let the mysteries of your Rosary form in me little by little a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding and will, my heart and memory, my imagination and my whole being, so that I shall acquire the habit of praying while I work. Most holy Virgin, obtain for me the grace of imitating the purity of your Annunciation, the charity of your Visitation, the tenderness of your love for Jesus born in a stable, the humility and obedience of your Presentation, so that we may merit also to find Jesus in the temple of glory after having sought him eagerly on earth. Sorrowful Virgin, teach me the divine patience that associated you with the Passion of Jesus and made you co-redemptrix of the human race. Let me learn from you the way of Calvary, Christian resignation, and love of the Cross of your divine Son. Glorious Virgin, obtain for me that by meditating on the mysteries of your glorious and triumphant life, I may merit to be in heaven one day, among the ranks of your blessed servants, to render to you joint and eternal homage of filial love.