By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion. The month of October is dedicated to the holy Rosary, one of the best known of all our Catholic devotions. October includes the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7).

People often ask: where did the Rosary come from? The origin of the Rosary has a rich history that has continued over many centuries to bring peace to peoples’ lives. Far back in the year 1208, Saint Dominic, a famous preacher, had as his goal to teach people the truth about Jesus. However, it was a little bit like today and some people of Saint Dominic's time wanted to fit Jesus into their own way of thinking rather than changing their way of thinking to fit the teachings of Jesus. For some time, Dominic met with little success!

Then, one day when he was feeling particularly low and disappointed by the stubbornness of the people, he prayed that Our Lady would help him and she appeared to him in a vision. Mary told Dominic that she wanted people to meditate on the life of Jesus as they prayed.

Mary wanted people to understand how she excitedly heard the words of the Angel Gabriel as he announced the conception of Jesus; the joy she felt at her cousin Elizabeth’s greeting – and so on. The response was amazing! The people began to accept the truths and teachings of Jesus because they now had the means, through meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, to get to know Jesus. By knowing Jesus, they began to love Him. Therefore, the Rosary is not only a vocal prayer, but also a meditation and can lead to contemplation. The Rosary is divided into five decades. Each decade represents a mystery or event in the life of Jesus. There are four sets of "Mysteries of the Rosary" (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious). These four "Mysteries of the Rosary" therefore contain a total of twenty mysteries on which we can contemplate the life of Jesus and become closer to Him.

The history of the Rosary is filled also with amazing military triumphs, where those devoted to reciting the Rosary prayer were victorious despite great and often times insurmountable odds. Perhaps the most famous of these was the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 on October 7th. This is the day we now celebrated the feast of the holy Rosary.

In more recent times, many of us would think that the miracle of Fatima is the most spectacular event in the history of the Rosary. On May 13, 1917, Our Lady chose to give her Rosary message to three shepherd children in rural Portugal. The children's names were Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta and the town was Fatima. Mary’s message was that the power of the Rosary could create peace in the modern war torn world.

To receive this promised peace, along with some additional requests, Mary asked these three children to pray the Rosary every day. Mary appeared to the children dressed in white and holding a Rosary just like she did to St. Bernadette at Lourdes. Also similar to Lourdes, Mary prayed the Rosary with them at each visit, which occurred monthly, from May 13th through to October 13th of the same year.

Then in the 9140s we experienced American priest, Fr Patrick Peyton’s Rosary Crusade, which encouraged families around the world to pray the Rosary together. Father Peyton rationalized that together as a family, in unison praying the Rosary; the family is united before Christ and drawn closer to God. This Rosary crusade was a successful worldwide campaign and many families were encouraged by Peyton’s crusade slogan:  the family that prays together stays together!

So as we commence the month of October, I invite all in our Diocese of Sandhurst, to consider this beautiful prayer of the Rosary and how we can best regenerate the love and use of this prayer. Please join with me in this month of October to celebrate this beautiful prayer by praying the Rosary and incorporating this prayer into our daily lives.

  - Bishop Les Tomlinson, Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst, October 2012