Homily: October 7, 2024, Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Weapon)

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"And coming to her, he said, 'Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.'"

I have seen this many times – one of our catechists holding up a rosary in her hand and asking the kids, “What is this?” When they respond, “It’s a rosary,” she would add, “This is a weapon to fight against the evil one.”

How true! But have you ever wondered how does a rosary become a weapon against Satan?

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He used the Word of God to counter the temptations presented by the evil one. Satan is afraid of the Word of God. And when we pray the rosary, we are repeating the Word of God, bead after bead, don’t we?

Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.

The “Hail Mary” is a prayer woven beautifully with the words of Scripture, and the “Our Father” is the prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, straight from the Bible. These are prayers recited repeatedly in the rosary. The rosary is thus a deeply biblical prayer which anyone can pray, and anytime we can recall easily, especially when tempted, when fearful, when weak.

When we pray the rosary, we are repeating these powerful words from the Bible. The evil one cannot stand it when someone proclaims the Word of God confidently. There’s a quote often attributed to St. John Vianney as saying: “One Hail Mary said properly shakes all hell.”

Now, imagine the power of 50 Hail Marys!

Yes, the rosary is indeed a powerful and effective weapon against the evil one. One full rosary prayed with sincerity can cause serious damage to Satan and his kingdom.

This month of October is dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, let us make our best effort to pray the rosary daily - for the world, for the needs of those who asked for our prayers, the needs of those who have no one to pray for, for our own needs and especially for the grace we will surely need at the hour of our death. Amen. 


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