BATTLE OF LEPANTO, 1571 - On Sunday, October 7, the Christian and Turkish

fleets met in Lepanto Gulf, off the coast of Greece. The bitter battle

finished with a brilliant victory of the Christians who where vastly

outnumbered. That very evening Pope St. Pius V had at Rome a clear

knowledge of this success. The same afternoon, the Confraternities of the

Rosary, particularly in Rome, had marched through the streets in procession

reciting the Rosary. This victory put an end to the naval power of the

Turks and saved Christian Europe. To this day this victory has been

attributed to the praying of the Rosary. The feast of “The Most Holy

Rosary” is celebrated on October 7 now and the month of October is

dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary.

 



St. Dominic prayed to Our Lady that she would force the devils who

possessed a man to reveal the truth about devotion to her. The devils were

forced by Our Lady to reveal: "Now that we are forced to speak we must also

tell you this: Nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned,

because she obtains for her servants the grace of true contrition for their

sins and by means of this they obtain God's forgiveness and mercy."

 


THE COUNTRY THAT SAVED ITSELF - Brazil 1962 - In 1962 there was a looming

threat of communist takeover in Brazil. A woman there named Dona Amelia

Bastos was known to have formed a Rosary rally among the Brazilian women

there to do their part in opposing the looming threat. Their goal was

simply to pray the Rosary in large groups asking the Virgin Mary for help

in opposing the Communist takeover which the President of Brazil was

leaning toward at the time. In Belo Horizonte 20,000 women reciting the

rosary aloud broke up a Communist rally. In Sao Paulo, 600,000 women

praying the rosary in one of the most moving demonstrations in Brazilian

history, caused the President of Brazil to flee the country and not a

single death was encountered, sparing the country from Communist takeover.

 



The most holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new

efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no

problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all,

spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the

families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life

of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no

problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve

by the prayer of the holy Rosary. With the holy Rosary, we will save

ourselves; we will sanctify ourselves; we will console our Lord, and obtain

the salvation of many souls.

Conversation between Sr. Lucy of Fatima and Fr. Fuentes, Dec. 26, 1957

 

The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep

oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and

in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even

one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many

cares and labors." Pope Pius XI

True Charity consists in bearing with all the defects of our neighbor, in not being surprised at his failings, and in being edified by his least virtues; Charity must not remain shut up in the depths of the heart, for no man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. (Cf. Matthew 5:15). It seems to me that this candle represents the Charity which ought to enlighten and make joyful, not only those who are dearest to me, but all who are in the house.🌹🌹🌹

Story of A Soul, Chapter IX

Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brébeuf, and Companions’ Story

Isaac Jogues and his companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent officially recognized by the Church. As a young Jesuit, Isaac Jogues, a man of learning and culture, taught literature in France. He gave up that career to work among the Huron Indians in the New World, and in 1636, he and his companions, under the leadership of Jean de Brébeuf, arrived in Quebec. The Hurons were constantly warred upon by the Iroquois, and in a few years Father Jogues was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned for 13 months. His letters and journals tell how he and his companions were led from village to village, how they were beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as their Huron converts were mangled and killed.
An unexpected chance for escape came to Isaac Jogues through the Dutch, and he returned to France, bearing the marks of his sufferings. Several fingers had been cut, chewed, or burnt off. Pope Urban VIII gave him permission to offer Mass with his mutilated hands: “It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ not be allowed to drink the Blood of Christ.”
Welcomed home as a hero, Father Jogues might have sat back, thanked God for his safe return, and died peacefully in his homeland. But his zeal led him back once more to the fulfillment of his dreams. In a few months he sailed for his missions among the Hurons.
In 1646, he and Jean de Lalande, who had offered his services to the missioners, set out for Iroquois country in the belief that a recently signed peace treaty would be observed. They were captured by a Mohawk war party, and on October 18, Father Jogues was tomahawked and beheaded. Jean de Lalande was killed the next day at Ossernenon, a village near Albany, New York.
The first of the Jesuit missionaries to be martyred was René Goupil who with Lalande, had offered his services as an oblate. He was tortured along with Isaac Jogues in 1642, and was tomahawked for having made the sign of the cross on the brow of some children.
Jean de Brébeuf was a French Jesuit who came to Canada at the age of 32 and labored there for 24 years. He went back to France when the English captured Quebec in 1629 and expelled the Jesuits, but returned to his missions four years later. Although medicine men blamed the Jesuits for a smallpox epidemic among the Hurons, Jean remained with them.
He composed catechisms and a dictionary in Huron, and saw 7,000 converted before his death. He was captured by the Iroquois and died after four hours of extreme torture at Sainte Marie, near Georgian Bay, Canada.
Father Anthony Daniel, working among Hurons who were gradually becoming Christian, was killed by Iroquois on July 4, 1648. His body was thrown into his chapel, which was set on fire.
Gabriel Lalemant had taken a fourth vow—to sacrifice his life for the Native Americans. He was horribly tortured to death along with Father Brébeuf.
Father Charles Garnier was shot to death as he baptized children and catechumens during an Iroquois attack.
Father Noel Chabanel was killed before he could answer his recall to France. He had found it exceedingly hard to adapt to mission life. He could not learn the language, and the food and life of the Indians revolted him, plus he suffered spiritual dryness during his whole stay in Canada. Yet he made a vow to remain until death in his mission.
These eight Jesuit martyrs of North America were canonized in 1930.