OCTOBER, A MARIAN MONTH

The month is quickly slipping into the past and I should not allow that to happen without speaking of its significance in the Church’s year.  This month, October, is designated by the Church as a Marian month, the month of the Holy Rosary.  The Rosary’s roots can be found in several early Christian traditions which share similar formats to the rosary with repetitive prayers. The earliest form of the Rosary developed when Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) popularized an earlier version of the Hail Mary by having it prayed on the fourth Sunday of Advent.  Many people then began praying the Hail Mary in a repetitive fashion using a string of beads to keep track of the prayers.

Without doubt, the Hail Mary, also known as the Angelic Salutation, is the most well known and most beloved of Marian prayers. It took many years to come together as the prayer we know today.  The earliest version simply added Mary’s name to the message of the Angel Gabriel to Mary: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” (Luke 1:28)

The Angel Gabriel and Mary

Sometime around the year 1050, the words of Elizabeth’s greeting to her cousin Mary, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Luke 1:42) were added.  

The Holy name of “Jesus” was added to the Angelic Salutation by Pope Urban IV in 1261.

Pope Urban IV

In 1555, St Peter Canisius published the Hail Mary in his Catechism with the initial part of the final petition: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners”.

In 1566, the Catechism of the Council of Trent included the final petition, concluding with the words “now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.” 

St Peter Canisius

The Hail Mary that we pray today was given official approval in 1568.  The term “Rosary” was finally given in 1597.

So, today, we have that beautiful prayer: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

A house/shop in France

For more than 300 years the form of the Rosary remained the same.  In 1917, Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal.  Mary asked them to return to the spot on the 13 of each month for the next six months. During these apparitions, Mary told the children to pray the Rosary every day for world peace.  She also instructed them to finish each decade with the short prayer: “Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who have most need of thy mercy.”  This is known as the Fatima prayer and, in accordance with Our Blessed Lady’s request, many Catholics incorporate the prayer into the Rosary.

Our Lady of Fatima

The Rosary has an interesting history and it is worthwhile browsing the plentiful information available in books and on the internet.  Oh, and think seriously about Mary’s request to pray the rosary every day.

 Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.

Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY

On Sunday, 25 October, 1970, Pope Paul VI canonised 40 of the almost 400 men and women who gave their lives rather than deny their Catholic faith during the terrible religious persecutions of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Pope Paul VI and Cardinal Heenan,

Almost all the hierarchy of England and Wales were in Rome on that glorious day.  The canonisation ceremony took place during Mass and was begun by the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Causes of Saints, Cardinal Bertoli.  Speaking in Latin, Cardinal Bertoli asked "That your Holiness inscribes in the catalogue of saints the Forty Blessed Martyrs of England and Wales so that all Christ's faithful may proclaim them as saints." 

The vice-postulator of the cause, Fr James Walsh S J, then read a plea for the canonisation, including short profiles of each of the martyrs.  The Litany of the Saints was sung before the Pope started the solemn proclamation: "to the glory of the holy and undivided Trinity, for the honour of the universal faith and the advancement of Christian life ...... we decree and define the Forty Blessed Martyrs of England and Wales to be saints." His Holiness then recited the names of the newly canonised using the Latinised Christian names for each of the martyrs.  In his homily on the martyrs, Pope Paul said that the 40 Martyrs had been "loyal to the Crown  but faced with the choice of remaining faithful to the revealed truths of their faith, or of denying them and saving their lives, without hesitation they chose martyrdom."

To read more about the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales just follow this link,  "BUT JUST WHO WERE THEY?" HERE

Six of the Martyrs were Welsh.  They were:

ST RICHARD GWYN, martyred at Wrexham on 15 October 1584

ST JOHN JONES SFM, martyred at Southwark on 12 July 1598

ST JOHN ROBERTS OSB, martyred at Tyburn on10 December 1679

ST PHILIP EVANS SJ, martyred at Cardiff on 22 July 1679

ST JOHN LLOYD, martyred at Cardiff on 22 July 1679

ST DAVID LEWIS SJ, martyred at Usk on 27 August 1679.  He was the last Welsh Martyr.

To read more of the six Welsh Martyrs, please follow this link SIX OF THE FORTY HERE

You can find more information about the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales by using the search box at the top left hand corner of the Blog.

FORTY MARTYRS OF ENGLAND AND WALES, PRAY FOR US.

ST RICHARD GWYN, HUSBAND, FATHER, TEACHER

St Richard Gwyn (Richard White in English)  is the protomartyr of Wales.  Born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, around 1537, he attended Oxford and Cambridge Universities and eventually returned to Wales.  He married, had six children and became a school teacher.  In 1579 he was arrested for his Catholic Faith.  On this date, 15 October, in 1584, Richard Gwyn was hanged drawn and quartered at Wrexham.  He and 39 other Catholic Martyrs were canonised by Pope Paul VI in October 1970.  They are known collectively as 'The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales'.  St Richard Gwyn's feast day is celebrated on 17 October. 

St Richard Gwyn and scenes depicting his life

ST RICHARD GWYN, PRAY FOR US.

For more on St Richard Gwyn, click here ST RICHARD GWYN:

ON THIS DAY, 13 OCTOBER 1930

In 1917, three shepherd children, Lucia dos Santos, and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, witnessed Marian apparitions  at the Cova da Irea, in Fatima, Portugal.  On this day, 13 October 1930, Bishop Jose Alves Correia declared the events worthy of belief. 

"Pray the Rosary every day"

Lucia later became  a Nun and lived to the grand old age of 97, dying on 13 February 2005.  Her cousin, Francisco, died on 4 April, 1919, aged just 10 years.  His sister, Jacinta, died in a Lisbon Hospital on 20 February 1920.  Little Jacinta was 9 years old.  They are buried at the Sanctuary of Fatima. Young Francisco and Jacinta were victims of the flu pandemic that began in 1918 and swept the world for two long years.  The young visionaries were  canonised by Pope Francis on 13 May 2017.

As the world continues to struggle with the current pandemic, Covid19, let us seek the aid of Our Lady of Fatima and  the two little Saints of Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta Marto. 

OUR LADY OF FATIMA, PRAY FOR US.

ST FRANCISCO MARTO, PRAY FOR US.

ST JACINTA MARTO, PRAY FOR US.