Winning World Peace, Bead by Bead!

IT IS 1571.  Muslim Turks under the Ottoman Empire are despoiling Eastern Europe.  To conquer the entire continent, the Muslims have to advance via the southern side, but the only way is through the Mediterranean Sea, which they do with their naval forces in Lepanto, off the western side of Greece.

            To meet the horde, then Pope Pius V organizes a fleet known as the Holy League composed of Catholic maritime states led by Spain and Italy.  The fleet comes under the command of Don Juan of Austria, half-brother of King Philip II of Spain.  In the midst of preparations, Pope Pius V asks that the Holy Rosary be prayed by the faithful and that the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of Our Lady of Victory, be invoked before our Lord to ensure victory at sea.

On October 7, 1571, the numerically superior Muslim fleet is soundly beaten by the Christian armada after five hours of sea battle in what is now known as the famous Battle of Lepanto, turning the tide of war against the powerful Ottoman Empire. 

The following year, in thanksgiving to our Lord and in commemoration of the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother at the Battle of Lepanto, Pope Pius V, who is later canonized in 1712, declares October 7 as the Feast of the Holy Rosary, an event which is observed in our liturgical calendar to this day.

It is 2011.  World peace is threatened not only by wars among and within nations in almost all continents, by numerous natural calamities the magnitude of which humankind is not accustomed to witness, but also social upheavals brought about by abject poverty, famine, economic inequality and inequity, recession, moral decline, human rights violations, and other expressions of utter contempt for the sacredness of life.

Our Church no less has called the faithful to rise in arms against these threats.  We are asked to be part of this fleet currently being organized – this formidable armada – composed of more than a million Filipinos here and around the world who will pray the Holy Rosary every day for 200 days.  Each day from Monday to Saturday shall be dedicated to a nation in the world, while our Sunday Rosary shall be for our respective families and for our country. 

This prayer crusade, so pleasingly titled A Million Roses for the World (Filipinos at Prayer: Peace for All Nations) will begin on October 10, 2011, two days after the Grand Rosary Rally on October 8 at the UST grounds, and will end on May 30, 2012.   Incidentally, this year also marks the 60^th anniversary of the Family Rosary Crusade founded by Father Patrick Peyton.  Visit www.millionrosesfortheworld.org for the schedule of countries and the specific intentions.

As we go to war, my friend, always remember that we bear the most powerful weapon of all – our unwavering faith.  Join this Holy Rosary crusade and even under the most unfair and underhanded of circumstance, the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother before her Most Holy Son will always assure us of victory, of peace in the world in our time.

Are you ready? Fingers on your Rosary beads now. Let’s pray for and win world peace!

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As we stand under the banner of this noble crusade, let us find strength and inspiration in these words of two Marian Popes:

"Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world." -Pope Pius IX

"Nevertheless, if men in our century, with its derisive pride, reject the Holy Rosary, there is an innumerable multitude of holy men of every age and every condition who have always held it dear. They have recited it with great devotion, and in every moment they have used it as a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight, to preserve the integrity of life, to acquire virtue more easily, and, in a word, to attain real peace among men." -Pope Pius XI