7 Oct 2020 – Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
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NO. 10 OCTOBER 2020 7 OCT 2020 – FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is an interesting one. In the 16th century Pope Pius V was having trouble with the Ottoman Turks, who were a real danger to Christianity. After months of disagreements and bickering, he was able to unite Spain, Venice, and the States of the Church in a naval expedition to fight the Turks. The two navies met in the Gulf of Lepanto in Greece on October 7, 1571. On the same day, the Rosary Confraternity of Rome was meeting at the Dominican headquarters there. The group recited the Rosary for the special intention of the Christians at battle. The Christians defeated the Turks in a spectacular victory and believed it was the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin that won the victory. Pope Pius V dedicated the day as one of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Victory. Pope Gregory XIII later changed the name to the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary focuses on the intercessory power of Mary. It shows that when Christians are in danger, they can go to Mary. And when an individual is in pain, discouraged, or having trouble accepting God’s will, he or she can also go to Mary. She will pray to her Son for anyone who calls on her. Anyone who prays to Mary no longer feels alone because she prays with them and for them. Mary encouraged praying the Rosary in her apparitions. At Lourdes when she appeared to Saint Bernadette, Mary had a Rosary. As Bernadette prayed it, Mary joined in on the Glory Be prayers. At Fatima Mary exhorted the three children who saw her to pray the Rosary for peace. The Rosary is a deep prayer because as we recite the Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glory Bes, we meditate on the mysteries in the lives of Jesus and Mary. No wonder it pleases Our Lady when we pray the Rosary. — Adapted from an article in https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/saints/saints-stories-for-all-ages/our- lady-of-the-rosary/ 2 OCT 2020 – HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS All you heavenly Powers, Mary’s Legion of Angels, pray for us. “ ‘According to Revelation, the angels who participate in the life of the Trinity in the light of glory, are called to play their part in the history of the salvation of man, in the moments established by Divine Providence. ‘Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who possess salvation?’ asks the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. (1:14) This is believed and taught by the Church, on the basis of Sacred Scripture, from which we learn that the task of the good angels is the protection of people and solicitude for their salvation.’ (Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 6 August 1986)” — Handbook, p. 139. At the Senatus meeting on 12 September 2020, the elections of Sr. Monica Gian as West Curia President 1st term, Sr. Angelina Miel as West Curia Vice-President 1st term, Br. Christopher Ong as Junior Curia President 1st term, Sr. Pearl Marie Peh as Junior Curia Vice-President 1st term, Br. Xavier Pan as Junior Curia Secretary 1st term and Br. Shane Leong as Junior Curia Treasurer 1st term were ratified. We thank Sr Alice Wong for serving as West Curia President and Sr Monica Gian for serving again after serving as West Curia Vice President. We also thank Sr Charmaine Oei for serving as Junior Curia President for 2 terms, Sr Amy Lim for serving as Junior Curia Vice President for 2 terms, Br Jon Kwong for serving as Junior Curia Secretary and Br Jhunne Elasigue for serving as Junior Curia Treasurer. Senatus Allocutio September 2020 by Rev Fr Adrian Yeo Senatus Spiritual Director Mary, Model of all Christians The only three birthdays that we celebrate are of course Christmas, the birthday of Jesus, then we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, and we celebrate the birthday of Mary. With these birthdays we see the importance of these people. Jesus, of course is the most important as he is the one who gives us salvation. John the Baptist is the last prophet and he is the one who prepared the way for Christ. Now Mary in the church is not just because she is the mother of God, the mother of Christ, but the church sees her also as the model of all Christians and we are all expected to model our lives towards her and that is to try to follow her prayer life. Mary is a person who is filled with prayer. Without prayer we would say that she would not have come to know the will of God, she would not have experienced God. Hence her prayer life is something that we need to model upon as the person of prayer. Mary with the Magnificat that she prayed also shows that she is one who is a very prayerful person and so for us especially, legionaries, we too need to emulate this prayerfulness. Secondly, Mary is docile to God, with her ‘yes’ to the Angel Gabriel. We see that she is docile and she is willing to follow what God has in store for her. We too need to be docile to God, we too need to bend ourselves to God and not always follow our own way and so need to follow Mary in that sense. So we have Mary who is prayerful, Mary who is docile and then Mary who is of service to others. We see this in her going to her cousin Elizabeth to help her. We see Mary also of service in the wedding feast of Cana where she was thinking of the couple. So for us we also need to see that we are of service to the people around us. Especially for us legionaries, we should see ourselves as the hands of God and to be of service to others and not just think of our own selves. So for us especially as legionaries we should model ourselves very closely to our Mother and as we celebrate her birthday, remember what the church wants of us and that is to model our selves to our Queen and our Mother and so we should try our very best to follow her in these three virtues: of prayer, of service, and of docility or obedience to God. Amen. 2 CONCILIUM ALLOCUTIO – September 2020 By Fr. Paul Churchill Trust Her Completely During the first total lockdown resulting from the growing spread of Covid 19 earlier this Spring I had a particular experience. Many others, based on their accounts, had a similar experience. What I found was that some sins I had forgotten about or some embarrassing incidents of the past came back into my mind. And I felt at times that I was being shown the worst side of myself, that I was a greater sinner or more stupid and inept that I had imagined. As I reflect on this experience a few thoughts occur to me. Did the lockdown, by removing my normal activity, provide an opportunity for these repressed memories to come back to the fore? This in turn leads to the question whether my active life is a form of defence to block out awkward or difficult events in my life which need healing and if so what other matters might I be repressing? Was this also a sign that our past history is locked away in us and if so is this a foresight of what may be involved in my personal judgement and even hint at what purgatory may be about since it is clear I have not properly dealt with some parts of my past? But there was one other effect of this experience. It was humbling. Between the sins in various forms, and those acts and words showing my embarrassing stupidity and lack of competence, I realised all the more that I am my own worst enemy. The words of Our Lord come to mind “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). This has been compounded for me all the more by another experience. I am currently preparing to move office and in that task have been going over old files having to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. And in that work I am reading reports I made nearly 40 years ago. I cringe occasionally with embarrassment as I read what I wrote as a neophyte lacking both knowledge and experience. Even if sometimes I was proven right, in other cases I got things spectacularly wrong. Again it is humbling. But what I see in all this is not a cause to be depressed but to see it as grace. The saints have spoken about how God showed them more and more the horror of their sins. And indeed to be shown how limited and vulnerable we are only makes us turn more to God and to rely less and less on ourselves. It helps us to see, given our risky judgment, that we need to ask the help of others, to seek guidance and advice and that, not least of all, in our relation to God. One definite person we must turn to in this unveiling of our truth is Our Lady. She is the most humble of all souls. As she said, “He looks on the low estate of his handmaiden” (Lk 1:48).