Concluding the Month of the Rosary

Concluding the Month of the Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary, a Catholic prayer form that dates to the 15th Century and is extremely popular among Catholics. Tradition claims it developed as a prayer form for illiterate lay people to parallel the clergy’s recitation of the 150 psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours. If we pray the original three of the series of mysteries, the Hail Mary’s number is 150, the same as the Psalms. 

The Rosary’s popularity dates back to the Battle of Lepanto, a naval battle between the fleets of the Holy League (Spain, Genoa, and the Papal States) vs. the Ottoman Turks off the coast of Greece. In preparation for the battle, Pope Pius V encouraged the sailors and all Christians to pray the Rosary for the intercession of the Blessed Mother on behalf of the Christian force. In the battle, the Christian forces soundly defeated the Ottoman navy, and they stymied the march of Islamic forces. 

Closer to our own time, Pope Leo XII, who reigned in the late Nineteenth Century, was a great promoter of praying the Rosary. During his pontificate, he wrote eleven encyclicals on the topic. 

I received my first Rosary at the Communion Breakfast following my First Communion. I’ll admit I didn’t know what they were. I remember my mother giving me instructions on how to pray the Rosary, but I never developed a devotion to Our Lady using Rosary beads. I find the Liturgy of the Hours and spiritual reading a more fruitful prayer form. I usually reserve time to pray the Rosary for when I’m driving. It helps me keep my exasperation with other drivers in control.   

The most recent major change to the Rosary came in 2002 when Pope John Paul II added a fourth set of mysteries called the Luminous Mysteries. They are: the Baptism of the Lord, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Gospel, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist. In his encyclical Rosarium Virginis Mariae, when he instituted the Luminous Mysteries, Pope John Paul II said the stories behind these mysteries give us a fuller picture of Jesus’ life and fill a gap between his early life and his Passion. 

In a recent article in America Media, Jill Rice reflected on the five Luminous mysteries. “In these very human stories, we see how Jesus spreads his light to the world. I admit I wasn’t enthusiastic when Pope John Paul first instituted them. I thought they disrupted that connection between the 150 Hail Marys and the 150 Psalms. But over the last twenty years, I learned to appreciate that the Luminous Mysteries fill out the life of Christ and his public ministry. 

A feature of the Luminous mysteries is that their connection to Mary isn’t always straightforward. According to scripture, she may not have been present at many of them. She wasn’t at the Last Supper to see the institution of the priesthood or the Eucharist. The Transfiguration was witnessed only by Peter, James, John, Moses, and Elijah. Mary only heard about them from others who were present. Yet, her faith was strengthened by what she heard secondhand. She allowed them to strengthen her faith so she could be the Light of Christ in the world. May our praying the Rosary give us the grace of God to bring the Light of Christ to our small corner of the world. 

Ministry Fair Next Weekend

Holy Redeemer will hold its annual “Ministry Fair” on the weekend of November 2nd and 3rd. If you are not already a member of one of the parish’s ministries, we hope you will consider joining one or two that align with your skills and interests. Following each of the masses, members from the parish’s ministries will be downstairs in the parish hall to tell you about their ministry’s work and answer any questions you might have. Refreshments will also be served. Please consider joining a ministry and helping with the good work that they are performing.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4–7).  Put another way, we must acknowledge that God gives us many gifts, including time and talent, and we must give back a portion of them, as well, if we are to be truly faithful stewards. 

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 

Names for Our Book of the Dead

November is the month when Catholics make a special effort to pray for their deceased loved ones. The parish is compiling a Book of the Dead. It will be placed on a stand at the front of the church on November 1, the Solemnity of All Saints, and reverenced with incense before weekend Masses during November. We sent a letter with an All Souls envelope to parishioners last week. We invite them to use the envelope to list the names of deceased loved ones to include in the Book of the Dead. Deposit the envelope in the Offertory Collection or send it to the Parish office.

Vestiture for Deacon Art

Dalmatics are the vestments worn by deacons. They are different from a priest’s. They are tapered through the torso and arms rather than flowing like a priest’s to symbolize the deacon’s role of service. We want to buy six dalmatics, one in each of the six liturgical colors. Each one costs $750. They make a suitable gift for someone you would like to memorialize. A memorial tag will be sowed into the back of the vestment as a reminder to pray for the person being memorialized. If you would like to arrange the purchase of a dalmatic, contact Fr. Sullivan at the Parish Office (508)-945-0633. 

Marriage Tribunal Seeks Counseling Professionals

The Office of the Tribunal and Canonical Service of the Diocese of Fall River seeks retired, Catholic, professionals qualified psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers (LICSW) to volunteer their time one to two days a month. In this capacity, the qualified professional will utilize their skills as a mental health professional to assist with Marriage Annulment cases. If you are interested, please contact Very Rev. Jeffrey Cabral, JCL, Judicial Vicar, or Miss Magdalen Ross, JCL, Director of Canonical Services, at (508)-675-7150 or email tribunal@dioc-fr.org. 

Summer Parish Survey Results

In our continuing efforts to best serve the parish’s needs, Holy Redeemer believes it is important to make regular assessments of the opinions of both full-time members of the parish as well as our summer visitors. During the first week in August, we conducted a survey limited to summer visitors. The survey was conducted at all masses at Holy Redeemer and Our Lady of Grace churches. The responses we obtained were very favorable, with 80-90% of the respondents indicating that they either “agreed” or strongly agreed” with the following three statements: 1) “The worship service at Mass is uplifting and inspirational”; 2) “The music played during Mass enhances the worship experience”; and 3) “I felt welcomed at Church today.”

The parish is also planning to conduct a more detailed survey of the opinions of full-time parishioners in April 2025. We anticipate that the survey will be conducted electronically to make it easier and less time-consuming for parishioners to complete. However, paper forms of the survey will also be available.