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Before going into battle a Polish knight would have sung the oldest hymn in the Polish language: the Bogurodzica. This custom of singing to the Blessed Virgin Mary before waging war, while strange to modern ears, reminds us that we must turn to the Blessed Mother in all the struggles of life.
Our Lady of Victory
During the month of October, we are reminded to pay homage to Our Lady by reciting the ancient prayer of the rosary. This particular focus of the month stems from the fact that October 7th is the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. October 7th has become associated with Our Lady of the Rosary because it marks the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, where Pope Pius V urged all of Europe to pray the rosary for a victorious defeat of the Ottoman fleet.
Spiritual Battle
While today we certainly have our fair share of military battles waged throughout the world, each one of us has our own spiritual battles everyday. As Saint Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians:
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians, 6:11-12)
Who better to invoke for her intercession against our spiritual foes than our Blessed Lady? This was recently validated by an exorcist in Rome, who regularly combats the devil. He said in an interview:
“Of course, the Madonna is even more effective. Ah, when you invoke Mary!”
“And, once I also asked Satan, ‘but why are you more scared when I invoke Our Lady than when I invoke Jesus Christ?’ He answered me, ‘Because I am more humiliated to be defeated by a human creature than being defeated by him.” (CNA)
Interestingly enough, he also said that John Paul II is becoming a great intercessor as well. He stated:
“I have asked the demon more than once, ‘Why are you so scared of John Paul II and I have had two different responses, both interesting. One, ‘because he disrupted my plans.’ And, I think that he is referring to the fall of communism in Russia and Eastern Europe. The collapse of communism.”
“Another response that he gave me, ‘because he pulled so many young people from my hands.’ There are so many young people who, thanks to John Paul II, were converted. Perhaps some were already Christian but not practicing, but then with John Paul II they came back to the practice. ‘He pulled so many young people out of my hands.'” (CNA)
Let us pray to our Blessed Mother daily and in every trial. She will be there for us and protect us from the assaults of the Enemy!
| Polish Bogurodzica dziewica, Bogiem sławiena Maryja, U twego syna Gospodzina Matko zwolena, Maryja! Zyszczy nam, spuści nam. Kyrie elison!Twego dziela Krzciciela, bożycze, Usłysz głosy, napełń myśli człowiecze. Słysz modlitwę, jąż nosimy, A dać raczy, jegoż prosimy: A na świecie zbożny pobyt, Po żywocie rajski przebyt. Kyrie elison! |
English Virgin, Mother of God, God-famed Mary! Ask Thy Son, our Lord, God-named Mary, To have mercy upon us and hand it over to us! Kyrie eleison!Son of God, for Thy Baptist’s sake, Hear the voices, fulfill the pleas we make! Listen to the prayer we say, For what we ask, give us today: Life on earth free of vice; After life: paradise! Kyrie eleison! |