Catholic Church leaders in the Philippines urged the faithful to find strength in praying the Holy Rosary to “win the battle” against the coronavirus pandemic.
Several Catholic bishops said praying the rosary “deepens our understanding of family unity and values.”
Bishop Jose Elmer Mangalinao of Bayombong said the Holy Rosary “is a school to deepen the faith that we may know, love, and serve Jesus” as the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The prelate said that during the pandemic “we must come together and ask Mary to guide us into victory against this health and economic crisis.”
Bishop Mangalinao reminded the faithful that praying the Rosary has been leading many battles into victory “just like how Our Lady led the battle” in the Philippine Sea to triumph in 1646.
Nearly four centuries ago, the Dutch Republic attempted to invade the Philippines as part of its strategy to open trade in South Asia.
The Spanish and Filipino defenders had only two old galleons against the enormous Dutch ships but a naval captain has a powerful weapon against the invaders.
Historical and religious accounts indicated that the naval captain asked the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary for intercession, vowing that if their prayers were granted, they will walk barefoot toward her shrine in Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros, Manila.
The prayers were granted and the defenders won the naval battles five times.
The successes were attributed to the intercession of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Hence, she was venerated in the country with the title “La Naval.”
In that same year, the first Feast of La Naval de Manila was celebrated in the old Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros.
Years before those battles in the Philippine Sea, Pope Pius V established October 7 as the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary originally called Our Lady of Victory.
The feast is also a commemoration of the anniversary of the decisive victory of the combined fleet of the Holy League of 1571 over the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto.
Bishop Arturo Bastes, retired prelate of Sorsogon, said the Holy Rosary is “a very powerful prayer,” which history has already proven.
“Through the Rosary, Muslims were driven out at the Battle of Lepanto. Through the Rosary, the Protestant Dutch were driven out of Manila,” he said.
“Today we need to pray plenty of Rosaries to be freed from the pandemic,” said the prelate.
The Devotion to the Rosary was especially promoted in the 13th century by Saint Dominic.
Bishop Mangalinao said the life of Saint Dominic “tells us that the praying of the Holy Rosary brings us closer to everything that is dear to the heart of Our Lady.”
According to tradition, in the 16th century, Saint Peter Canisius added the final verse to the Hail Mary, which reads “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”
This part was officially printed in the Catechism of the Council of Trent in 1566.
Bishop Mangalinao said praying the Rosary every day is “like opening daily each page of the Bible.”
“The Rosary is taken from the hollowed written Word of God. The Holy Rosary contains the 20 mysteries of our faith,” he said.
“When prayed lovingly and taken to heart seriously, one grows in knowledge and affection for God through Mary,” said the prelate.
He said the Holy Rosary is “simple and yet profound devotional practice,” which “leads us to heaven while on earth.”
Saint John Paul II in his letter “Rosarium Virginis Mariae” proclaimed the Year of the Rosary from October 2002 to October 2003, and added the Luminous Mysteries.
Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose said now is “an opportune time for every Christian family to pray together” and “aspire for holiness together with the help of our Blessed Mother.”
The prelate said praying the Rosary is “contemplating the mysteries in the life of Jesus through the eyes of her mother.”
Bishop Mallari said Mary has been teaching humanity “how to make ordinary things extraordinary by putting love in everything that we do.”
Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos urged the faithful to offer their prayers “for the protection and preservation of our family unity and values and during this pandemic.”
The prelate also encouraged Christians to show “our concrete care for one another especially the least and most disadvantaged amongst us and our common home” during this month of the Holy Rosary.
Bishop Pedro Arigo, retired prelate of Puerto Princesa, said the devotion to the Holy Rosary must lead the faithful to “concrete actions.”
“Basically, a life of surrender to the will of the Father to love and to serve others especially the poor, to commit ourselves to the truth, justice, integrity, love of the common good,” said the prelate.
