to lose hope even in the face of the nightly evening
news. We have Jesus and all the
treasures of the Catholic Church. And on
October 7, we have the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady
of Victory. This feast is not just
an example that we should follow, but
one that we must follow if we desire
victory.
when terrorism and the culture of death threaten Christianity, we have the Blessed
Mother to shore us up. She nursed Jesus
in a manager, stood at the foot of his cross at his crucifixion, and comforts
us now in the face of rampant evil.
We do not go to Mary instead
of Jesus, we go to Jesus with Mary.
Our Lady of the Rosary began as a celebration of the victory of the Battle of Lepanto—securing
European Christendom against a Turkish invasion on October 7, 1571. This victory is a testimony to the power of fervent prayer.
Lepanto—one of the most decisive in all of naval history according to
historians– to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary through a campaign
to pray the Rosary throughout Europe. The
Muslim Ottoman Empire had been expanding into Europe for 900 years. By 1453, they took over Christian lands in
the Byzantine Empire, placing it under Islamic law. Westward movement continued into the
Mediterranean, even threatening
Rome.
In 1570, Pope Pius V called for prayer and action. He pleaded with every man, woman, and childto pray the rosary. He also put
together the Holy League–a coalition of Catholic powers which included Genoa,
Spain, and the Papal States.
outnumbered them. The Pope, Christians throughout Europe,
and crew members, all armed themselves with the Rosary in preparation for the battle.
Mass was said on all the 200 ships. People prayed from dawn to dusk. The wind was
against the Christians and the heavy iron rams–which ordinarily would ram and
sink adversaries– had been removed. The
reason was that over 18,000 Christian slaves were oarsmen in the galleys. The
Holy Alliance chose to handicap themselves rather than sacrifice the Christian
slaves.
praying. Author Ron Tesoriero recounts the fierce clash
in his book Reason to Believe.
afternoon at 4:00 pm on the 7th of October, the exhausted Pope rose
and went to the window of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He gazed out and burst into tears. Vatican archival documents tell how he then
turned to face the congregation with the exultant words: ‘The Christian fleet is victorious! Our great task at present is to thank God for
the victory he has given.’
marked a turning point in the history of Christianity and of Europe. Between 25,000 and 30,000 Turks and 9,000
Christians lost their lives. There was no way that anyone hundreds of miles
away in Rome could have known of the outcome until news reached there by the
usual means, a journey of days. There was certainly no way that anyone could
have known that the Holy Alliance claimed victory at exactly 4:00 pm.”
Pope Pius V instituted the feast in thanksgiving for the victory as Our
Lady of the Rosary. This feast is not just
for the past, but also for today as we pray to overcome anti-Christian forces. Here
in North Dakota, we are in need of such a victory for life. We are as David up against the Goliath of Planned
Parenthood to defeat a ballot measure which would protect life. Lies
and deep pockets have orchestrated a campaign against Measure 1 which will be voted on November 4. It would add these words to the
state constitution: “The inalienable right to life of every human being at
any stage of development must be recognized and protected.”
If the measure passes, our constitution will beprotected from being used to overturn abortion regulations as
unconstitutional. Pro-abortionists have already
successfully trampled on the constitutions of 12 states, getting state
supreme courts to declare abortion a constitutional right. Once this happens, all abortion regulations
are overturned as unconstitutional so that abortion becomes completely
unrestricted.
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| Prayer for Life, Nellie Edwards |
Over $1 million from Planned Parenthood groups
outside of North Dakota has poured into North Dakotans Against Measure 1 (NDAM1). ND Choose Life has raised only a total of $593,000 but almost all from in-state contributions. The pro-abortion side has twice the budget to buy advertisements which they are using to scare people with lies about non-existent issues like end-of-life care and IVF procedures.
We are still hoping and praying
for additional financial help, but we are also asking everyone to help with the
most powerful weapons of all: prayer and
fasting. Not as an aside, but in the
tradition of Lepanto—with passion and perseverance. Just as pro-abortion forces know no
boundaries in their fight against life, we must also see every fight for life
as our own and to pray with a vengeance.
recently shared with me how abortion money affected a recent election in her city of Albuquerque, NM. They tried to pass a pain capable ban on abortion, she explained.
Even though it was just a city ban, not state, Planned Parenthood poured
money into defeating it, which they did by a very narrow margin. Money makes a difference so please donate if you can. Prayer and fasting can make even a
bigger difference. Please pray with the spirit of Lepanto that life will prevail in North Dakota.
Battle of Lepanto:
