Saint of the Day for 7 October: Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary

Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary: history, meaning and devotion

The Saint and Mission

The Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, particularly venerated in the month of October, has always been recognised as a maternal figure who guides and sustains the faithful through the mysteries of life and faith. The interweaving of prayer and meditation that constitutes the Rosary is not only a path of devotion, but also a mission of continuous reminder to contemplate the mysteries of salvation, through which Mary leads the faithful to her Son. On this meditative path, Mary becomes a guide, offering through the Rosary a way accessible to all to deepen their understanding of the Christian mystery. The mission of the Virgin of the Rosary is thus intimately linked to accompanying each person on a spiritual path that brings them ever closer to Christ. Mary, a figure of gentleness and strength, becomes the bearer of a mission that is both evangelisation and prayer, showing through her life a model of total adherence to the divine will. The recitation of the Rosary thus becomes a mission because, through the simplicity and repetitiveness of the Hail Marys, the faithful are called to immerse themselves in the joyful, sorrowful, glorious and luminous mysteries of Christ’s life, making them their own and allowing themselves to be transformed by them. Mary, then, becomes a discreet companion in a journey that invites us to become bearers of the mystery of Christ in the world, sharing God’s saving love. Not only: the Rosary is also a spiritual weapon, through which Mary supports her children in the battles of life. From Lourdes to Fatima, Our Lady of the Rosary has called for the assiduous praying of the Rosary for the conversion of sinners and for peace in the world, emphasising how the recitation of the Rosary is not just a personal devotional act, but a mission that invests the entire Christian community and all humanity. In a world marked by challenges and uncertainties, the practice of the Rosary thus becomes a place of refuge and a beacon of hope, but also a missionary commitment, through which every Christian is called to intercede for the salvation of the world and to bear witness, in daily reality, to the values of the Kingdom of God that the mysteries contemplated propose. The call to prayer, penance and conversion, which resounds unceasingly in Mary’s messages, translates into a missionary spirit that embraces the daily life of each person, inviting us to live the Gospel consistently and authentically, proposing it through our existence to others. The Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, therefore, proves to be not only a mother and guide, but also a missionary companion, leading to ever greater conformity to Christ, thus urging a renewed evangelisation embodied in everyday life.

The Saint and Mercy

The mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary spreads out like a sea of mercy, welcoming under her protection all those who seek comfort and guidance in times of tribulation and bewilderment. Mary, in her being Theotókos, the bearer of God, manifests herself not only as Mother of God but also as Mother of Mercy, reflecting in her being and acting the same divine mercy that became incarnate in Jesus Christ. The Rosary, in particular, emerges as a luminous way that the Virgin offered us to experience and contemplate this divine mercy. Through meditation on the mysteries, Mary invites us to look upon the merciful face of her Son, to experience his love that saves, redeems and forgives. Each grain, each Hail Mary, becomes a step towards deepening a mystery that is both suffering and joy, death and resurrection. Mary leads us on a path in which mercy becomes a palpable experience. Each mystery of the Rosary, in its specificity, echoes an aspect of God’s mercy. Contemplating the life, passion, death and glory of Jesus through the eyes of Mary, we encounter the radicality of a love that excludes no one and offers itself totally and unconditionally. The merciful love that the Virgin Mary shows us and makes us experience through the Rosary is not an abstract or distant love, but it becomes history, it becomes life, flesh, daily life. The Virgin teaches us that mercy is not only receiving, but also giving: just as she welcomed and gave the Saviour to the world, so each of us is called to become a sign and instrument of God’s mercy in the world. In this sense, the Rosary also becomes intercessory prayer. In repeating the Hail Marys, we join Mary in imploring the Lord for mercy for us, for the whole world. And, in this, there is a profoundly missionary dimension: the welcoming of mercy in order then to give it to others, to experience a God who loves and forgives in order then to become the face of such love for our brothers and sisters. Mercy is, therefore, in the Rosary, a living and consoling presence, an invitation to let ourselves be enveloped by God’s love and to become ourselves the expression of that love in our daily lives. Mary, woman of listening and silence, of readiness and gift, shows us a way to live mercy not as a mere concept, but as a lived reality, as an existence permeated by the love of God who calls us to be, in turn, merciful like the Father.

Hagiography

S. Brunon was born of a noble family around the year 1035 in the city of Cologne. He attended school at the church of St Kunnibert, making rapid progress in science and piety, so much so that St Annon, bishop of the city, elected him canon of his church. He then finished his studies in Rheims, where he had a reputation as an excellent poet, most excellent philosopher and…

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