This feast commemorates the Christian naval victory over the Turks (at Lepanto 1571). Our Lady is daily honoured in the Rosary, which invites us to meditate the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Christ her son.

1st Reading: Acts 1:12-14

Our Lady with the apostles and other disciples in prayer, before Pentecost

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Gospel: Luke 1:26-38.

The announcement of Mary's dignity and calling

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel as sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Meaning of this feast

This feast celebrates the intercessory power of our Blessed Lady on behalf of God's people. It was instituted by Pope Saint Pius V in thanksgiving for the decisive naval victory of a Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, a favour widely attributed to intense recitation of the Rosary. This crucial battle saved Europe from invasion by the forces of Islam, and the victory over the Ottomans is commemorated by the invocation "Mary, help of Christians," inserted in the Litany of Loreto. Years later the Turks were again defeated at Belgrade on the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, in 1716. Another victory that year near the feast of the Assumption prompted pope Clement XI to mandate the Feast of the Rosary for celebration by the universal Church. Leo XIII added to the Litany of Loreto the invocation "Queen of the most Holy Rosary, pray for us,".

In modern times successive popes have urged the faithful to pray the Rosary regularly, as a form of contemplative prayer focussed on the life of Christ. It calls attention to the saving mysteries of Christ and Mary's close association with her Son in his mission. Pope St John Paul II called the rosary a "Christocentric prayer" that summarises the whole Gospel message. His letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002) expanded the scope of the rosary to include five extra mysteries ("Mysteries of Light") to summarise the life and mission of Jesus. These are: 1) The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. 2) The Wedding Feast of Cana. 3) The Announcement of the Kingdom. 4) The Transfiguration. 5) The Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Praying the Rosary

The Rosary invites us to pray about the great mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We honour the Virgin Mary as a deeply reflective person. In the second chapter of his gospel, Luke says of her that she "treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart." Again, in response to what Jesus said to her in the temple, Luke says that Mary "treasured all these things in her heart." Luke presents her as a contemplative person, reflecting on all that was happening in the life of her Son. To that extent, she embodies the attitude of mind and heart that we are invited to bring to praying the Rosary. In that prayer, we treasure and ponder upon the key moments in the journey of Jesus in this world and from this world to the Father.

Mary not only pondered on what God was doing in the words and deeds of her Son, but she gave herself over to what God was doing, as shown by her response to the visit of Gabriel in today's gospel, "Let what you have said be done to me" or "Let it be to me according to your word." As we ponder on all God is doing in the words and deeds of Jesus, we too will hear the call to give ourselves over more fully to God's purpose for our lives.