Hail Mary, full of grace…the Angelic Salutation used by the Angel Gabriel to greet Our Lady, are the words that are prayed on the beads of the Holy Rosary by which we greet Our Blessed Mother.
The memorial feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (07th October) is a reminder to us of the power of the Holy Rosary, which was the only means by which the battle of Lepanto was won. Pope Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of Victory to commemorate the Christian victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the name to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The procession in our parish on 13th October was a culmination of the 54 Day Rosary Novena which began on 15th August and ended on 7th October – the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. To pay homage to Our Lady, processions and public gatherings were called for as part of the ‘Rosary Across India’ prayer crusade.
It was at Fatima in the final apparition on 13th October 1917, that Our Lady revealed herself to the children as ‘Our Lady of the Rosary’ and asked that the Rosary be prayed daily.
The procession in our parish on 13th October, covered a major part of our parish, from the Church to St. Roque’s grotto, via Pascal square, CST road, onward to Big village, St. Mary’s chowk and back to church. As the procession progressed, in the steady downpour of rain, the ardent devotees of our parish walked praying the Rosary without skipping a beat. There were short stops along the way where Crosses and Grottos were incensed and venerated.
The pouring rains were reminiscent of that day at Fatima on 13 October 1917, where over seventy thousand people gathered in heavy rains to witness the stupendous ‘Miracle of the Sun’.
Processions and prayers in public gatherings are a public witness and display of faith, penance and reparation. An act of love for Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. A public statement of allegiance to Christ and His Church.
Mary is not just our Mother, she is also our advocate. She pleads for us with her Son, the Just King. This is aptly symbolized by the ‘Star of Esther’; the golden star between the knee and the helm of the tunic of the Virgin of Fatima. A symbolic reference to Queen Esther of the Old Testament, the Jewish queen of pagan Persia, who saved her people from total annihilation.
The Rosary in Church at 6pm conducted by Selsa & Remy, the presence of Fr. Joshua leading the procession accompanied by Fr. Sravan and Fr. Amol, the prayers along the route by Lalita, the Irmous bearing the palki of Our Blessed Mother, the traffic control by the Sports Committee, the sound system provided by Prakash, the lovely children pouring flower petals before Our Lady’s palki -managed by Doreen and her team, the Altar Servers who brought up the front of the procession, the arrangements of Zonal & Community Leaders at the procession stops, all superbly and efficiently executed, not forgetting the many parishioners who walked and prayed undeterred by the rains, all of this contributed to making the procession a beautiful tribute of love, prayer and devotion to Our Blessed Mother.
Heartfelt gratitude to Fr. John Lopes for his kind support and backing that made the procession a huge success.
Ave Maria
Melissa Miranda
