Feast of the Holy Rosary

by Anthony Gielty 

Anthony Gielty is an inspiring Catholic whose powerful conversion and love for spreading the Gospel came at a time and place of deep suffering, whilst being a prisoner in Scotland. His incredible book, 'Out of the Darkness', describes this journey of complete transformation; going forward with the message of God's truth and hope. He now works as a Prison Mentor, helping other men leave a life a crime behind, and has a wonderful family that continues to inspire his faith each day. Within this blog, Anthony shares his own personal testimony of love for the rosary, and why today's Feast of the Holy Rosary is so special to him. 

From Pebbles to Beads:  the History of the Rosary

Before I share my own testimony of devotion to the Holy Rosary, it is beneficial to learn about the background from which the rosary has been established. In the earliest times of Christianity, monastic communities carried out the practice of praying a grand total of 150 Psalms daily. However, as the laity could not read psalms, they mirrored the monastics by reciting 150 Our Fathers or Hail Mary’s instead. It is recorded that monks later adapted this prayer method themselves, and often kept bowls with 150 pebbles in them used for counting out each prayer. Later, carrying prayer beads won the day, as beads were lighter than pebbles, and so the practice of praying 150 Hail Mary’s developed. “It was only in the year 1214, however, that the church received the Rosary in its present form and according to the method we use today. It was given to the church by St. Dominic, who received it from the Blessed Virgin” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary)

A Light in the Darkness: The Holy Rosary

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)

The rosary started off for me as a shining light during a time of significant darkness. From a young age, I had been consumed by hatred, and very early on, took up a dangerously nihilistic outlook with the belief that life was meaningless. This led to a continuing downward spiral of anger and violence, which only aggravated and fed my own inner restlessness. By age 17, I found myself locked within a prison cell, serving 10 years for gang violence. It was while serving my sentence that I was introduced to the writings of St. Louis de Montfort, often referred to as the ‘The Apostle of the Rosary.’ The writings of this French saint had a very powerful impact on me, and I was drawn to the radical fearlessness and passion he showed to proclaim his love of Jesus Christ, and because of Him, to carry out his mission to fight injustice and help the poor. Being deeply inspired by the witness and authenticity of Montfort’s life, I trusted and followed his teaching on the Rosary, and began to recite it in prison every day. Peace slowly began to wash into my life, as did my conversion to Christianity, and so the Rosary quickly became for me the ladder by which I escaped the prison of hate and anger that had built its hardened walls around my life.

 “Although I did not understand any of it; when I prayed the Rosary, peace followed, as did a deeper love of Jesus and a longing for Him. I kept saying my Hail Marys’ and mediating on the Gospels until I felt that unparalleled peace within the very pit of my stomach, which had formerly been mostly a place of angst and pain” ‘Out of the Darkness, p. 124

One particular encounter during prison with a fellow inmate called Andy, was a personal testimony to the power of the Holy Rosary. Andy had recently come onto our wing, and let us know early on that he was a Satanist, and so I quickly resolved to pray my rosary for him. During that very night he was given an awful revelation of the enemy; and it was through the rosary’s intercession that He came to share his horrors with me:

“I… I…saw him. P-p-p-pure evil, man,” Andy stuttered and began to shake. As I got up to make him a cup of tea in the cell, I knew straight away of whom he was speaking. He was a grown man, powerfully built, yet he had been reduced to a quivering wreck.

Then suddenly he stopped his muttering and looked up at me, piercing me with his eyes.  “I heard you,” he said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I could hear you praying for me throughout my dream last night.”

I was shocked.  Nobody knew I had been praying for him.  I had been alone in my cell.

“That’s astonishing,” I said.  “I was praying for you.  I asked the Blessed Mary to intercede for you.”Staring at the floor, he said, “I know.  In my dream I could see him, and all the time I could see his hatred for me and for God; his absolute hatred; his absolute evil hatred.  I can’t describe it, man; horrible, man, pure horrible, Anthony"…once more his eyes pierced me as he stared straight up at me, “there is no such thing as reason or room for discussion - he is hate.” 

After regaining enough composure, he turned to me and said, “You know, every time I mentioned the name of Jesus in my dream, Satan backed further away from me.  He could not bear that name.” - Out of the Darkness, pg 165-66

This experience was incredibly powerful, and one of many occasions during my time in prison which revealed just how much of a weapon against Satan the Rosary was.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4). 

A Celebration of Victory: The Feast of the Holy Rosary

The establishment of today’s Feast of the Holy Rosary came from the same recognition over 500 years ago of the rosary’s incredible power as a weapon to win battles against evil. In 1571, Western Europe was on the cusp of destruction as the might of the Ottoman Empire moved toward mainland Italy, where political disunity prevented a significant European defence. Pope St. Pius V managed to form the ‘Holy League’ and prepared an alliance against the vastly superior numbers of the Ottomans. The Holy Father, knowing the need, requested that Catholics everywhere pray the Holy Rosary. The Holy League subsequently won over the Ottomans in a major naval battle called ‘Lepanto’; which is credited with saving mainland Europe from Ottoman rule.  It is reported that even before envoys could relay the outcome of the battle, the Pope was given an inner revelation of the victory and announced the news publicly prior to confirmation.  Pope St Pius V attributed this victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, inaugurating the feast that has come down to us today as the Feast of the Holy Rosary on the 7th Oct.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace: The role of the Blessed Virgin Mary

‘It was through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus Christ came into the world….”. Right from the start of his famous book True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, St Louis de Montfort not only underscores the unique role Mary played in the incarnation and hence the redemption of man, but also the ongoing power of her work today. Tracing Mary’s role from the first “Hail Mary” uttered by the Archangel Gabriel on the hinge of the Old and New Testament (Lk 1:28), Montfort points to Mary's role as the vehicle through which God the Father chose to give us His only begotten son. Indeed, Montfort maintains, the “Hail Mary” is the foundation stone of the New Testament and subsequently a gateway to grace. Through the recital of the Rosary therefore, the soul cooperates with the intercession of Mary and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, to form in the life and soul of the believer, the fruit of the angelic salutation, Jesus Christ (The Secret of the Rosary).

A Family prayer: Nothing is Impossible

Finally, as we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Rosary, I am reminded of the incredible power of the Rosary through which many miracles have occurred within my own family; most-significantly on this very day itself.

4 years ago, my wife (Anna) and I received the heart-breaking news that it was “impossible” for us to have children, yet despite all odds, Anna fell pregnant with a baby boy later that year. However, in the 24^th week of pregnancy during what we thought was a brief trip to the hospital, we were informed that our premature baby was very soon on the way, with a 50/50 chance of survival. “He’s too small”, said Anna, blinking through the tears, and in my own stress and anxiety, I was forced to cling to the rock of Christ, rather than rest on it. After managing to hold off labour for five days - enough time for him to receive medications vital to his survival, a chance to grow just that tiniest bit more and, most importantly five extra days of prayer for a miracle, our son was born. He was tiny, a mere 1lb 10oz, black and blue from the battering of labour at his tiny gestation. The nurse quickly picked him up and placed him in a little plastic bag in order to maintain heat and protect his frail skin. We could see his little mouth opening and closing, producing the faintest of whimpers. Whilst cherishing these moments with our tiny son, he was quickly taken away by the medics.

A few hours later, the door of the room we were in was opened and our tiny boy was wheeled through, now a more pinkish colour and attached to a ventilator, with the doctor laughing and saying, “Someone needs to tell this baby he is only twenty-four weeks.  What a fight I had with him…”

The birth of our baby son was a true miracle – and is testified by his arrival on October 7^th, the date of this very special feast of the Holy Rosary. Owing all to this, we named him Louis, after St Louis de Montfort - who was truly the ‘Apostle of the Rosary’, and was clearly interceding for us in our prayers. So, as we celebrate as a family Louis’ 4^th birthday today, we thank God for His love poured out onto us, and remember how His power through the rosary has accomplished the impossible; for truly, nothing is impossible with God.

On this special Feast day of the Holy Rosary, use the rosary to dedicate your intentions through, and let it be a source of power and strength for your own prayer life with God.

St Louis de Monfort, pray for us.

Blessed Mary ever Virgin, pray for us.