October: Month of the Holy Rosary

The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7. It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.

The feast was introduced by Pope St. Pius V (1504-1572) in the year 1571 to commemorate the miraculous victory of the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The pope attributed more to the "arms" of the Rosary than the power of cannons and the valor of the soldiers who fought there.

Legend tells us that the Rosary as a form of prayer was given to St. Dominic (1170- 1221) by Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, who entrusted it to him as an aid in the conflicts with the Albigensians. The Dominican pope, St. Pius V, did much to further the spread of the Rosary and it thereafter became one of the most popular devotions in Christendom. It was the same Pope St. Pius V, who in 1569 officially approved the Rosary in its present form with the Papal Bull, Consueverunt Romani Pontifices. It had been completed by the addition of the second half of the "Hail Mary" and the "Glory be to the Father" at the conclusion of each mystery.

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My mom is a very religious lady. Part of our family tradition is to pray the rosary together as a family the whole month of October. It is a family obligation for us. Even when we live in Manila, we always make sure that we pray the Rosary together during the Rosary month. I miss that and I miss the "aurora" where people will sing the rosary in different station (at dawn) and culminate it with a Mass and procession.

Religious Chatting

I was raised as a Catholic. Both my parents and their folks are all Catholics. Actually, 80% of the population in the Philippines are Roman Catholic so it is not surprising that all my folks are Catholic.

When I got here in USA, I was so surprised that there are so many religious denominations. Churches with different religions are even close to each other. For me that is so surprising because in the Philippines there is less than what we have here.

According to Statistics, Christian is the largest religious group in the USA. Christians can be subdivided into numerous sects also.

I admit, I find less people in the USA that are Roman Catholic. Somehow disappointing in my part. I am glad that i found Catholic Chat City . This is a FREE Catholic Chatroom where plenty of Catholics users all over the world come together to talk and have fun. Through chatting in Catholic Chat City I am able to keep in touch and talk with people that I share the same views religion wise.

All Saints Day and All Souls Day

Philippines today celebrates the All Saints Day. Tomorrow will be the All Souls Day. This is the time of the year that people remembers the dead. This is when commonly we visit the cemetery and bring flowers and lights candle to the grave of our beloved. This is also the time where we have mass intentions for the repose of the souls of our beloved.

In Hanopol where I grew up we have two Catholic Cemetery. Every All Saints Day there will be a Mass in the Cemetery located in the hills in Cogon, a mass in honor of all the souls especially those who were buried in that cemetery.

Last time I attended a mass there, I remember how hard it was climbing those steps going to the top of the mountain and how hot it was. Usually, during this day, we always have our lunch at Sylvia and Pony's residence (since they live near).

During All Souls Day the mass will be at the other cemetery the one in the lower grounds. This is where my Grandparents grave is located.

After the mass, the priest and lay ministers will bless the graves in the whole cemetery.

This two-day celebration is called Undas in Tagalog, Kalag-kalag in visayan. When I was young I remember more houses serves snacks like rice cake, sweet rice (biko), suman (sweet rice in banana leaves) and a lot of filipino delicacies but over the years the food celebration thinned out maybe because of economy. Most of the time though, the filipino delicacies is substituted with bread and softdrinks.... easier for sure!

The food celebration may have thinned out but the real spirit of remembering our dead is still existent and that is more important.

For the souls of our dearly departed, may they rest in peace.

Rosary Month

It is October again and it is a rosary month.

My mom is really a religious person. I guess she was influenced by her old folks. I always remember my grandmother and her sisters waking up as early as 4am to say the rosary. Growing up, it was not very pleasing to us kids to be woke up at early morning to say the rosary. In fact, whenever we are woke up to say the rosary we all get mad and ended up sleeping halfway.

I guess my parents know that the 4am rosary was not working so we ended up praying the rosary before dinner time. As kids, we are obliged to be at home at 6:00pm. Every 6:00 PM the bell in our church will ring for Angelus prayer that is our cue that wherever and whatever we are doing, we should go inside the house and pray the Angelus and rosary.

When we all got older and leading our own lives, Mom doesn't require us anymore to be home at 6pm. But Mom never fails to pray the rosary everyday still, although the time varies now. Most of the times, she will wake up at 4-5am to pray the rosary.

October is different though. It is somewhat our tradition, to pray the rosary together. Even when we were no longer living with Mom, during October we always find time to sit together and pray the rosary.

I hope to do my share of our rosary tradition this year. I know last year I missed a couple of times. I wish also that I will be even as half as mom's faith and religiousity.