Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Galatians 1:6-12; Luke 10:25-37)
James
Gustafson was a Protestant ethicist. His
book Can Ethics Be Christian relates the story of a modern “Good
Samaritan.” The man came to the rescue
of a drunken soldier whom he found laying on the street. He made sure the soldier was not badly hurt
and found in his wallet the soldier’s address.
Then he took $20 from the wallet, found a taxi, and sent the man home
paying the taxi driver with the $20. The
man did all this even though he did not profess any belief in God.
Because of
Jesus’ parable today, the man’s action might be described as “Christian.” But is it fair to say that when the man did
not proceed from any belief in Christ?
It should be observed that the man went beyond what most decent people
would probably do in the situation – call the police and let them take care of
the problem. But he expended much time
and energy to help the man.
(optional homilette highlighting today's memorial)
Certainly
Jesus calls us to act similarly. We have
to go beyond decency to assist the suffering in ways that really matter. Christ has told us that they are really he
himself. They are also our passage to
eternal life.
Today’s
feast celebrates a number of accomplishments.
First, it lifts up the rosary as a way for Christians to implore the
help of the Virgin Mary in seeking favors from God. We remember how Mary appealed to her son at
the wedding feast in Cana when the party ran out of wine.
Second,
the feast recalls the naval victory of a Catholic alliance known as the Holy
League over the Ottoman fleet in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Historians have said that a defeat of the
Holy League would have opened Western Europe to Turkish domination.
Third,
the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary celebrates Mary’s patronage of the
Dominican Order. According to a legend,
Mary presented the rosary to St. Dominic.
History verifies that Dominic chose the Mother of God as the Order’s
primary patron. Furthermore, the
Dominicans were the primary preachers of the rosary for centuries. The great
missionary Dominican province is named after Our Lady of the Holy Rosary as
well as many Dominican churches and schools throughout the world.
