October – The Month of the Rosary

The month of October (Overview – Calendar) is dedicated to the Holy Rosary.

On 7th October, the Church celebrates the feast day of Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary. The feast day was established by Pope Saint Pius V on the anniversary of the victory at Lepanto on 7th October, 1571.  The naval victory was attributed to the Virgin Mary whose intercession was entreated through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.

The Church then proceeded to dedicate the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary so that individuals, families, and communities would pray the Holy Rosary, if possible, on a daily basis for peace in the world. “Not only do we earnestly exhort all Christians to give themselves to the recital of the pious devotion of the Rosary publicly, or privately in their own house and family, and that unceasingly, but we also desire that the whole of the month of October (in this year) should be consecrated to the Holy Queen of the Rosary” (Pope Leo XII; On Devotion of the Rosary, September 1, 1883). https://stjosemaria.org/october-month-of-the-holy-rosary/

No form of extra-liturgical devotion to Mary is more widely practiced among the faithful or found by them to be more satisfyingly complete than the Rosary, which has come to be regarded as the very badge of Catholic piety. The authentic Rosary is a happy combination of vocal and mental prayer, each of which is essential to the devotion. It is incorrect to say that meditation is “the very essence of the Rosary devotion,” for vocal recitation of the prayers is also of the essence.

 

 

Rosary – Praying Daily

Ways to integrate the Rosary into your daily life during the month of October:

# 1: Say one Hail Mary every day.

# 2: Say one Hail Mary a few times a day (every time you eat is a good reminder).

# 3: Say one decade every day.

# 4: Say the one decade at different times during the day (work your way up to five).

# 5: Say an entire Rosary a few times a week.

# 6: Say the entire Rosary every day. Pray the Rosary Online (Text)

# 7: Going for a walk while you do the Rosary

#8: Find a prayer partner or group who could say it with you.

#9: Listening to the Rosary – The Rosary Online

 

The Rosary with Fr Robert Galea on YouTube:

Joyful Mysteries – Mondays and Saturdays

Sorrowful Mysteries – Tuesdays and Fridays

Luminous Mysteries – Thursdays

Glorious Mysteries – Wednesdays and Sundays

 

Rosary for the Family

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life have collaborated to create the “Rosary for the Family” to help families to pray and to pray as a family. Praying the Holy Rosary is a special time to share with family members and other families.

In the Year of St. Joseph, praying the Rosary as a family is also a concrete way of obtaining a plenary indulgence. In any case, “prayer can do immense good for our families”. (AL 318). “Rosary for the Family” is intended for the spread of Mary’s love throughout the world and is a resource made available in this special year dedicated to the Family,  to help families enter into the mysteries and meditations of the Holy Rosary.

Download the Rosary for the Family

 

Bishop Robert Barron – Australian Talk Series

The highly acclaimed evangelist Bishop Robert Barron, from the USA, will personally kick off a new series of talks to inspire people and parishes across Sydney and beyond. His new monthly talk series called ‘Reclaiming Evangelisation: How Jesus’ Great Commission Will Renew Our Parishes’, in support of the archdiocesan mission plan Go Make Disciples. It will feature eminent international Catholics who will make the case that Catholic communities are renewed when we seek to live more fully the mission given to us by our Lord to call disciples, baptise them, and teach them. For updates about Reclaiming Evangelisation sign up for the e-newsletter at gomakedisciples.org.au

https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/bishop-robert-barron-to-launch-aussie-talk-series/

 

Sunday Mass Live Streams

During this time of retreat  let us take time each Sunday to meditate upon what Holy Communion and gather as a family for Mass. Please utilise the links below to access live streamed Masses from our local parishes and parishes within the Archdiocese of Sydney

St Gertrude’s, Smithfield – Sunday Mass and Weekday Masses, live streamed

https://www.stgertrude.org.au/

Sacred Heart, Cabramatta – Sunday Mass and Weekday Masses, live streamed

http://www.sacredheartcabramatta.org.au/

Our Lady of the Rosary, Fairfield – Parish Information

https://www.olrfairfield.org.au/

Syriac Catholic Church – Parish Live Stream service

https://www.syriac-catholic-church.org.au/

St Thomas the Apostle, Bossley park – Parish Live Stream service

https://www.stthomaschaldean.org.au/

Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney – Sunday Mass and Daily Masses, live streamed https://www.sydneycatholic.org/live-masses/

The Catholic TV Network – Sunday Mass and Daily Masses, live streamed 

The Catholic TV Network

Weekly Reading & Reflection

My Catholic Life: Daily Reflection on the Readings of the Day

Catholic Prayer

Catholic Prayer Hacks Even “Experts” Use by Becky Roach – Click here to view the article

The Catholic Weekly

https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/

Catholic News

https://cathnews.com/cathnews

 

 

Word On Fire

Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire

Online videos, homilies, articles, lectures, blogs, podcasts, bible study programs and more for theological and faith. Link – https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/video/

 

 

 

Plenary Council 2021

Clear proposals have emerged from Members attending the First Assembly of the Plenary Council this week, including moves to better embrace the rich liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church in Australia, especially its Eastern Rite churches, a renewed focus on vocations and on strengthening partnerships between Catholic schools and parishes. https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/clear-proposals-emerge-from-first-assembly-of-the-plenary-council/

Plenary Council 2021: Plenary members present final reports of first assembly

Summary of Proposals

• Establishing small groups in parishes that meet for an annual synod and that each diocese should have a synod at least once every three years; studying and learning from the synodal journey that resulted in the Uluru Statement of the Heart
• Encouraging small ecclesial communities (home/family groups) with learnings from the early Church; and establishing forums for open dialogue and discernment especially with those groups who feel excluded in the Church.
• The gifts of First Nations Catholics are fully embraced through the inclusion of Indigenous leaders as partners in decision-making at every level of Church – parishes, dioceses, Catholic education, organisations and agencies.
• Encourage full understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Christ – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – being in a state of decline in Australia.
• More organised and coordinated approach, at a national level, to the inclusion of the Eastern Churches, rites of the Latin Church and culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the Catholic Church in Australia.
• formation for mission leadership and renewed focus on vocations could be assisted by a Year of Prayer for Vocations.
• Research project into international models of seminary pre-ordination formation programs and lifelong formation that have had proven and demonstrated successful outcomes that could be adapted for the Church in Australia.
• Using the governance report The Light from the Southern Cross and responses to this report from various groups to develop a governance framework that would be adopted by the Plenary Council in the second assembly.
• Key agencies connect more frequently with leaders within the dioceses, allowing for shared leadership for a shared mission, and listening to different voices, including those who feel excluded, as welfare agencies, underpinned by Catholic Social Teaching, and are often the public face of the Church.