There are several saints to celebrate in October. Above all, we honor Our Lady, especially as our victorious queen. We recall her preeminence as a defender of God’s people and protector of the image of her Son in us.

Mary’s powerful intercession has brought God’s grace into human history, changing the outcome of wars and lives. We remember this every year with the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on Oct. 7, commemorating the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.  

Another example is memorialized in the trilogy of Polish Nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz, describing the Holy Mother’s protection over the people of Jasna Gora against invaders attacking the monastery housing the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa  in 1655.

The prior of the monastery, Father Augustyn Kordecki, was inspired to lead a defense of the holy place against all odds, saying that only God could have so blinded the eyes of the enemy to attempt such a siege. Led by the Spirit, the prior knew an attack on Our Lady’s image would be the enemy’s downfall, and they persevered in the fight. To the glory of God, the enemy was defeated. 

Other examples could be given recounting victories over physical and spiritual enemies by the powerful intercession of Our Lady. Surely, we need many such victories today.  

It is always God who pours forth every grace, but in His generosity and love, He chooses to do so through the hands and prayers of His mother. 

Because Mary is the most beautiful creation coming from the heart of God, how much delight it must bring to the Father to see Mary shower gifts on His children.

We would do well not to miss the opportunity to receive such powerful protection and loving care from her helping hands. She is full of grace and rejoices to draw us closer to Christ.

St. Paul reminds us, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20) And so it is in God’s plan, as grace is always abundant to overcome sin.  

We are clearly living in an era in which sin abounds, and even a failure to recognize or address sin permeates lives and communities. Not seeing sin for what it is adds to mental confusion and the spiritual fog in our hearts. 

This is where we need Our Lady, as the bright morning star, to accompany us and give clarity and direction to our lives. Just as she did at Christ’s birth for the Magi, today Mary reveals Christ to the nations, encouraging us to come and adore, raising up the King for all to see.

One of the most powerful ways we can adore is to visit the Presence of God in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. The power of God in the sacraments is unmatched, and the more we can cleanse our souls with God’s grace, the greater our reinforcements in the daily battle for good over evil.

Another powerful protection is to stay close to Our Lady, especially through a prayerful recollection of the mysteries of the rosary. Calling upon the holy names of Jesus and Mary is a real protection, where we claim our allegiance to stand with God on our pilgrimage to heaven.

We can thank God that we make this journey accompanied by multitudes, both celestial and earthly. We are made in God’s image, children of the Father, belonging to the family of the Church.  

Let us give thanks that we can turn to the Queen of Heaven to help us reach our final home. Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.

Recalling Mary’s queenship, consider: 

•    Growing in awareness of her powerful intercession by reading a spiritual book such as Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon by Donald Calloway, MIC.

•    Visiting an image of Mary and offering a “Hail Mary” for the intentions of our Holy Father Pope Francis.

•    Going on a pilgrimage to visit a shrine of Our Lady such as Our Lady of Consolation in Carey. 

•    Learning about Our Lady of Fatima and consecrating oneself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

•    Praying lectio divina on Luke 1:39-56 and Revelation 12.

•    Reading Pope St. John Paul II’s letter “On the Holy Rosary” (www.vatican.va, Oct. 16, 2002). 

•    Praying a family rosary or daily decade with age-appropriate meditations such as Debbie Staresinic’s On a Mission to Love, which incorporates a Christian anthropology and our vocation to live as a gift of self.

Sister John Paul Maher, OP, is principal of Worthington St. Michael School and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.