Cavalry We Can Call

Cavalry We Can Call

10/07/2024

Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

October 7 marks the day for us when Hamas extremists massacred 1,200 Jewish civilians and sparked the Middle East war we have witnessed for the past year. But long before this October 7, 2023, we Catholic Christians remembered October 7 for another important battle, namely, the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

Christian forces, called the Holy League, fought a naval battle against Muslim Turks off the shores of Greece. The Turks were threatening to take over Europe, and the Battle of Lepanto marks the decisive battle that not only repelled them but changed the tide of the war.

The night before the battle Pope Pius V had asked all the Christian sailors to pray the rosary. And they devoutly did. When the Christians won, Pope Pius named October 7 the feast of Our Lady of Victory. Later, however, it was changed to Our Lady of the Rosary. And that is what we celebrate today, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which was built on a day of battle. Why is that?

Well, because the battle is always the Lord’s, and when he marches with our armies, we are sure to celebrate victory. Someone said that I prayed for the Razorbacks to beat Tennessee at the Saturday evening 5 p.m. Mass, and that’s the reason the Hogs won. But I had just said that “we believe in a God of miracles.”

And this divine assistance in battle should not surprise us because it is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. One note-worthy instance is the famous fall of Jericho in the Book of Joshua. You know how the impregnable walls of Jericho miraculously collapsed. But the cause of the collapse was the powerful prayers of the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant for seven days around the city.

And the Ark of the Covenant that carried God’s promises inside was a perfect symbol of Mary, who carried inside her womb Jesus, God’s greatest promise of salvation. In other words, the battle first and foremost belongs to God, and only by praying for his divine succor can we hope to celebrate any victories.

In the gospel today we witness the profound moment in which Mary accepts the responsibility to become the new Ark of the Covenant. The angel Gabriel explains how this transformation will occur: “The Holy Spirit will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” In other words, the true Commander of the Lord’s armies is not Mary but the Son whom she carried in her womb. It is to him to whom she gives all the glory for victory, and so too should we.

My friends, sometimes we engage in decisive geo-political battles like on October 7 in Israel, or at the Battle of Lepanto. But far more often we wage spiritual wars in our own hearts and that we observe in those we meet every day. Archbishop Fulton Sheen used to say, “If we do not turn the sword of war against our own hearts we will surely turn it against our neighbor.”

So, let me ask you: what are all the spiritual and moral enemies you do battle with daily? Maybe you battle versus lust or alcoholism, maybe your foe is gambling or gossip, perhaps your enemy is laziness and greed. Then enlist the aid of Mary, the Ark of the Covenant, our Lady of the Rosary, to be victorious in these battles.

Perhaps you are trying to help others in their struggles and against their enemies. You may worry about children or grandchildren who no longer go to church. Maybe a son or daughter has lost his or her moral way, and wanders “the valley of tears” of drugs, or gangs, or atheism, or same sex marriage, etc. I worry about the increasing homeless population and that more and more street corners are populated by panhandlers.

Surely, all these people have enemies every bit as powerful and dangerous as Hamas extremists and the Muslim Turks. Well, there is always one great Cavalry we can call, namely, Mary, the Mother of God, the Ark of the Covenant, who will give us victory over our foes. Pray the rosary daily because the battle is ultimately in the Lord’s hands. Remember, long before October 7 was known for the massacre in Israel, it was called the feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Praised be Jesus Christ!