7 October 2022
Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary
The home of St. Ignatius of Loyola is situated near the small town of Azpeitia in the Basque region of Spain. The town was known to be a source of iron that the King of Spain often drew from to craft weapons, and it is said that Ignatius was nursed by the wife of a blacksmith and likely grew accustomed to the sound of a smith’s hammer on metal throughout his years in his family’s home. The arduous labor to bend and shape iron was emblematic of the struggles endured by the people of this beautiful valley. Even the waters of the Urola river that runs through it are constantly churned up by rocks and seem to struggle over many obstacles as they descend to lower ground.
In the town and only a short distance from Ignatius’s home, there is a chapel of Our Lady of Olatz, which contains a statue of Mary and Jesus that resembles the Madonna and Child found in the Benedictine monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona. Like that far more famous statue, the one in this tiny chapel in Azpeitia is elevated directly behind the altar above the sanctuary, and the young Ignatius would have prayed frequently before it. And like so many of his countrymen, Ignatius gave Mary a central place in his life and constantly sought her help in the midst of his own struggles. Years later, when Ignatius laid his sword at the feet of Our Lady of Montserrat after leaving his childhood home to live the life of a pilgrim, he renounced all worldly weapons forever and instead entrusted himself entirely to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In today’s Gospel, we hear that a strong man covered in armor and prepared for battle can be overcome by someone who is even stronger than his iron weapons. For this reason, Ignatius recognized from a young age that the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary is always to be preferred to the armaments of men. The rosary is a sure source of protection in our battles against the evil one, but these beads also offer us the tender reassurance of the Mother of God, who holds us by the hand as we pray them and brings us comfort in the midst of our afflictions.
Let us never be ashamed to approach Mary amid our struggles and carry the rosary as both a reliable weapon and a sure source of comfort amidst the trials and battles of our day.