Today's Rosary | Holy Rosary University

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 31, is the Eve of All Saints, known as "All Hallows' Eve" or "Hallowe'en."

In England, saints or holy people were called "hallowed," hence the name "All Hallows' Day." The evening, or "e'en" before the feast became popularly known as "All Hallows' Eve" or even shorter, "Hallowe'en."In 1484,

Pope Sixtus IV established November 1, the feast of All Saints, as a holy day of obligation and also gave it a vigil.

Halloween is the preparation and combination of the two upcoming feasts, but is not a liturgical...

Friends of the Rosary,

The highest law is love, not external compliance or rigid interpretation of religious observance, as a prominent Pharisee shows in today’s Gospel reading (Luke 14:1–6).

When Christ encounters a suffering man, he shows that God’s law is fulfilled through compassion.

The Sabbath was established as a gift intended to lead humanity toward God, not as an obstacle to relieving suffering.

The outcome of today’s Gospel is an invitation to
examine whether our masses, prayers, Rosaries, and religious practices truly transform our relationships with others.

We...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today’s Gospel (Luke 13:31–35), Jesus refuses to abandon His mission despite Herod's threats.

"Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem."

His determination reveals the courage that comes from fidelity to the Father’s will and his divine mission of salvatio...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. On this day, we also celebrate the fifth anniversary of Maria Blanca's departure.

They both "edified the body of Christ", and the grateful Church thus prays to our Lord today: "O God, through the work of the apostles you have spoken your Word of love, your Son, into our world's deafness. Open our ears to hear; open our hearts to heed; open our will to obey, that we may proclaim the good news with our lives."

...

Friends of the Rosary,

We reflect today on the extraordinary power of small beginnings, as in the main readingJesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and to yeast hidden within flour, revealing how God’s work often begins in ways that appear insignificant but eventually produce extraordinary results.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux taught that holiness can be achieved through small acts performed with extraordinary love.

The Kingdom of Heaven advances not primarily through worldly power or spectacular achievements but through the quiet, transforming presence of divine grace.

A...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today's Gospel (Luke 13:10–17), Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath when he saw a woman who was crippled by an evil spirit for eighteen years and healed her by laying his hands on her. The Lord restored her physical freedom and human dignity.

"Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."

Her suffering moved Christ to compassion, while the synagogue leader objected because the healing occurred on the Sabbath.

The woman's condition also reminds us of the spiritual burdens that can bend the human so...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today’s Gospel is from Matthew 22:34-40.

"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" A Pharisee asked the Lord.

He said:

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments" (Mt 22:34-40).

In this answer, Christ Jesus tells us that the ma...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, the feast day of St. Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870), bishop and founder of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (popularly known as Claretian), we see in Luke 13:1–9 how God is extraordinarily patient and offers us opportunities for conversion and holiness.

The Lord desires our transformation. Through the Gospel, He invites us to respond to God’s mercy by bearing the fruits of faith, charity, forgiveness, and justice.

But His mercy calls for action today, not an endlessly postponed tomorrow.

In the same reading, Jesu...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, on the Memorial of Saint John of Capistrano, we read in the Gospel (Luke 12:54-59) how the Lord challenges the crowds to understand the signs of nature and their ability to interpret the weather, but remain blind when recognizing the spiritual significance of His presence and the extraordinary moment of salvation unfolding before them.

"You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

Our own age shows remarkable scientific and technological capabilities, yet th...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 22, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of the beloved Pope St. John Paul II (1920-2005), Karol Jozef Wojtyla.

Born in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, his exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people and the sick, led him to numerous pastoral visits throughout the world.

Also, among the many fruits he left are the rich Magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
He also attracted young people by beginning the celebration of World Youth Day.
No other Pope met as many...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today’s reading (Luke 12:39-48), Jesus continues His teaching on vigilance by presenting the image of a faithful steward entrusted with responsibility over his master’s gifts.

Everything we receive — talents, knowledge, opportunities — carries the responsibility to use it wisely, in accordance with God’s will.

Christ warns against the temptation to neglect our duties when accountability seems distant.

Leadership, within a family, an institution, or society, is a calling to serve others with justice, humility, and integrity, recognizing that authority ultimately belongs to God.

And thos...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today’s Gospel (Luke 12:35-38), Jesus called His disciples to remain vigilant, like servants awaiting their master’s return.

Jesus said to them:

"Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival."

How can we remain vigilant?

The best way to live faithfully with Christ today.

For St. Augustine, spiritual wakefulness means keeping the heart attentive to God.

The Christian must guard against allowing earthly attachments to extinguish the desire for eternal life.

Vigilance requ...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today's Gospel (Luke 12:13-21), Jesus warns against the illusion that wealth can guarantee happiness and security. Christ does not condemn material success, but the greed and selfishness that can accompany it.

“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and othe...

Friends of the Rosary,

As we read this Sunday (Matthew 22:15-21), the twenty-ninth in ordinary time, almost at the end of the liturgical year, Christ the Lord responded to the Pharisees and the Herodians who plotted how they could arrest Him:

"Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He...

Friends of the Rosary,

Saint Ignatius of Antioch, the saint martyr we honor today, inspired generations of persecuted Christians with the seven letters he composed on his earthly journey.

When he was martyred in Rome, in the amphitheater around the year 107, he said:

"Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God."

"I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth, so pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God."

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 16th, we honor St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a French Visitation nun chosen by the Lord to spread the devotion to His Sacred Heart and the Holy Hour, at a time when Protestantism and the heresy of Jansenism were attacking the Church.

From the age of seven, when she received her first Holy Communion, she has always shown an intense love for the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Our Lord often appeared to Margaret Mary Alacoque, usually as the Crucified Christ, entrusting her with the mission of establishing the...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, as on every October 15, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582), the first woman Doctor of the Church.

Born in Ávila, Spain, and dying in Alba, Spain, in the sixteenth century, with the help of St. John of the Cross, she reformed most of the Carmelite convents and founded seventeen. She endured intense criticism from her sisters, as she insisted that they live simply, in imitation of Christ’s poverty on the cross.

She shared, “Prayer means being on terms of friendship with God...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, on the memorial of Saint Callistus I, Pope and Martyr, we read in the New Testament (Luke 11:42-46) how Jesus warns against religious seriousness that forgets justice, love for God, and mercy toward others.

He said to the Pharisees:

"You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in...

Friends of the Rosary,

On October 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared for the sixth time in Fatima, Portugal, and performed the Miracle of the Sun before 70,000 witnesses.

From May through October 1917, the Lady appeared to and spoke with the three young peasant children, Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia, on the 13th day of each month.

News of these apparitions began to spread throughout the region. The children recounted that the Virgin promised that God would grant peace to the entire world if Her requests for prayer, reparation, and consecration were heard and obeyed. When it became...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), the First Millennial Saint. He was a Catholic Italian teenager, a gamer and computer programmer who loved soccer and the Eucharist, and, as Pope Francis described him, a model of holiness in a digital age. Today, he is the patron Saint of youth, the internet, and computer programmers.

Acutis, Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London, though his family moved to Milan shortly after. From a young age, Carlo had a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t esp...

Friends of the Rosary,

We hear today, Sunday, twenty-eighth in ordinary time, (Matthew 22:1-14) how Jesus spoke to the chief priests and elders
in parables, saying,

"The kingdom of heaven is like a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son."

The Lord invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. The second time, some ignored the invitation and left. The rest mistreated servants and killed them. Then, the servants went out into the streets and "gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today's Mass, we said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."

As we read today, Christ the Lord said (Luke 11:27-28):

"Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it."

Jesus teaches that we obtain the Lord’s blessing not only by our closeness to Him but also by hearing God’s word and living it.

Through faith and baptism, we belong to Christ.

Lord Jesus, clothe us in Your grace today.

Friends of the Rosary,

Today is the memorial day of Saint John Henry Newman, Priest and Doctor of the Church; Saint Denis, Bishop and Martyr; and his Companions, Martyrs; and Saint John Leonardi, Priest. In the Gospel (Luke 11:15-26), Jesus warns against divided hearts. Evil is not overcome by argument or appearance, but by staying gathered with Him.

The Lord said,

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."

"When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions...

Friends of the Rosary,

Our Lady has been honored under this title since the founding of the Trinitarian Order by St. John of Matha in the twelfth century. St. Maximilian Kolbe speaks of Our Lady in a similar way, as the Good Mother who provides a Good Remedy.

In the Gospel today (Luke 11:5-13), Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock with trust, because the Father gives good gifts, above all the Holy Spirit.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and th...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 7, is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary and the power of the Rosary.

This celebration, formerly known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory and the Feast of the Holy Rosary, was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, a favor due to the recitation of the Rosary.

Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory, and then he instituted this celebration. This victory saved Europe...

Friends of the Rosary,

In the Gospel today (Luke 10:38-42), Martha and Mary remind us that service matters, but it must stay rooted in listening to Jesus.

Christ the Lord was in the household of Bethany with his friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus—although this passage in Luke does not mention them.

Mary was sitting beside the Lord at his feet, listening to him speak.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,

“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to d...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 5, 2026, is the memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin (1905-1938), a Polish nun chosen by Jesus to remind the world of the mystery of God's merciful love and the devotion to Divine Mercy.

It is the message, as old as eternity, of the Lord's love for all people, especially sinners. Jesus said to Faustina, "Today I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world."

On February 22, 1931, Jesus appeared to Faustina as the King of Divine Mercy. He asked her to have a picture...

Friends of the Rosary,

God lovingly planted and cared for His vineyard, asking laborers — all of us — for fruit: justice, faithfulness, and love.

But He warned that the Kingdom would be entrusted to those who bear good fruit — the faithful and grateful servants.

As we read today (Matthew 21:33-43), Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:

"Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is won...

Friends of the Rosary,

Lord Jesus said to the seventy-two disciples who returned rejoicing, saying that even the demons were subject to them — as we read today (Luke 10:17-24):

"Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Later, turning to the disciples in private, he said,

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 2, 2026, the first Friday of the month, is the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, who watch over us, lead us closer to God, and help us to attain salvation.

In His providence and in His intimate concern for each person's welfare, God gives us guardian angels to serve as protectors and guides throughout our lives, from the moment the soul is infused at conception.

Each person on earth has a guardian whose mission is to conduct us safely through the perils of our earthly life into the...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, October 1, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Virgin and Doctor of the Church, more popularly known as "the Little Flower."

Born in Alençon, France, to Saints Louis and Zélie Martin, this nineteenth-century cloistered Carmelite reminds us that holiness can be lived through small acts done with great love — her “Little Way” of confidence and love.

Thérèse's mother died when she was four, and at age fifteen she followed her two older sisters into the Carmel at Lisieux...

Friends of the Rosary,

Following Christ the Lord means trusting His wisdom even when we cannot understand everything.

In today’s Gospel (Luke 9:57-62), Jesus teaches that discipleship requires a whole, steady heart to follow him, not delay or look back.

He said,

“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Without hesitation, Job in the first reading (Job 9:1-12, 14-16) recognized God’s greatness and mystery, while Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Chur...

Friends of the Rosary,

The Catholic Church celebrates today, September 29, the Feast of the venerated archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

Michael (who is like God?) was the archangel who fought against Satan and all his evil angels, defending all God's friends. He is the protector of all humanity from the snares of the devil.

Gabriel (Strength of God) announced to Zachariah the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary, the birth of Jesus, with his greeting to the Virgin, "Hail, full of grace."

Raphael (Medicine of God) is...

Friends of the Rosary,

As we discover in the Book of Job today (1:6-22), a wealthy, righteous man named Job lost almost everything (his children, wealth, and health) due to a test allowed by God and instigated by "the adversary". Yet Job didn’t turn against the Divinity. He had trust in the Lord and the humility of a child.

“The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!," he concluded.

In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything ­disrespectful of God.

...

Friends of the Rosary,

“Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God are entering the kingdom of God before you,” said Christ the Lord to the chief priests and elders of the people, as we read in the Gospel today (Matthew 21:28-32), the twenty-sixth Sunday in ordinary time.

He explained why.

"When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, Saturday, the day of the Blessed Mother Mary, and the feast day of Saint Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs, we see Our Lord foretelling his imminent death (Luke 9:43b-45). He said to his disciples:

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”

The disciples, while amazed at his every deed, were unable to understand the meaning of Jesus' words. Luke the Evangelist writes,
"Its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,<...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11) reminds us that life has seasons: joy and sorrow, building and letting go, speaking and silence. God has a time for everything.

"There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for everything under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep...

Friends of the Rosary,

In today’s Gospel (Luke 9:7-9), we see that tetrarch Herod, after beheading John the Baptist, was interested and perplexed by what he was hearing about Jesus. St. Luke recounts what people were saying:

“John has been raised from the dead”;
others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”;
still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.”

As Bishop Barron explains, political rulers (Cesar Augustus, Herod, Pontius Pilot, don’t come across well in the New Testament, and Jewish authorities are seen as corrupt. They all perceive Christ the Lord as a th...

Friends of the Rosary,

Today, September 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina (1887-1968), known as Padre Pio, a Capuchin Friar who, for fifty years at the monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, was a much-sought-after spiritual advisor, confessor, and intercessor.

The Italian priest himself became a pilgrimage site for both the pious and the curious. He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back, able to bi-locate, levitate, and heal by touch.

Yet despite such notoriety (and spiritual powers), this...

Friends of the Rosary,

In the Gospel of Luke (8:19-21), Christ Jesus says that His true family is “those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, 
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Tuesday’s m...