Mary, Our Good Samaritan

The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary calls to mind the power of the Rosary, experienced over the centuries and in the lives of so many contemporaries, but also blends nicely with the Good Samaritan parable that serves as today's gospel. Devotion to the Rosary is part of the legacy of St. Dominic and the Dominicans, and received major underscoring after the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 when Pope Pius V asked for the rosary to be prayed as the Christian Navy faced the much stronger and larger force of the Turks.   What seemed like an unlikely victory actually came to pass, and the original feast called Our Lady of Victory was established.  It was soon changed to Our Lady of the Rosary.
As Jesus pointed out in the parable, our true neighbor is one who goes the extra mile to show mercy for  another, even a stranger.  Mary, Mother of Mercy, does just that, for as a mother, she counts not the cost of spreading the mercy of her Son to all who ask for it. She is our Good Samaritan.
Bro .Rene