Paprocki asks Catholics to pray the rosary to turn the tide - and hearts - of jihadists

Blessed Pope Pius IX once said, "Give me an army saying the rosary and I will conquer the world." He was not, of course, speaking of a political or temporal conquest, but a spiritual conquest, a conquest of hearts.

The same Pope referred to the rosary as "a weapon to put demons to flight" and urged Catholics to take up the rosary each day:

If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.

The Catholic Gentleman offers several quotes from holy men and women regarding the rosary as, the words of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, "the 'weapon' for these times."

In his weekly column in the Catholic Times in which he examines "how some define the word 'jihad'," the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, has echoed, in a certain sense, these words of the holy Pope, urging the faithful of his Diocese to take up their rosaries to turn the tide of jihadists:

While it pertains to Muslims to address and renounce such matters of Islamic teaching, I suggest for us Catholics that we turn to our Blessed Mother for her intercession by praying the rosary. Many parishioners pray the rosary together in church before Mass, a practice that I heartily encourage. Prior to the naval battle of Lepanto to repulse the westward expansion into Europe by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century, Pope St. Pius V called on Catholics to pray the rosary. After the battle was successfully won near the west coast of Greece on Oct. 7, 1571, the pope attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and declared the Feast Day of Our Lady of Victory, which we now observe as Our Lady of the Rosary each year on Oct. 7. Let us pray to the Queen of Peace for her intercession, that the whole world may be led to the peace promised by her son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace [more].

Let us answer Bishop Paprocki's call and ask Our Lady to intercede especially for the Middle East, the land in which she lived and walked and prayed, a land she loves very much.