Our Lady’s Message – September 25, 2026 | Reflection by Fr. James Williams
September 25, 2026 – Our Lady’s Message from Medjugorje
Dear children! May this time be a time of prayer for peace. I am calling you to renew in your families the prayer of the Rosary for my intentions, so that I may be able to multiply your prayers and intercede for you before the Most High, [for Him] to heed your prayers and to give you peace. I am with you and like never before I pray for you and with you, my little children. Thank you for having responded to my call.
(With Ecclesiastical approval)
Reflection by Fr. James Williams
Our Lady of the Rosary: A Prayer for Peace in Our Families and Our World
Each year on October 7, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, a day that reminds us of the enduring power of prayer and the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast originated after the victory at Lepanto in 1571, when Christians throughout Europe united in praying the Rosary and entrusted themselves to Mary's care. In gratitude for what was seen as her powerful intercession, Pope St. Pius V established a feast that has come down to us as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
While its historical roots are significant, this feast speaks to a need that is just as urgent today as it was centuries ago: the need for peace. We live in a world marked by conflict, uncertainty, division, and anxiety. Nations struggle with war, communities with discord, and many families with stress and brokenness. Into this reality, Our Lady continues to invite us to turn to prayer.
In this month’s message, Our Mother calls her children to make this "a time of prayer for peace" and specifically asks for the renewal of the Rosary within our families. Her invitation is both simple and profound. Peace in the world begins with peace in the human heart, and peace in the heart is cultivated through a relationship with God. The Rosary gently leads us into that relationship by helping us contemplate the mysteries of Christ's life, death, and resurrection.
Many Catholics remember a time when families prayed the Rosary together each evening. In more recent decades, this practice has diminished in many homes. Yet perhaps there has never been a greater need for families to gather in prayer. In a culture filled with constant noise, distractions, and competing demands, praying the Rosary creates sacred space where parents, children, and grandparents encounter Christ together. It teaches patience, attentiveness, and trust in God's providence.
Catholic tradition has long spoken about the spiritual fruits associated with faithful devotion to the Rosary. Among the promises attributed to Our Lady through Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche are assurances of spiritual protection, growth in virtue, perseverance in grace, and a deeper experience of God's mercy. While these promises are not to be understood as magical guarantees, they testify to the countless generations of believers who have found strength, comfort, and holiness through this prayer.
What makes the Rosary so powerful is that it is ultimately centered on Jesus. Mary never points us to herself alone. Rather, she continually directs our gaze toward her Son. As we meditate on the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries, we learn to see our own lives through the eyes of faith. We discover that God is present in our joys and sufferings, our hopes and disappointments.
Our Mother’s recent appeal contains a beautiful image: she asks us to pray the Rosary for her intentions so that she may "multiply your prayers and intercede for us before the Most High." Like a loving mother, she gathers our prayers, presents them to her Son, and accompanies us in our journey. She assures us, "I am with you and like never before I pray for you and with you." What a consoling reminder that we are never alone in our struggles or concerns.
As we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary this October, listen to her invitation anew. Let this be a time of prayer for peace. Renew the Rosary in your homes and families after dinner or at another convenient time when the family can gather . Whether it is one decade each day, a weekly family Rosary, or the full Rosary prayed regularly, every effort opens our hearts more fully to God's grace.
The world often tells us that peace comes through power, wealth, or control. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary teaches a different lesson. True peace comes through conversion of heart, trust in God, and persevering prayer. May Our Mother help us rediscover this beautiful devotion, strengthen our families in faith, and obtain for our world the gift for which we all long: the peace of Christ.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us. Queen of Peace, pray for us.
— Fr. James Williams
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