The Battle of Lepanto
Our Lady at Lepanto
As soon as the “prophet” of Islam Mohammad conquered
Medina in Arabia, his military conquests to conquer the whole world knew no
boundaries! He waged wars, raped and pillaged and captured large swaths of
lands and peoples!
When he died in 632AD, his followers continued in a murderous
rage across the rest of Arabia to forcefully convert people to Islam! Today,
the entire Arabian peninsula and North Africa and as far as far East in today’s Indonesia and Malaysia,
including Turkey, bore witness to this murderous rage called “Jihad”!
Virtually ALL countries that are today Muslim were converted
by brutal force! There are no exceptions! There is no such thing as peaceful evangelization
in Islam!
But for a change, Islam is about to conquer Europe
today, peacefully through population mechanics!
As the armies of Islam continued in its military success,
they sought to subdue Europe as well. Europeans were at that time militarily
divided as feud upon feud prevented a decisive response to the Islamic aggression!
The unbelievably large Islamic army knew that to
conquer Europe will take just a day as their army outnumbered European possible
armies 10 to 1. The Muslims stationed themselves so dangerously near the heart
of Europe with thousands of ships prepared for war!
No one knows why they did not strike at once! They
just waited! If they had struck, they would have wiped out Catholicism, the one
true Church of Christ. But the promise of Christ to be with His Church has always
was in operation even at that period!
Pope Saint Pius V
When Pope Saint Pius V ascended to Saint Peter’s throne, Christendom faced perils perhaps unequaled in its history of continual conflict, not the least of which came from the agitated and violent followers of Mohammed.
All the information and intelligence that Pope Pius
V had been gathering indicated that the Ottoman juggernaut was about to roll
across the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent lands, spearheaded by the Turkish
fleet, with Italy and Rome as one of its main targets.
No nation could stand up to the marauding infidels
and the candidates for a sustained alliance were few.
Northern Europe had risen up in armed rebellion
against the Church with France deeply involved in the conflict. The Ottoman
Empire felt that neutrality was the best policy after the Turks occupied a
large chunk of its land in the Danube River Valley.
Only Spain and Venice had the resources to resist,
and they hated each other along with deep mistrust.
Yet Saint Pius — calling down divine grace as only a
man of prayer could — forged an alliance with them as the core of an organized
fleet of over 200 galleys.
With his considerable tact and diplomatic skills, he
not only kept them unified, but he convinced them to attack the enveloping
menace.
Some interesting things happened during this war
against Muslims.
The Archbishop of Mexico had an exact copy of the Holy Image of Guadalupe sent
to King Philip II, who in turn gave it to Andrea Doria, one of the three
principal admirals of the fleet for this battle against Muslims, who placed it
in his war cabin.
So, when the Spanish Armada went from file to line
abreast and attacked the Muslims on the morning of October 7, the blue standard
of Our Lady of Guadalupe was also flying from the masthead of Don Juan’s
flagship.
But Our Lady’s presence that day was more acutely
felt through the Holy Rosary.
Pope Saint Pius V, a Dominican prelate before his elevation to the papacy, did what Catholics have always done in times of acute danger: fly into the arms of the most powerful Mary, Mother of God.
Pope Saint Pius V, a Dominican prelate before his elevation to the papacy, did what Catholics have always done in times of acute danger: fly into the arms of the most powerful Mary, Mother of God.
As a follower of Saint Dominic, he knew the most
effective means of imploring Her help was through the recitation of the Holy
Rosary.
He ordered all monasteries and convents in Rome to
increase their prayers for the impending battle and organized rosary processions
in which he, as sick as he was, participated.
As the Christian fleet sailed toward the great clash
of cultures, Mass was celebrated and the rosary recited daily on each war vessel.
This heartfelt request for divine assistance resulted in a crushing defeat of
the Ottomans at Lepanto that ended their dominance in the Mediterranean. It was
unthinkable. Nearly ALL the ships brought by the Muslims to that battle of
Lepanto were destroyed. The few that remained fled!
It was one of the most decisive battles ever fought
on European waters. Till today, historians still wonder at how such a feat was
possible when the Muslim ships and armies outnumber that of Europeans by 10 to
1 and also considering that these Muslim forces were battle tested having been
fighting on many fronts for years!
The answer was got from the Muslims themselves!
The archives of the Turkish government revealed the
notes taken by many members of
the Armies of the Muslims!
They wrote about a woman appearing in the sky
literally fighting for the Europeans. They reported that this woman frightened
them making them confused and afraid, demoralizing the troops.
This was not known to Europeans until hundreds of
years after the battle!
Clearly the woman in question is no other than Mary,
the Glorious Mother of God!
This August let us honor Mary and show Her true Love
by Loving and obeying the Son. May Mary Convert the Muslim world and convert us all,
daily. Amen
Presented by Malachy Mary Igwilo, on this feast day
of the Chain of Peter, 1st August 2016
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