Signs of the Times  

     "...But the Blessed Virgin's influence on men originates not in any inner necessity but in the disposition of God.  It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it and draws all power from it..."
                                                                                                           'Lumen Gentium,' Vatican II

[NOTE'  and now a bit of historical TRUTH; not a revisionist historical stance]



                                                       THE BLESSED VIRGIN IN BATTLE

    (Feastday of Our Lady of the Rosary--October 7

    Throughout the past 2000 years, the Blessed Virgin has come to the aid of the Catholic church and Christendom when under severe attack--bith spiritual and physical attack.  There are many recorded instances in history where she assisted ethnic groups, cities, and even whole countries in resisting armed assaults.  Following is just one example in which praying the rosary achieved brialliant victories without the loss of life.  This example, the Battle of Lepanto, is one of the best known of the Blessed Virgin's victories.  Christendom was literally saved from the takeover by the Ottoman Empire.  She continued to aid Christendom in defending itself from invading forces until around 1700, when christendom was no longer threatened from outside physical attacks.

    BATTLE OF LEPANTO IN GREECE, OCTOBER 7, 1571--

     The Bay of Lepanto lies beyond the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Peloponnesus with mainland Greece.  A sea battle was fought there on October 7, 1571 that decided the fate of Christendom--
       The events leading to Lepanto began in the early 7th century when a young camel driver emerged from the desert of Arabia and claimed to be the Prophet of Allah.  From this modest beginning, Islam began to spread rapidly.  By the time the prophet died, all Arabs, whether by persuasion or by the sword, had accepted Islam.
        In 638, Caliph Oman, Mohammed's successor rode into Jerusalem and took control of the Holy Land.  Spain fell to Islamic rule in 712.  Muslim armies crossed the Pyrennes and reahed as far as Poitiers, France, before being sopped by charles Martel in 732.

        THE TURKS--
         The Turks were a nomadic tribe that embraced Islam.  They spread their newly found religion throughout the Middle East and, with the zeal of converts, began a campaign against Western Europe.  In the Mediterranean region, the Turks consolidated Islamic power and united under one sovereign--Suleiman the Magnificent.  Sulieman was virtually undefeated in battle and so powerul that he considered himself the undisputed Sultan of East and West.  His grandfather had vowed to stable his horses beneath the Dome of St. Peter's in Rome and to wind the Pope's head with a turban.  The Sultan was now in a position to fulfill his grandfather's dream.

      THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA---

       There was only one slight detail that Sulieman the Magnificent needed to tend to before striking Europe.  This detail was a Christian oupost located on the island of Malta.  The Knights of St. John had retreated to the island of Malta in 1565, when they were driven from Rhodes by the Turks.  From their new position on Malta, the Knights of St. John could and did harass Turkish fleets as they sailed back and forth from Constantinople (capital of the Ottoman [Turkish] Empire) to Tripoli in Northern Africa.  Sulieman the Magnificent decided that it was time to attack Malta.
        It is reported that the flagship that led the Sultan's fleet against Malta on that day was the largest and most beautiful ship that was ever seen in the Bosporus.  It was a showcase of Turkish power and authority.  The Knights of Malta, who had pledged themselves to fight Islam, fought a battle that "has become a legend of heroism."  Badly outnumbered, the Knights stood their ground and at the end of the siege, 3/4 of the Turks perished leaving only 600 knights alive on the entire island.  The defeat called for retaliation.  The remainder of the Turkish fleet limped back to Constantinople to rebuild the armada while making plans to reclaim their honor and prestige.

                THE POPE AND THE HOLY LEAGUE--

      The man who assumed the task of stemming the Islamic tide on one hand, and of strengthening the nerve of the Christian princes on the  other was not a bellicose statesman of great political prowess, but a monk of humble origin upon whom the mantle of the papacy fell.  He was a Dominican, Pope Pius V--He was quite tireless in his efforts to rally the Christian princes.....(to be continued).......