October 7th is celebrated in the Church as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. It stems from a major naval battle that Catholic Christian forces won against a superior invading Moslem fleet. It was fought on October 7, 1571. You can read about it here.

To celebrate the decisive victory, which if lost would have opened up Europe to Muslim invasion and probable forced conversions to Islam, the Pope established the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. If you read the article in the link above, the victory was attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession. The Feast was renamed “Our Lady of the Rosary” later on.

The following is a “Litany” which is a form of prayer in which a greeting to or title of the saint who’s intercession you are requesting is said, followed by a response. It can be said by one person, or in a group. If in a group, a leader reads the text not in italics, and the others gathered respond with the text in italics. Litanies are nice prayers because they can help you focus your mind on specific aspects of the saint and Catholic spirituality.

My thanks to Rose S., a non-alcoholic special friend of mine for finding this for me. 🙂

Our Lady of Victory Litany

Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us,
Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us,
Christ, hear us,
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us,
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

The response for the following greetings is ‘Pray for us.’
Our Lady of Victory,
Victorious daughter of the Father,
Victorious Mother of the Son,
Victorious Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious servant of the Holy Trinity,
Victorious in your Immaculate Conception,
Victorious in crushing the serpent’s head,
Victorious over all the children of Adam,
Victorious over all enemies,
Victorious in your response to the Angel Gabriel,
Victorious in your wedding to St. Joseph,
Victorious in the birth of Christ,
Victorious in the flight to Egypt,
Victorious in your exile,
Victorious in your home at Nazareth,
Victorious in finding Christ in the temple,
Victorious in the mission of your Son,
Victorious in His passion and death,
Victorious in His Resurrection and Ascension,
Victorious in the Coming of the Holy Spirit,
Victorious in your sorrows and joys,
Victorious in your glorious Assumption,
Victorious in the angels who remained faithful,
Victorious in the happiness of the saints,
Victorious in the message of the prophets,
Victorious in the testimony of the patriarchs,
Victorious in the zeal of the apostles,
Victorious in the witness of the evangelists,
Victorious in the wisdom of the doctors,
Victorious in the deeds of the confessors,
Victorious in the triumph of all holy women,
Victorious in the faithfulness of the martyrs,
Victorious in your powerful intercession,
Victorious under your many titles,
Victorious at the moment of death,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Hear us, Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy, Lord.
V. Pray for us, blessed Lady of Victory.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Our Lady of Victory, we have unshaken confidence in your influence with your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Humbly we ask your intercession for all of us associated under your title, Our Lady of Victory.

We beg your powerful assistance also for our own personal needs (Please mention here your special intention in your own words.) In your maternal kindness please ask Jesus to forgive all our sins and failings, and to secure His blessings for us and for all the works of charity dedicated to your name. We implore you to obtain for us the grace of sharing Christ’s victory and yours forever in the life that knows no ending. May we join you there to praise forever the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for all ages to come. Amen.

OK, I introduce this Litany aside from the fact that the Feast is tomorrow, because I am about to embark on a series of major postings on the Rosary this weekend. October is dedicated to the Rosary, and therefore it is a fine time to introduce this devotion to Sober Catholic readers who may be rusty or unfamiliar with it. It is a great method to focus your spirituality.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)