THROUGH UNTRUE
October is the month of the Rosary. Sadly, the Rosary is often dismissed as a sentimental devotion reserved for women and pious old ladies. History, however, tells us otherwise. Throughout the centuries, Christian soldiers have gone into battle praying the Rosary and carrying banners bearing the cross and images of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. They prayed not because they were afraid to fight, but because they understood that courage and prayer are not opposites. In fact, it is the brave who feel the need to pray.
We sometimes imagine that bravery means being like superheroes who can single-handedly defeat everyone who opposes them. But how can someone be truly courageous if he knows he is indestructible? A person is brave when, despite knowing he is weak and vulnerable, still acts boldly, humbly acknowledging that faith can supply what human strength alone cannot.
It was this kind of bravery that the Filipino and Spanish soldiers exhibited in 1646 when they fought against a formidable Dutch armada intent on annexing the Philippines to its expanding empire and abolishing the Catholic faith. Historical records recount how, despite being aboard poorly equipped warships and having inferior firepower, those local defenders successfully repulsed several attacks by the foreign invaders who were forced to retreat after suffering heavy casualties.
The Filipino and Spanish soldiers attributed their victory to God, to whom they prayed incessantly. To assure their victory, they prayed the Rosary before the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, enshrined at the Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros. This image, which is more than four centuries old, came to be known as “La Naval de Manila,” a witness to how the soldiers fought unafraid, prayed unashamedly, and later walked barefoot at dawn to express their gratitude to God and pay homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today, the image of La Naval de Manila has become more than a reminder of a naval victory. It has become a powerful symbol of the power of faith. We see this in the revolts for our independence from Spain and America, in the People Power revolution of 1986, and many other occasions where the world witnessed what faith can accomplish when it is not confined to private devotions and piety, but allowed to bear on the realities around us.
Now, more than ever, we have even greater reason to draw strength from this faith because the insidious enemies threatening to plunge us into hopelessness and despair no longer lurk only beyond our shores. Some of our greatest enemies are within us: our selfishness, rampant corruption, bitter factionalism, and collective apathy. Our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, recognized the importance of faith in the pursuit of national progress. As he wrote in one of his letters, “If we want progress for our country, let us work and build together, beginning with the foundation of progress which is faith.”
But through his example, Rizal taught that faith is not a magical formula for quick fixes, instant healing, or a cowardly escape from responsibility. Rather, it is a firm conviction, inspired by grace, that because we are created in God's image, we possess the intelligence, talents, and strength to envision a better future and work to make it a reality. Authentic faith moves us to work for positive change, not out of desperation, but out of love.
Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. discovered a similar source of strength during his imprisonment in Fort Bonifacio. He wrote that when he prayed the Rosary, he saw “Jesus as a God-man who preached nothing but love, but was killed by the very same people whom he loved.” Perhaps this vision of Christ strengthened Ninoy's resolve to love his country even unto death, convinced that the Filipino people were, in his own words, “worth dying for.”
Both Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino were holding the Rosary moments before they were killed. Whenever we pray the Rosary, may we manifest our faith, not merely in the beads we hold or the processions we join, but in the courage to confront what is wrong and the determination to overcome the darkness within ourselves so we can become the people God calls us to be.
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