ard complained in those times: "The churches are empty, the
people without priests, the Sacraments without reverence. People on
their deathbed refuse the assistance of the Church, ridicule penance."

How the weapon with which this heresy was conquered was the rosary we
have related in a previous sermon. This was the first glorious victory
through the devotion of the rosary. It was the sword with which the
Church slew the proud Goliath of heresy.

Another wonderful victory through this miraculous weapon of
Christianity was the defeat of the Turkish navy at Lepanto, on October
7, 1571. The so-called reformation, of which Martin Luther was the
originator, had spread over the whole of Europe, bringing in its trail
destruction, dissension and war. The Turks, who had long thirsted for
vengeance upon the Christians, found situations favorable for their
plans. They gathered all their forces to assail the Christian lands.
The princes of Europe were either indifferent, or were besieged with
difficulties in their own lands, and Luther even said he preferred the
Turks to the papacy. Pope Pius V alone realized the great danger that
threatened Christianity and he called upon the Christian people to
defend country and Church against the common enemy.

The Christian forces which could be assembled were very small compared
with those of the Turks. Nevertheless Pius V knew of another power
which he realized would be a mighty ally. With all his energy he
exhorted his people to implore the Blessed Virgin and glorious Queen of
heaven, through the rosary, to come to the assistance of the Christian
army. It was, as Leo XIII said in his Commendation of the rosary, an
ennobling sight, which drew the eyes of the whole world; on one side,
not far from the Corinthian Sea, the Christians prepared to sacrifice
life for religion and country; while gathered on the other side,
imploring through the rosary Mary's assistance for the fighting
Christians, were many Christians unable to take up arms.

The small army of Christians attacking the great force of the Turkish
fleet was an undertaking similar to the assault of David upon the giant
Goliath. On October 7, 1571, the deciding battle was fought, in the Bay
of Lepanto. The battle raged from six o'clock in the morning until six
o'clock at night. It was one of the most terrific battles ever fought.
And, lo! in the evening, toward six o'clock, the battle ended in the
victory of the Christians over their