October invites Catholics to rediscover the rosary. From the victory at Lepanto, commemorated by the Oct. 7 feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, to Our Lady of Fatima’s request to “pray the rosary every day,” October reminds us that each Ave Maria ultimately draws us toward Christ.

Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria reveals this beautifully. Biebl intertwines the Hail Mary with the Angelus: the angel announces to Mary, Mary gives her fiat, and “the Word was made flesh.” One group of singers begins, another answers, and their voices gradually join together. The Ave Maria returns repeatedly, yet each repetition feels newly illuminated.

This is remarkably like praying the rosary. We repeat familiar words while contemplating different mysteries, allowing them to lead us more deeply into the life of Christ.

The Church teaches that sacred music should foster precisely this prayer. Tra le sollecitudini speaks of music moving the faithful to devotion; Sacrosanctum Concilium says it “adds delight to prayer”; Musicam Sacram emphasizes interior participation; and De Musica Sacra recognizes sacred song’s power to raise our minds to the truths of faith.

This October, listen prayerfully to Biebl’s Ave Maria. Let its repetition teach us in a way similar to the rosary: familiar words can draw us into deeper contemplation of these mysteries.