The Words Archangel Gabriel Spoke Still Work: Here’s the Proof.
by Nikki Walton for CurlyNikki.com
A few weeks ago, I started seeing a man at church I hadn’t seen in what felt like a year.
He always sat behind me, quiet, but present. I spoke one afternoon after daily Mass and, to my surprise, remembered his name. I never remember names. But his? Francisco. Like St. Francis. He smiled and told me he splits his time between Florida and up north. Said he was an author. Gave me the title of a book he wrote. I bought it that same day, tucked it in the cabinet, and never opened it.
Until last night.
Last night while praying, I felt that familiar tap on the heart…Tomorrow is a Marian feast day. I couldn’t remember which one. I looked it up. And the second I saw it- Our Lady of the Rosary– I remembered the book.
Our Lady of Lepanto.
Our Lady of Victory.
I couldn’t believe it. Out of all the titles of Mary’s intercession… that one. I watched a few documentaries on the Battle of Lepanto, stunned, and went to bed feeling like I was part of something much bigger than I could see. I woke up that way, too. So did you.
Because today’s not just any day. It’s the anniversary of an impossible victory. It’s also the eve of the 17th anniversary of this website. I stayed up 48 hours straight and launched with 30 articles on the morning of October 8th. A turning point in my life.
The Battle Was Lost- Until She Spoke
On October 7, 1571, Christian Europe was under siege. The Ottoman Empire, with one of the strongest navies in the world, was advancing… fast. Outnumbered. Outgunned. Out of time. The Holy League (a group of Catholic maritime states) knew they didn’t stand a chance without divine intervention.
So Pope Pius V called on every Catholic in Europe to pray the Rosary, what he called the “spiritual weapon.” Rosary confraternities prayed in the streets. Priests processed with banners of the Virgin Mary. Women and children prayed at home. Before the first shot of war was fired, the people fired the first round of Heaven’s words:
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you…”
That one angelic salutation, spoken first by Archangel Gabriel to a humble girl in Nazareth, changed the world forever.
It changed her womb. It changed the soil. It changed the war.
At the height of the battle, something miraculous happened. The winds shifted. The Ottoman’s strategic advantage vanished. And the Christian forces who by all accounts should have lost… won.
Prayer won. God won.
Why I Pray It Like This
When I pray the Rosary, I don’t say “thee” or “thou”, anymore.
I say “you”, because I can feel her here. I can feel Him here. As if they’re seated in front of me while I kneel, watching me, receiving every word I whisper like an offering. I usually see Him on the cross facing me, her at His feet, standing, with a chalice, collecting the Precious Blood, looking back at me, like, “Now, we pour.” I keep that image with me in the form of THIS UNITY CRUCIFIX.
I pray the Rosary like they did at Lepanto:
150 Hail Marys, just like the 150 Psalms.
15 Our Fathers.
No shortcuts. No add-ons. Just Archangel Gabriel and Elizabeth’s words.
Just reverence.
Just rhythm.
Just power.
Just Jesus.
Sometimes I don’t even meditate on the mysteries… just the Fire. Just the Love. When the Love is so high it’s hard to ‘think’. The words ‘Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus Christ’, become oil… they just fan the flame… they become the soundtrack of the Fire. Just say the words that changed the world once, and can change my world again. I don’t always have the strength to win a battle on my own, but I can always pray the words of and with someone who already did.
If You Want Victory, Pray the Words of Victory
We ask God to change our situation, but we don’t always reach for the words that already did.
The Archangel Gabriel (and St. Elizabeth) didn’t offer a suggestion or a compliment; he delivered a divine decree. And when Mary said yes, she didn’t just say yes for herself. She said yes for you. For me. For us.
And every time we repeat those words with Fire, with awareness, we enter the victory again.
Not a soft victory. Not a slow one. A sword-in-the-sky, Red Sea parting, wind-shifting, impossible breaking open into possible kind of victory! A glory to glory, kinda victory!
That’s what today is about.
That’s what her name means.
She wins wars.
You’re Standing in Victory Already
The book from Francisco. The whisper to pray. The Marian feast. The connection to Lepanto. The dream. The morning. None of it’s random. You being here isn’t random.
You’re holding the words that changed the world.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pray it again. And again. Nonstop. Until you can’t even catch your breath. Until your choked with Glory.
150 times if you can. Let it crack the air. Let it break the silence. Let it carry you like it carried them.
The war is over. The victory is yours.
Pray like it already happened.
Because it did.
I love you,
nik
p.s. You don’t pray these words for victory. If you’re praying them, you already won. It already happened. You’re praying them for praise! I love you!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
I Live You!!!!
Ps! Also ordering The imitation of Christ as a book ❤️🔥