Everyday Prayers: The Hail Mary, Part 2

Let's return to our reflections on the Hail Mary. We'll begin with prayer:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

1. The prayer's second sentence comes directly from Scripture except for the last word of it. In Luke 1:39, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaims these words to Mary in welcome. In doing so, she recognizes Mary's special role in salvation history, even going so far, in the next verse, as to call her visitor “the mother of my Lord.” Elizabeth then informs her guest that even her own unborn child has recognized the singularity of the situation: “For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.” Elizabeth completes her greeting with another blessing: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” Mary is blessed both because of what has happened to her and because of her response to God's plan in her life.

2. Blessed art thou among women – Mary holds a unique place among all women who ever lived, who live now, and who ever will live. She is the Mother of God, the one specifically chosen to bear the Incarnate Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Elizabeth may not understand this completely, but her heart tells her that Mary is no ordinary guest. We, too, recognize Mary's special blessing and extraordinary role when we join Elizabeth in proclaiming these words.

3. and blessed is the fruit of thy womb – How could Elizabeth have known that Mary was pregnant? Mary hadn't even said one word to her yet. The Holy Spirit has clearly filled Elizabeth's mind with knowledge and her heart with joy. She sings out a blessing on the Child Who would be her Lord and Savior, and we join our voices to hers in prayer and love.

4. Jesus – We, however, know something that Elizabeth didn't when she was speaking to Mary that day. We know the name of our Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ. We can call our God by name, for He has reached out to us in love, becoming like us in everything except sin.

5. Holy Mary – Mary is indeed holy. From the very instant of her conception, she was set apart for God. Conceived without original sin and therefore enjoying the intimacy of the divine indwelling, Mary remained sinless her entire life. Today she stands beside her Son in the bliss of Heaven.

6. Mother of God – Jesus is God. Mary is the Mother of Jesus. Therefore, Mary is the Mother of God. These three simple sentences form what has long been called the “Ephesus syllogism.” They express the faith of the Catholic Church, which was clearly defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. Of course, the Church believed this about Mary since the very beginning, but as often happens, the doctrine was explicitly stated after it was challenged by heretical claims. The Church always makes sure that her children receive the full truth about the faith.

7. pray for us sinners – We can be certain that Mary prays for all of her children all the time. She wants us to be with God and with her in Heaven forever, and she will do all she can to make sure that happens. Mary also brings our prayers to her divine Son, adding the strength and reverence of her own prayers to ours. We sinners (and we are all sinners) can always rely on the powerful prayers of our sinless Mother.

8. now and at the hour of our death – When we ask for Mary's prayers, she always gives them. We are constantly on her mind and in her heart. We especially need Mary's prayers at the hour of our death when we prepare to meet God face to face and when the enemy tempts us to despair. Then our Mother comes to comfort and strengthen us and presents her prayers on our behalf to her divine Son.

9. Amen – With this one little word, we say a firm “Yes” to everything we have just prayed. We once again recognize who Mary is, acknowledge her blessedness and grace, and reiterate our request for her prayers. We also express our great love for our holy Mother.

Once again, then, let us pray:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Everyday Prayers: Hail Mary, Part 1

Most Catholics pray the Hail Mary constantly. We learned it as children, recite it many times with every Rosary, and find it on our lips in times of stress and trial. We automatically call upon our Mother Mary for relief, comfort, support, and prayer. 

But how often do we pause to think about what we are really saying when we pray the Hail Mary? The next few posts will examine this beautiful everyday prayer in detail and draw out at least some of its great riches.

We'll being by praying the Hail Mary:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

1. The first sentence of the Hail Mary comes directly from Luke 1:28. The archangel Gabriel greets Mary with these very words when he appears to her at the annunciation. These words are spoken by God's messenger, and therefore, they come directly from God Himself, for Gabriel only speaks what God wills him to speak. When we pray these words, then, we are praying in the very words of God and speaking to Mary in the very words God uses to describe her.

2. Hail Mary – The word “Hail” indicates a special greeting for a special person. We are not merely saying hello but addressing Mary in a more formal way that recognizes her special status as the Mother of God and as our mother and queen.

3. full of grace – The Greek word used here is kecharitōmenē. A literal translation would sound something like this: “you who have been fully graced.” The word is a perfect passive participle in the vocative feminine singular. Let's unpack that mouthful of grammar. Vocative simply means that we are addressing Mary directly, and of course, Mary is one person (singular) and female. The word is a participle, which, in this case, serves in the capacity of an adjective and describes a characteristic of Mary. The participle is passive. The action happens to Mary but is performed by someone else. Finally, the participle is in perfect tense. In Greek, the perfect tense is like a red flag that draws attention to something very important. It sets an idea in the foreground and points a big arrow directly at it. It also implies a fullness and an ongoing condition that is the result of some event that took place in the past.

If we put all that back together, then, we discover that this one little Greek word tells us that someone (God, of course) has made Mary fully graced. He has done so in the past (at her Immaculate Conception), and the condition continues into the present. Being full of grace is a characteristic of Mary, and Luke presents that fact in such a way that it stands out. God really, really wanted Mary to know this about herself, and He also wants us to know this about Mary.

4. the Lord is with thee – God is indeed with Mary. Because she was conceived without original sin, God's Spirit dwelt within Mary from the very beginning of her life. Original sin is, of course, the absence of sanctifying grace in the soul, the absence of God's indwelling presence. But Mary never experienced this. Because the Lord chose to apply the merits of Jesus' redemptive death to Mary ahead of time, God was with Mary from her very first moment. He was with her when Gabriel appeared. He was always with her, for she never lost sanctifying grace through sin. He is with her even today, for she stands beside her Son in Heaven, basking in His love. 

We will continue our reflections in the next post, but now let us pray:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Everyday Prayers: Hail, Holy Queen, Part 3

Once again, we will resume our reflections on the Hail, Holy Queen by praying this beautiful prayer.

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen. 

1. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us – With these words, we ask Mary to look upon us in our misery. We beg her to turn to us with compassion, seeing not just our sins but our weaknesses, our needs, and our longings. Mary is our Advocate, the one who takes our case before the divine Judge and pleads for our pardon and our peace. She also presents all of our prayers to God, joining her own prayers to them to strengthen them that they may be answered according to the divine will.

2. and after this our exile – When we are in this world, we are away from our true home, which is Heaven. We lack face-to-face contact with God, the beatific vision that we one day hope to have. We walk in exile, on a journey toward our homeland but still separated from the perfection we crave. As St. Paul says, while we are here on earth, we see only as through a darkened mirror, dimly, indistinctly (1 Cor 13:12), but after the days of our exile, we will see the glory of God.

3. show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus – In fact, we ask Mary to show us her Son and, in doing so, we are actually asking her to get us safely home to Heaven, where we will see Jesus face to face. As we make this request, we also acknowledge that Jesus is both God (reigning in Heaven) and Man (born of Mary).

4. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! – We cry out to our Mother with open, longing hearts, recognizing her great mercy, her tender love, and her sweet nature.

5. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God – Once again, we beg for Mary's powerful prayers, knowing that as the spotless Mother of God, she has special access to her divine Son, Jesus.

6. that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ – What are the promises of Christ? Jesus has promised eternal life to those who believe in Him and obey His commands. And what are Jesus' commands? In the Gospel of Matthew, a lawyer asks Jesus, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus responds, “'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (22:36-40). When we ask Mary to make us worthy of the promises of Christ, then, we are asking her to obtain for us living faith, the faith that both believes in Who Jesus is and lovingly acts on what He commands.

7. Amen – With this one little world, we give our full ascent to everything we have just said about the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in our lives and in God's plan of salvation. Our Amen should express our great love for our Mother.

Now let us pray:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.