Hail Mary Prayer
A thing to be understood when it comes to prayer, whether it include Mary or the saints, is that we pray with them, not to them. We ask Mary, having the greatest humbleness and humility of all, to petition for us on the behalf of mankind. She truly is the mother of God (Luke 1:35, 43; Matthew 1:23; Galatians 4:4). John Calvin once said that how could she not be our mother if she is the mother of our Lord.
The rosary is a tradition in which may include the Hail Mary. The rosary prayer may differ in prayers, from the Hail Mary, to the Our Father, to the Sinner’s Prayer, to the Sheppard’s prayer, to the Divine Mysteries, and so forth.
The Hail Mary is composed of scriptural passages:
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee
- Luke 1:28 “And coming to her, he said, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”
“Blessed art thou among women
- Luke 1:41-42 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women”
- Luke 1:48 “For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.”
“And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
- Luke 1:42 “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God
- 1 Peter 2:15 “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.”
- Hebrew 2:14 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
- Luke 1:43 “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
- Matthew 12:49-50 “And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
“Pray for us sinner now and at the hour of our death.” Amen
- Read Intercessory Prayer of Saints for understanding of last verse of the Hail Mary.
- Also take into account, that we aren’t praying to Mary, we are asking her to pray for us. Look at the last line, “Pray for us”; this means she is not the means of an end in prayer, but a cooperator in prayer toward the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Hail Mary Prayer is a beautiful gift from God, through Mary, to mankind. Men don’t hesitate when calling their pastors, friends, or family for prayer, but refuse to ask those of the Church Triumphant to pray for them. This is because “to be ignorant of Scripture is to be ignorant of Christ”- St. Jerome. Do we not know that Jesus began His ministry at Mary’s request [Jn 2:1-11]? Do we not understand that a king son will not refuse his queenly mother, as depicted in the Old Testament? Do we not see that Mary was given to us by Jesus, whose every word was a universal declaration, from the cross of salvation? Do we not believe in the divine gift and commandment to intercede in prayer?
If Jesus honored His mother, than so should we. When the servants run out of water and ask Mary to ask Jesus to give us more, than so should we. If you will say that asking Mary for help does nothing, than why did Jesus not only answer the servants request through Mary for more wine, but answer also Mary’s request in that He starts His ministry?
Your’s,
Drew Castel.
