the hail mary
“Hail Mary”, the greeting of the angel Gabriel, opens this prayer. It is God himself who, through his angel as intermediary, greets Mary. Our prayer dares to take up this greeting to Mary with the regard God had for the lowliness of ‘his humble servant and to exult in the joy he finds in her.
“Full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” These two phrases of the angel’s greeting shed light on one another. The grace with which Mary is filled is the presence of Him who is the source of all grace.
“Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” After the angel’s greeting, we make Elizabeth’s greeting our own. “Filled with the Holy Spirit “Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary blessed.” “Blessed is she who believed....” Mary is “blessed among women” because she believed in the fulfillment of the Lord’s word, thus becoming the mother of believers, through whom all nations of the earth receive him who is God’s own blessing: Jesus, the “fruit of thy womb.”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God.” Mary is Mother of God and our mother; we can entrust all our cares and petitions to her: she prays for us as she prayed for herself: “Let it be to me according to your word.” By entrusting ourselves to her prayer, we abandon ourselves to the will of God together with her.
“Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the “Mother of Mercy,” the All-Holy One. And our trust broadens further to surrender “the hour of our death” wholly to her care. May she be there as she was at her son’s death on the cross. May she welcome us as our mother at the hour of our passing to lead us to her son, Jesus, in paradise.1
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.
Ave, María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum; benedícta tu in muliéribus, et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta María, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatóribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ. Amen.