Hail Mary: What is it?

[Hoonbaba]

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious to know about "Hail Mary": What exactly is it?

There's one protestant sister I know who left the Catholic church because of "Hail Mary". I don't know what she meant by it but she didn't like any of it. In fact she was somewhat traumatized by the church, especially with confession and how many Catholics wouldn't go to Christ, rather they would sound like the priest is the mediator. I guess there was some misconception. And I'm guessing some Catholics could be misinformed. That tends to happen almost all the time with anything.

So anyway, what is "Hail Mary"?

-Jason

 

[KC Catholic]

The "Hail Mary" is meditation on the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ. It is made up several prayers and its designed to focus on the mysteries: joyful, sorrowful and gloryious.

The rosary has been prayed since the thirteenth century. While meditating on the life of Jesus, one recites the prayers that brings one closer to Him and to His Mother, Mary.

Here is a link demonstrating how to pray the Hail Mary.

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/rosary2.htm

 

[jukesk9]

Also, in a simpler form, the Hail Mary is a request that Mary pray for us:

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst 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.

The first three lines are from the Gospel of Luke. It is merely us saluting Mary as the Angel Gabriel did and as Elizabeth did. The last line is our request for her to pray for us.

I'm not sure why this would make a Catholic uncomfortable as one of the basic tenets of our Faith is the Communion of Saints where the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory and the saints in heaven unite in prayer and pray for us.

 

[jukesk9]

I don't want to upstage KC but here's another link to the rosary. This site is quite awesome and impressive:

www.theholyrosary.org

 

[KC Catholic]

Jukes - its all good!

 

[jukesk9]

Right on!

 

[isshinwhat]

I'm not sure why this would make a Catholic uncomfortable.

Amen! It's all from the Scriptures!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Luke 1
28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"

Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Luke 1
42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Holy Mary,

1 Corinthians 7:34
and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or virgin is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit;

Mother of God,

Luke 1
43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

pray for us sinners, now

1 Timothy 2:1
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men,

and at the hour of our death. Amen.

2 Timothy 1
16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiph'orus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains,...18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day...


I had a link with these or similar passages listed, but I lost it. I hope this helps.

Neal

 

[Hoonbaba]

Hi Neal,

Thanks for sharing =)

I was already aware of Luke 1:42-43, Luke 1:48, but the other ones are great too!!

By the way, did I mention Eph 3:15 and it's reference to God's family both in heaven and earth?

I forgot too easily =)

God bless!

-Jason

 

[isshinwhat]

Ephesians...Great!!! One more to my list. This stuff really helps me understand who I am. Thanks for the help, Jason.

Neal

 

[Hoonbaba]

Originally posted by isshinwhat
Ephesians...Great!!! One more to my list. This stuff really helps me understand who I am. Thanks for the help, Jason.

Neal

Whoa....I just re-read all of Ephesians and I came across something fascinating:

Eph 1:15 speaks about the Ephesians loved all the saints and, the same thing appears in Colossians 1:4 and Philemon 1:5.

St. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would have power 'together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ' (Eph 3:18)

But contextually they may be referring to saints who were on earth. I could be wrong =)

-Jason

 

[VOW]

To Jason:

"Saints" is pretty encompassing! The non-Catholics who like to argue about 'praying to the dead' often interpret these verses to mean living saints, but when taken all together, it doesn't seem as limiting as what they want to believe.

In Interfaith Discussion, there was a pretty rowdy thread about the Rosary, and someone slapped the Catholics in the face with Jesus's admonition against "vain and repetitious prayer." The point was made that yes, some prayers ARE repetitious, but Jesus didn't single them out!

Repetitious prayer has a very, very useful function. The human brain is a quite unruly organ, and it often rebels against order. You encounter this when you're trying to study for a final, and your brain entertains ideas of movies, friends, ice cream cones, and the beach. It's HARD to ditch that extraneous stuff and force your mind to focus.

If you've ever been in a very dark part of your life, where worry seems to consume you, and horrible thoughts keep intruding (say a very beloved relative is having surgery, and you are waiting outside the operating room for results!), it's almost impossible to keep from climbing the walls. The repetitious prayer of the Rosary is an indescribable comfort. You can keep bringing your mind back from its forays with the next bead. Your mind isn't swamped with worry, instead you are infused with peace.


Peace be with you,
~VOW