Text
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.
Structure of the prayer
The “Hail Mary” was written by three different authors:
The first part “Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee” is the greeting of the Angel at the Annunciation, when visiting the Virgin Mary in her house in Nazareth.
The second part: “blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” is the exclamation of Saint Elizabeth during the Visitation, during this unique visit which is related to us in the Holy Gospel. The Blessed Virgin Mary visited her cousin Elisabeth, who, inspired by the Holy Ghost, revealed the first among men, the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb.
The third part: “Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen” was composed by the Church in the very early centuries. The Virgin Mary, being the Holy Mother of God, can really intercede, pray, beg, ask God for us for the graces necessary for our salvation.
The objections of the Protestants
“Catholics adore Mary in this prayer but Jesus did not teach us anything other than the Our Father. »
As we have seen previously, the text of the “Angelic Salutation”, comes; for half, of the Gospels and especially of Saint Luke, and the Protestants themselves admit that the Bible and the New Testament are inspired by God.
As for adoring Mary, Catholics have never done it. They venerate the Virgin Mary, they honor her as requested by the fourth commandment “You shall honor your father and your mother”. The Virgin Mary being the spiritual Mother of all men, it is normal for Catholics to love her and ask her to pray for them.
The text in Latin
Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen
Discover the Ave Maria in Gregorian chant
