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.
What Is The Hail Mary Prayer?
The Hail Mary Prayer is one of the most popular and common prayers in Catholic religion and various other Christian traditions. In this prayer, one calls upon Mary who is the most virtuous and the most pious woman that the world has ever seen and that has ever existed on this planet. Hail Mary is considered to be the most effective prayer in times of sorrow, sadness, hopelessness, and grief as it recognizes Mary to be our guide in distress, an inspiration, a light in the darkness, and an ounce of hope when everything seems gloomy and upside down. Mary, the virgin, was the most sacrificing, God-fearing lady and calling upon her gives one the strength that one needs to live through the hardships of life.
What Is The True Meaning Of The Hail Mary?
The Hail Mary Prayer has its origin in the verses of Holy Bible where it talks about the encounter of Mary, the virgin, with angel Gabriel who came to her to give her the glad tidings of the birth of Jesus and it also talks about the encounter between Mother Mary and her dear cousin Elizabeth. In the prayer when Gabriel comes to Mary he says a few verses that have huge meaning and lesson for all those who believe in God and Christianity. Let's look at the true meaning of the prayer by digging deeper into the meaning of each verse:
When Gabriel came to Mary the first thing he said to her was that you are full of grace! This means that since she is chosen by God to give birth to Jesus she is full of grace and is Sinless. There is no capacity of sin in her as God has protected her from the sin. Then he goes on telling her that God is forever with you. Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a flesh growing inside of her body implies that God is within each of us. When we listen to God, believe in him, accept and surrender to his will it is like we are growing a flesh of God within us. God comes to live within us because he makes a home in people who love him, believe in him, and obey his commands. Moreover, the verse also implies that when we believe in Jesus we offer him our body and sacrifice ourselves to him just the way Mary did.
Then he tells her she is the most blessed among all the women in the world. She lived her life as an ordinary woman and as an ordinary mother taking care of her son and providing food, shelter, and clothing for him. After this Gabriel gave her the good news of the birth of her son Jesus. He tells her that a blessed fruit is growing inside your womb and he will be Jesus who will change the way the world thinks and the world goes. Mary is called receptive in the verses as she just receives and receives and only gives her love, sacrifice, flesh, and blood to the Son of God. Mary conceived Jesus in her mind and her heart way before she conceived Him in her womb.
Further, in the verses, he calls her The Mother of God. He calls her Holy Mary. This tells us that she is an example for her us as the way she obeyed the command of God and sacrificed herself for his an example for all of us to follow in our lives. She is an epitome of surrender and humility and is extremely pious and holy. The angel then asks her to make a prayer for us the sinners. It implies here that having someone who could give us the right advice and guidance in life is extremely important and is a wonderful gift of God. It is a sign that God’s hand is always on you and he wants to help you. All the parents need to give the right counseling to their children that lead them to the right path i.e. the path of the Holy Mary.
The continuation of the verse pray for the sinners is “Now and till we die". This angel asks Mary to pray for the sinners in this world till they die so they get hope and positivity to live their lives while sticking to the right path and when they go back to their God after death they go in front of him with grace and pride. This means we must always trust the Holy Mary as she is the source of guidance and an example for us to live our lives. We need to be reminded of the love and sacrifice that the Mother Mary displayed in her life to get us gets motivated, confident and hopeful. The reply of Mary to Angel's commands was “yes” which tells us to always be willing to obey God’s commands and surrender to his will in every aspect of life.
