Who better to explain
the Hail Mary than our own beloved
Blessed Pope John Paul II...
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| Totus Tuus, Latin for Totally Yours, was Blessed John Paul II’s Apostolic Motto |
Blessed John Paul II explains the Hail Mary in the following way:
The first half of the Hail Mary is contained in Luke 1. The
Hail Mary is broken up into two parts: “Who Mary is” (rows 1-5) and “Our prayer
to Mary.” (rows 5-6)
Below the Hail Mary is examined line by line:
The Prayer Bible
Verse Explanation
Hail Mary, full of Grace
Luke 1:28
(Hail, full of Grace)
The Angel Gabriel greets Mary with very respectful greeting used for
royalty. The text doesn’t say “Mary” after Hail but it is implied. Gabriel then
proclaims Mary full of Grace (full of God’s own life and love);
The Lord is with you
Luke 1:28
(The Lord is with you)
This is word for word. The Angel Gabriel said that the Lord is with
Mary, she is full of his Grace, his own life.
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| Elizabeth greets Mary Luke 1:41-42 |
Blessed are you among women
Luke 1:41 (Blessed are you among women)
Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit; she is inspired by the 3rd
person of the Blessed Trinity to proclaim that Mary is the most blessed among
all women.
And blessed is
the fruit of thy womb Jesus
Luke 1:42 (and blessed is the fruit of your womb) Elizabeth still inspired by the Holy Spirit
proclaims that the fruit of Mary’s womb, the developing Jesus, is blessed. The
text doesn’t say “Jesus” after womb, but it is implied, the fruit of her womb
is Jesus.
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| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel |
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Luke 1:43 (And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should
come to me?) Mary is full of God’s
grace; this would make her holy. Mary is the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity. Since Jesus is God this makes her
the mother of God. She is the mother of the God-Man Jesus, not the mother of
the Trinity.
Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death James 5:16 (Therefore confess your sins to
one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous man has great power in its effects)
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| The Madonna in Sorrow |
St. James tells Christians to pray for one another. All the baptized are members of the body of
Christ (1Cor 12:12-14), therefore it is right to pray for other members of the
body. James goes on to say that the
prayers of the righteous have great power.
What human (other than Jesus) is more righteous then the
Blessed Mother? Though she is in heaven she still hears the prayers of her
children on Earth and intercedes for them.
