The Hail Mary – The greatest of all prayers after the Our Father, but we need to say the Hail Mary often, in order to say the Our Father well and in order to put the Our Father in practice in our lives.
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
The Power of the Hail Mary
The Hail Mary is an incredibly powerful prayer, more so when said slowly and with devotion. Here are some reasons that have come down through the Catholic Church:
- You can give God’s Mother great joy and obtain for yourselves graces that she wishes to give you by reciting the Hail Mary daily.
- One Hail Mary well said fills the heart of Our Lady with delight and obtains for us indescribably great graces. One Hail Mary well said gives us more graces than a thousand thoughtlessly said. Is it hard to say the Hail Mary well? All we have to do is to know its value and understand its meaning.
- The Hail Mary is like a mine of gold that we can always take from but never exhaust.
- St. Jerome tells us that “the truths contained in the Hail Mary are so sublime, so wonderful that no man or Angel could fully understand them.”
- St. Thomas Aquinas, the Prince of Theologians, “the wisest of Saints and holiest of wise men,” as Leo XIII called him, preached for 40 days in Rome on the Hail Mary, filling his hearers with rapture.
- Father F. Suarez, the holy and learned Jesuit, declared when dying that he would willingly give all the many learned books he wrote, all his life’s labors, for the merit of one Hail Mary prayerfully and devoutly said.
- St. Mechtilde, who loved our Lady very much, was one day striving to compose a beautiful prayer in her honor. Our Lady appeared to her, with the golden letters on her breast of: “Hail Mary full of grace.” She said to her: “Desist, dear child, from your labor for no prayer you could possibly compose would give me the joy and delight of the Hall Mary.”
- A certain man found joy in saying slowly the Hail Mary. The Blessed Virgin in return appeared to him smiling and announced to him the day and hour that he should die, granting him a most holy and happy death.
- After death a beautiful white lily grew from his mouth having written on its petals: “Hail Mary.”
- Cesarius recounts a similar incident. A humble and holy monk lived in the monastery. His poor mind and memory were so weak that he could only repeat one prayer which was the “Hail Mary.” After death a tree grew over his grave and on all its leaves was written: “Hail Mary.”
- Each time that we say the Hail Mary we are repeating the very same words with which St. Gabriel the Archangel saluted Mary on the day of the Annunciation, when she was made Mother of the Son of God. Many graces and joys filled the soul of Mary at that moment.
- Now when we say the Hail Mary we offer anew all these graces and joys to Our Lady and she accepts them with Immense delight. In return she gives us a share in these joys.
- Once Our Lord asked St. Francis Assisi to give Him something. The Saint replied: “Dear Lord, I can give You nothing for I have already given you all, all my love.”Jesus smiled and said: “Francis, give Me it all again and again, it will give Me the same pleasure.”So with our dearest Mother, she accepts from us each time we say the Hail Mary the joys and delight she received from the words of St. Gabriel.
- St. Bernard and many Saints said that it was never, never heard at any time or in any place that Mary refused to hear the prayers of her children on earth
- To love and trust Mary is to be happy on earth now and afterwards to be happy in Heaven.
- Dr. Hugh Lammer was a staunch Protestant, with strong prejudices against the Catholic Church.One day he found an explanation of the Hail Mary and read it. He was so charmed with it that he began to say it daily. Insensibly, all his anti-Catholic animosity began to disappear. He became a Catholic, a holy priest and a professor of Catholic Theology in Breslau.
- A priest was called to the bedside of a man who was dying in despair because of his sins. Yet he refused obstinately to go to confession. As a last recourse the priest asked him to say at least the Hail Mary after which the poor man made a sincere confession and died a holy death.
- In England, a parish priest was asked to go and see a Protestant lady who was gravely ill, and who wished to become a Catholic. Asked if she had ever gone to a Catholic Church, or, if she had spoken to Catholics, or if she had read Catholic books? She replied, “No, no.”All she could remember was that——when a child——she had learned from a little Catholic neighbor girl the Hail Mary, which she said every night. She was Baptized and before dying had the happiness of seeing her husband and children Baptized.
- St. Gertrude tells us in her book, “Revelations” that when we thank God for the graces He has given to any Saint, we get a great share of those particular graces. What graces, then, do we not receive when we say the Hail Mary while thanking God for all the unspeakable graces He has given His Blessed Mother
- “. . . One Ave Maria [Hail Mary] said without sensible fervor, but with a pure will in a time of aridity, has much more value in my sight than an entire Rosary recited in the midst of consolations,” The Blessed Mother to Sr: Benigna Consolata Ferrero
- “The holy and learned Jesuit, Father Suarez, was so deeply aware of the value of the Angelic Salutation [Hail Mary] that he said that he would gladly give all his learning for the price of one Hail Mary that had been said well. St. Louis De Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, p. 48
- “The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers, it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God … and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.” Pope St. Pius X
- “Let the storm rage and the sky darken – not for that shall we be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin Most Powerful ‘who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.’” Pope St. Pius X
Important Instructions on how to say the Hail Mary, and more particularly, the rosary, which is a prayer of 150 Hail Marys. from St. Louis Marie De Montfort
FORTY-FOURTH ROSE: A GOOD METHOD
WHEN YOU have asked the Holy Spirit to help you pray well, put yourself for a moment in the presence of God and offer up the decades in the way that I am going to show you later. [See Chapter 50.]
Before beginning a decade, pause for a moment or two—-depending upon how much time you have—-and contemplate the mystery that you are about to honor in that decade. Always be sure to ask of Almighty God, by this mystery and through the intercession of the Blessed Mother, one of the virtues that shines forth most in this mystery or one of which you stand in particular need.
Take great care to avoid the two pitfalls that most people fall into during the Rosary. The first is the danger of not asking for any graces at all, so that if some people were asked their Rosary intention they would not know what to say. So, whenever you say your Rosary, be sure to ask for some special grace. Ask God’s help in cultivating one of the great Christian virtues or in overcoming one of your sins.
The second big fault a lot of people make when saying the Holy Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over as quickly as possible! This is because so many of us look upon the Rosary as a burden which is always heavier when we have not said it—-especially if it is weighing on our conscience because we have promised to say it regularly or have been told to say it as a penance more or less against our will.
It is really pathetic to see how most people say the Holy Rosary—-they say it astonishingly fast and mumble so that the words are not properly pronounced at all. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most unimportant person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment and yet we expect Jesus and Mary to be pleased with it! Small wonder then that the most sacred prayers of our holy religion seem to bear no fruit, and that, after saying thousands of Rosaries, we are still no better than we were before! Dear Confraternity members, I beg of you to temper the speed which comes all too easily to you and pause briefly several times as you say the Our Father and Hail Mary. I have placed a cross at each pause, as you will see:
Our Father Who art in Heaven, 
hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
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.
At first, you may find it difficult to make these pauses because of your bad habit of saying prayers in a hurry; but a decade that you say recollectedIy in this way will be worth more than thousands of Rosaries said all in a rush—-without any pauses or reflection.
Blessed Alan de la Roche and other writers (including Saint Robert Bellarmine) tell the story of how a good confessor advised three of his penitents, who happened to be sisters, to say the Rosary every day without fail for a whole year. This was so that they might make beautiful robes of glory for Our Lady out of their Rosaries. This was a secret that the priest had received from Heaven.
So the three sisters said the Rosary faithfully for a year and on the Feast of the Purification the Blessed Virgin appeared to them at night when they had retired. Saint Catherine and Saint Agnes were with her and she was wearing beautiful robes that shone and all over them “Hail Mary, full of grace” was blazoned in letters of gold. The Blessed Mother came to the eldest sister and said “I salute you, my daughter, because you have saluted me so often and beautifully. I want to thank you for the beautiful robes that you have made me.” The two virgin Saints who were with Our Lady thanked her too and then all three of them vanished.
An hour later Our Lady and the same two Saints appeared, to them again, but this time she was wearing green which had no gold lettering and did not gleam. She went up to the second sister and thanked her for the robes she had made Her by saying her Rosary. Since this sister had seen Our Lady appear to the eldest much more magnificently dressed she asked Her the reason for the change. The Blessed Mother answered: “Your sister made Me more beautiful clothes because she has been saying her Rosary better than you.”
About an hour after this she appeared to the youngest of the sisters wearing tattered and dirty rags. “My daughter” she said “I want to thank you for these clothes that you have made Me. The young girl was covered with shame and she called out: “Oh, my Queen, how could I have dressed you so badly! I beg you to forgive me. Please grant me a little more time to make you beautiful robes by saying my Rosary better .” Our Lady and the two Saints vanished, leaving the girl heartbroken. She told her confessor everything that had happened and he urged her to say her Rosary for another year and to say it more devoutly than ever.
At the end of this second year on the very same day of the Purification, Our Lady, clothed in a magnificent robe and attended by Saint Catherine and Saint Agnes, wearing crowns, appeared to them again in the evening. She said to them: “My daughters, I have come to tell you that you have earned Heaven at last—-and you will all have the great joy of going there tomorrow.” The three of them cried:
“Our hearts are all ready, dearest Queen; our hearts are all ready.” Then the vision faded. That same night they became ill and so sent for their confessor who brought them the Last Sacraments and they thanked him for the holy practice that he had taught them. After Compline Our Lady appeared with a multitude of virgins and had the three sisters clothed in white gowns. While Angels were singing “Come, spouses of Jesus Christ, receive the crowns which have been prepared for you for all eternity,” they departed from this life.
Some very deep truths can be learned from this story:
1. How important it is to have a good director who will counsel holy practices, especially that of the Most Holy Rosary;
2. How important it is to say the Rosary attentively and devoutly;
3. How kind and merciful the Blessed Mother is to those who are sorry for the past and are firmly resolved to do better;
4. And finally, how generous she is in rewarding us in life, death and eternity, for the little services that we render Her faithfully.
The following arrows are a link to the full book by St. Louis Marie De Montfort: The Secret of the Rosary.
The Memorare
Remember oh most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, than anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions but in thy clemency, hear and answer me.
The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God,, have mercy on us
Holy Mary, pray for us
Holy Mother of God, pray for us
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us
Mother of Christ, pray for us
Mother of the Church, pray for us
Mother of divine grace, pray for us
Mother most pure, pray for us
Mother most chaste, pray for us
Mother inviolate, pray for us
Mother undefiled, pray for us
Mother most amiable, pray for us
Mother most admirable ,pray for us
Mother of good counsel, pray for us
Mother of our Creator, pray for us
Mother of our Savior, pray for us
Virgin most prudent, pray for us
Virgin most venerable, pray for us
Virgin most renowned, pray for us
Virgin most powerful, pray for us
Virgin most merciful, pray for us
Virgin most faithful, pray for us
Mirror of justice, pray for us
Seat of wisdom, pray for us
Cause of our joy, pray for us
Spiritual vessel, pray for us
Vessel of honor, pray for us
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us
Mystical rose, pray for us
Tower of David, pray for us
Tower of ivory, pray for us
House of gold, pray for us
Ark of the covenant, pray for us
Gate of heaven, pray for us
Morning star, pray for us
Health of the sick, pray for us
Refuge of sinners, pray for us
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us
Help of Christians, pray for us
Queen of Angels, pray for us
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us
Queen of Prophets, pray for us
Queen of Apostles, pray for us
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us
Queen of Confessors, pray for us
Queen of Virgins, pray for us
Queen of all Saints, pray for us
Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us
Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us
Queen of families, pray for us
Queen of peace. pray for us
This Litany was originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V
The Devotion of the Three Hail Marys
The devotion is to say three Hail Mays in the morning and in the evening on your knees. Say this prayer, also: O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin this day or O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin this night.
St. Alphonsus of Liguori says this about the devotion: “A devout servant of Mary shall never perish. The chief thing is to persevere faithfully until death in this devotion.”
St. Gertrude the Great: “ “To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.” “
His Holiness, Benedict XV raised the Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys to an Archconfraternity and accorded it indulgences.
This practice was revealed to St. Melchtilde (13th century) while she was beseeching Our Blessed Mother to assist her in her hour of death. Our Lady appeared to her and said: “I will, certainly. But I also want you to say three special Hail Marys to me every day.
“The first Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, Whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature that after God I have the greatest power in heaven and on earth. In the hour of your death I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power far from you.
“The second Hail Mary will be said in honor of the Son of God Who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me. In the hour of your death I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled.
“The third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost Who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy. In your last hour I will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight.”
Our Blessed Mother also revealed to St. Gertrude the Great: “To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.”
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, the celebrated missionary, had the Three Hail Marys recited morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sins during the day or night; moreover he promised in a special manner eternal salvation to all those who proved constantly faithful to this practice. He gave this devotion of Three Hail Marys as a penance in the confessional, especially for those who were struggling with sins of impurity.
Indulgences of 200 days granted by Leo XIII, 300 days for the members of the Archconfraternity of the Three Hail Marys by Benedict XV, and Apostolic Benediction by St. Pius X
An indulgence is a partial or plenary (complete) remission of punishment due to sin that has been confessed and forgiven. An indulgence of 200 days means that there will be 200 days taken off your punishment in Purgatory. It means 200 days in the sight of God, of course, so it is somewhat mysterious. However, the Church means to give you a measure that you can understand, so that it is accurate as possible.
The Apostolic Benediction or Pardon is an incredible grace that the Church gives to those at the hour of death that wipes away all punishment due to sin, provided that the person has confessed all mortal sins.
Hail, Mary, White Lily
Hail, Mary, White Lily of the Glorious and always-serene Trinity.
Hail brilliant Rose of the Garden of heavenly delights;
O you, by whom God wanted to be born and by whose milk
the King of Heaven wanted to be nourished!
Nourish our souls with effusions of divine grace.
Amen!
Hail Holy Queen
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Amen!