The prayer that we call the Hail Mary leads us into the depths of the mystery of God and the mystery of who we are called to be as disciples.
an affirmation of the call to each of us to allow Christ to take flesh in us, to live in him as he lives in us. By our baptism each of us share in the life of Christ.
Each time we pray it we begin by repeating the words the angel Gabriel (a name which means “God is my strength”) spoke to Mary at the Annunciation - Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. These words are an affirmation of the graces that were given to Mary for her to conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and bear him who is her son and the Son of God. Mary is the one who gives life to him who is Life-Giver. The Annunciation is also
The prayer then moves to the words Elizabeth spoke to Mary at the Visitation: Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus. Again these words are an affirmation of he whom Mary carried in her womb. But the Visitation is also an affirmation of the call to each of us to share in the mission of Jesus, to be bearers of the Christ to all whom we encounter. By our baptism each of us share in the mission of Christ.
We then ask Mary to pray for us: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Once again we affirm that Mary’s son is true God and true man. For our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters our seeking of Mary’s intercession can be a challenge for St Paul wrote to Timothy, there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all (1 Tim 2:5-6). Our Catholic understanding is that as we share in Christ’s life and mission so we also share in his mediatorship. So we pray for each other and we ask others to pray for us. And this is what
