Many Protestants and Catholics falsely believe the Hail Mary is a prayer written by men. On the contrary, it is a prayer which has it’s roots in Sacred Scripture. In order to demonstrate this, let’s compare the Hail Mary with it’s biblical counterparts.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women…”

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28 Douay Rheims

“…Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Luke 1:42 Douay Rheims

Holy Mary, Mother of God…

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Luke 1:43 Douay Rheims

Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The majority of the prayer is taken from the Bible. While the second half is not taken verbatim from the Bible, it represents core theology that must be recognized by anyone who identifies as Christian. Mary was immaculately conceived. Thus, we can call her holy due to her sinless nature. God is three persons in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She is the Mother of God because Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Since Mary is in Heaven, she can intercede for us by presenting our prayer requests to Jesus. We read in John 2:3-5, Mary informs Jesus that the wedding hosts have run out of wine. Jesus, at His mother’s request, transforms water into wine, and not just any wine, but wine that was far superior than what they had been drinking.

Likewise, in John 19:26-27 we read how Jesus gives Mary to the entire world as mother of all. Thus, Mary is our mother. We are baptized into Jesus Christ, and through this baptism into His body, Mary is our mother. And like any good mother who loves her children, she prays unceasingly for her children to abandon their sin, and return to the Lord, her Lord, her Son.

We ask Mary to pray for us now, because we go through temptations, trials and tribulations on a daily basis. When we are dying in our last hour, we are bombarded by Satan and his minions because he knows this time is crucial. If he can get us to fall during this last hour, he will have our soul with him in Hell for all eternity. We beg Mary to ask God to pour forth His graces upon us. that we may not fall into the trap the enemy has set, so that we may instead be granted access to our inheritance in Heaven. For those of us fortunate to know when the hour of our death is near, we would be wise to have a priest near to hear our confession before we die.

The Hail Mary is a prayer which Satan hates as Mary is the remedy to the sin which Eve brought into the world. Mary, by giving her Magnificat, brought forth Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. c.f. Genesis 3:15.

Develop a habit of praying the Hail Mary whenever temptation occurs. Run to your mother when trouble is near. Pray the Rosary daily as Mary has given 15 promises to those who faithfully recite it. And remember; Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.