(e) _The Hail Mary._
"And the angel said to her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women."--Luke i, 28.
Dear Brethren: To-day there is offered for our consideration one of the
sweetest of prayers of our holy Religion. It is the "Hail Mary," or
Angelical Salutation, which we say so often, particularly in the
Rosary. Considered in its origin, its contents, and in its efficacy it
is beautiful and sublime, and, with the exception of the Lord's Prayer,
the most excellent. Its origin is to be had in the words which the
Archangel Gabriel addressed to blessed Mary, ever virgin. To these have
been added the words of St. Elizabeth on the occasion of Mary's visit,
and the holy Church has completed the prayer with a consoling
supplication. Its very origin, therefore, makes this prayer a holy and
venerable one.
The words of salutation are brief, but they contain everything that one
could ever say in praise of the Virgin Mother of God.
The petition includes briefly everything for which we may ask Mary.
Let us then give our attention to this beautiful prayer in the name of
Jesus and Mary, His blessed mother.
I. I said, that in the first part of the "Hail Mary" all the privileges
and glories which made the blessed Virgin so worthy of praise are
contained. A closer examination will show us how true this is. Let us
transport ourselves in spirit to Nazareth, to the quiet little room
where Mary is praying in deepest devotion. Suddenly there enters this
room one of the most exalted spirits that stand at the throne of the
Creator. What does this messenger from heaven desire of this humble
virgin, unknown to the world? He desires no less than her participation
in our redemption. The only begotten Son of God, in His infinite love
for mankind, has offered to take upon Himself human nature, to atone
for our sins and to redeem us. The time appointed by God's providence,
when this great work was to be consummated, had now come. Mary, in the
divine counsels, is destined to be the mother of the Saviour. The
celestial messenger appears to bring this message to her, and to obtain
her consent. God desired that Mary should voluntarily cooperate in the
redemption.
Mary cooperated in our redemption by proving herself worthy to be
called to the divine motherhood, as far as this is possible for a human
being. This she did by cooperating faithfully with the abundance of
grace granted her by God, and thus proving herself worthy to become the
mother of the Saviour. Through her virginity she rendered herself
worthy according to the body, and through her most profound piety and
humility according to the spirit. Both virtues stand forth most
brilliantly in the annunciation of the angel. But she wished rather to
forego the exalted dignity of divine motherhood, than relinquish the
virginity which she had dedicated to God. And when the highest dignity
which can be bestowed upon a creature was announced to her, she called
herself the handmaid of the Lord. Mary, when convinced of the will of
God, humbly consented, saying, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it
done unto me according to thy word."
Through this consent Mary conferred upon the world an unspeakable great
blessing, for which we should be eternally grateful to her. By this
consent she became the second Eve, me spiritual first parent of the
redeemed race.
The angel, recognizing in Mary his future queen, now reverently set
forth in brief words all the prerogatives which God had granted her,
and was about to bestow upon her. These prerogatives are: (1) the
fulness of grace which God had already granted unto her; (2) the
dignity of mother of God which He now granted her, and, finally (3),
the veneration and glorification which on account of this fulness of
grace and this dignity she would partake of in heaven and earth.
The first privilege, fulness of grace, which she had received from God,
the angel expressed with the words "full of grace." These words mean:
thou art filled with all the divine graces in a measure possible to no
other creature; thou hast received to the full all graces. As God will
exalt thee to a dignity beyond that of the most exalted spirits of
heaven, so He has granted you more and greater graces than even to the
Seraphim and Cherubim. Now since thou hast cooperated in a perfect
manner with all these graces, thou hast become the most virtuous, the
holiest, the most perfect of all creatures. Therefore, art thou worthy
to become the mother of the Most High.
Mary's second privilege which the angel mentioned was her elevation to
the dignity of mother of God. "The Lord is with thee," that is, God has
bestowed upon thee every grace, and, finding thee worthy, thou art to
be the mother of His Son, to cooperate in the redemption and the
salvation of the world.
In the words "The Lord is with thee" is expressed the intimate
relationship of Mary to God, accomplished by the Incarnation. Not
merely through the fulness of His grace and love is God with her, but
even according to the flesh God is intimately united to her.
Mary's third privilege announced by the angel is the exalted veneration
which she merits for her dignity and sanctity. The angel expresses this
in the words "Blessed art thou among women." The angel had reference to
the promise given by God in Paradise, that there would come a woman who
should crush the serpent's head. He had in mind also the renowned women
of the old law who had rescued the people of God from peril and
oppression, and who were for this reason blessed by the people, such as
Judith and Esther. These heroic women were glorious prototypes,
pointing to Mary who was to crush the serpent's head, to destroy the
designs of Lucifer, and to save the human race from destruction. Yes,
truly, Mary is blessed by God among all women, and is herself an
infinite blessing for the entire world. The Lord hath done great things
in her. She realized this herself, in those prophetic words, "Behold
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, for he that is
mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is his name." And so it
has been, and ever will be, as long as the sun illumines the earth. For
more than nineteen centuries the people and nations have joyfully
repeated the angel's words, "Blessed art thou among women." By precept
of the Church we add the words "and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus," in order to join to our praise of Mary that of Jesus, from whom
and on whose account she received all her privileges, and for whose
sake she receives all this praise.
II. After the prayer of praise in the "Hail Mary" there follows the
prayer of supplication which the Church has added. This supplication is
"Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of
our death. Amen." A short petition, but a significant one by which we
invoke Mary's intercession in all our needs. The words holy Mary,
mother of God, form the opening of this petition. They repeat the truth
contained in the prayer of praise, and are at the same time calculated
to arouse our confidence in Mary. The name "Mary" alone should awaken
our confidence in the blessed Virgin, because the name Mary means
sovereign. Mary, is indeed a sovereign, a ruler. As mother of the King
of heaven and earth, she is the Queen of heaven and earth, and our
lady, our queen as well. Mary means also star of the sea. As star of
the sea Mary is to mankind what a kindly star is to the sailor who
finds himself on the stormy waters. This world resembles an ocean,
where storms and perils abound to the menace of body and soul. The
winds and storms of temptations rise, the dangerous rocks of oppression
threaten, the stormy waves of passion, of pride, of ambition, of
avarice, of anger, envy, revenge, avidity beat upon us. All these
dangers trouble the heart and fill it with sorrow and fear. And as the
star leads the sailor to a safe haven, so Mary is to us the kindly star
that inspires us with consolation and confidence and brings us rescue.
Holy Mary, mother of God! As mother of God Mary possesses the power of
mediation with her divine Son. The angels and saints all together can
not have the influence that Mary exercises. The holy fathers and
teachers refer to this power, when they say Mary is omnipotent through
her intercession, as God is omnipotent in Himself. Thus the opening of
the supplication inspires veneration and confidence in Mary. With this
veneration and confidence then we ask, "Pray for us sinners." Thou, the
holy one, the powerful and good, pray for us miserable sinners, not
worthy to approach God and be heard. Pray for us in all our temporal
and spiritual necessities, in every danger of body and soul. Pray above
all, to obtain for us the grace of a perfect conversion and repentance,
and the grace of perseverance until the end of life. Pray for us, holy
Mary, mother of God, now, while it is yet time for us to merit
salvation, but pray for us especially when that solemn and sad hour of
death has arrived. In that dark hour will be decided our eternal
destiny; at that dread hour forsake us not, Pray for us now, and at the
hour of our death.
We have seen what an excellent prayer the Hail Mary is. It follows that
it is also an efficacious prayer. When the Hail Mary was uttered for
the first time by the Archangel it ushered in the most stupendous of
all miracles. And whenever we devoutly repeat this salutation with
faith and confidence, it will be for us also a means of grace and
blessing. Whenever you salute Mary, says St. Bernard, she returns the
greeting, she gives you in return consolation and blessing.
Let us then recite this beautiful and excellent prayer most diligently
and piously, and let us give special preference to the devotion of the
Rosary which is a garland woven to blessed Mary from this prayer of
praise. The quarter of an hour spent in reciting the beads will bring
us blessings in life and a happy death. How we shall rejoice when we
behold Mary face to face and greet her with the words: Hail Mary, full
of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, to whom be praise for all
eternity. Amen.