Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Power of One Hail Mary


I received this message in an email yesterday. I did not write this. I am just passing it on to my readers. Catholic information on Mary can be found at my post on the Blessed Virgin Mary:

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 death. Amen.

Millions of Catholics often say the Hail Mary. Some repeat it hastily not even thinking on the words they are saying. These following words may help some say it more thoughtfully. They can give God's Mother great joy and obtain for themselves graces that she wishes to give them.

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.

The Hail Mary is like a mine of gold that we can always take from but never exhaust. Is it hard to say the Hail Mary well? All we have to do is to know its value and understand its meaning.

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 Hail 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."

These beautiful legends show us how much devotion to Our Lady was valued, and the power attributed to the Hail Mary devoutly prayed.

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.

Almighty God gave His Blessed Mother all the dignity, greatness and holiness necessary to make her His own most perfect Mother. But He also gave her all the sweetness, love, tenderness and affection necessary to make her our most loving Mother. Mary is truly and really our Mother. As children when in trouble run to their mothers for help, so ought we to run at once with unbounded confidence to Mary.

St. Bernard and many Saints said that it was never, never heard at anytime or in any place that Mary refused to hear the prayers of her children on earth. Why do we not realize this most consoling truth? Why refuse the love and consolation that God's Sweet Mother is offering us?

Is it our lamentable ignorance which deprives us of such help and consolation. 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?

17 comment(s):

del_button April 26, 2007 at 7:12 PM
Sara Mae said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
del_button April 27, 2007 at 7:50 AM
Anonymous said...

Enjoyed reading your article. I had great problems concentrating on the rosary due to the repetitive nature of the prayer. I then obtained a tape with Father Rookey* reciting the rosary with comments before each Hail Mary. I now find the rosary a pleasure to say.

M

* news on Father Peter Mary Rookey can be found on the St. Michaels Centre website (or type his name into google).

del_button April 27, 2007 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous said...

How beautiful! How much more with many Hail Mary's THE ROSARY! organizer for St. Michaels World Apostolate.

del_button April 27, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Unknown said...

Congrats on entering Seminary! We finally get to know the real name behind "Moneybags"!

God Bless and good luck!

del_button April 27, 2007 at 12:24 PM
Counterreform said...

Everytime my children say the Hail Mary it seems as though peace abounds. I tell them every time they say 1 Hail Mary their guardian angels send one flower to our Blessed Mother! She will bring us to the KING!

del_button April 27, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Anonymous said...

Mary had a hidden, but important role in bringing me back to the Church. After a very strong reversion, I began to feel subtle desires to say the Rosary. Slowly but surely, my faith began to change from a small ember to a ROARING FIRE!

I also noticed that if i slowed my pace reciting each prayer, I could literally dive more deeply into the meaning of each prayer and mystery. It now takes me over 2 hours to recite one Rosary.

Words cannot describe the blessings and consolations that the Lord has given me through Mary and the Rosary, and yet I know that I have only scratched the surface.

del_button April 27, 2007 at 12:54 PM
Anonymous said...

The Hail Mary is a beautiful prayer! When I say the Rosary, I concentrate on three different things: The words in the Hail Mary, the Mystery of the Rosary in which I am praying, and whatever or whomever I am praying for. I believe no prayer is ever wasted, and I teach my children to think about the words that they are praying. I love being Catholic, and wouldn't change it for anything. I just wish and pray that more people would realize that our Blessed Mother is here to help us at any time.

Kathie S.

del_button April 27, 2007 at 4:42 PM
Anonymous said...

I was converted to Catholicism recently after visiting the site of the Our Lady of America apparitions in Rome City, Indiana. I felt such a strong presence there and the group I was with insisted on praying a rosary at the hill next to a Holy Family statue. i had never been to a rosary prayer except at funeral wakes and so I was a little reluctant until I sat quietly and just listened to the repetitive prayers of these people and suddenly it caught me.

I was baptized the past Easter and I could not be happier. You can read about this place and the messages at www.oltiv.org Plan to visit if you can. You will be glad you did.

del_button April 27, 2007 at 9:11 PM
Anonymous said...

I have received many graces from Our Lady. It is interesting and providential to run across this comment, because only just today I said one Hail Mary. I was busy, am a single mother, and did not have time to say a whole Rosary, but I thought that perhaps one Hail Mary would give pleasure to Our Lady.

I guess this is a sign from her that one Hail Mary is powerful indeed. Thank you for your testimony.

del_button April 27, 2007 at 10:05 PM
Anonymous said...

I enjoy singing the Hail Mary. There are many different melodies for singing the Hail Mary. My favorite Hail Mary song is found on page 434 of Peoples Mass Book, Feb 10, 1966. It goes like this: Hail maiden Mary, laden with graces, God dwells within you. Blest indeed are you, most fair of all women, and blest is He, the wondrous fruit of your womb, Jesus. O Holy Mary, God's true mother, pray for us sinners weak through Adam's fall. Pray for us now and in our last hour. Amen.

del_button April 28, 2007 at 5:07 AM
Anonymous said...

Let Mary show you the way, and you will never get lost again.

del_button April 30, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Tom Reagan said...

Moneybags,

Congrats on entering seminary!

I'll just add another to the list already present: the Devil *hates* this prayer. It is a good one when trying to listen in prayer and you don't know whether God (or someone else) is talking to you.

Tom

del_button April 1, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Anonymous said...

Ok...with all due respect to Mary, Mary is dead..sorry to say, Mary was never reserected like Jesus (was and is).
In the book of Luke chapter 1;28 And having come in the Angel said to her. "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you amoung women! That is it..folks, then in verse 30 Then the Angel said to her do not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God. The Angel was letting Mary know that she was blessed amoung women, and we all know Mary was blessed for being chosen to carry and given birth to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary raised Jesus and was there for his death and Resurection, but NO where in the Bible does it say that Mary was the Mother of God! and No where does it say in the bible that we are to pray to Mary. In fact in the New Testement, Jesas was teaching the people of the land and his diciples were around him, on that particular day as always, there was a croud around Jesus, one of his diciples saw that Mary and the brother of Jesus had came to visit Jesus for they had not seen him for a while, and Jesus continued to teach, and the disciple said to Jesus, that his mother and brother were there to see him, and Jesus replied, all of you that do the will of my father in heaven are my Mother and brothers and Sisters. So Jesus did not show any repector of persons. He did not even acknowledge his mother and brother being there, he allowed them to wait until he was finished. In the Book of Genesis, God says that he is the Alpha and the Omega (the beginning and the end), no where in the book of Genesis does it say that Mary is the Mother of God. So why do you Catholics say that Mary is the Mother of God, when Mary was the mother of Jesus. I know that the bible teaches that Jesus is the Father because in the book of John 14 Jesus says, I am in my father as my father is in me. But no where in the bible does it say that Mary is the mother of God, and it definately does not say that we (the children of God) are to pray to any other person or thing, only to JESUS CHRIST, so if you are going to hold Mary as some type of God you better check your bible pretty carefully before you do that, because in the Ten Commandments God says we should not have any other God or worship any other idol. So remember Mary is dead or she was carried away to heaven, the bible never really says what happened to Mary, but rest to sure she is not the Mother of God, and she does not have the Power over anyone only Jesus has that Power.

del_button April 1, 2008 at 9:38 PM
Anonymous said...

Hi LisaO,

Just a couple of comments:
First, by saying that Mary is dead, are you saying that she's in hell now? The only "death" after one dies is hell. Heaven is everlasting life.

Also, I had a question about this comment:

"and Jesus replied, all of you that do the will of my father in heaven are my Mother and brothers and Sisters. So Jesus did not show any repector of persons. He did not even acknowledge his mother and brother being there, he allowed them to wait until he was finished."

I'm not sure what you're trying to prove here. Not only would Jesus have followed the 4th Commandment, (he didn't come to abolish the Law, after all), he would have followed it perfectly. His example would be the pinnacle of perfect honor to one's mother and father.

del_button April 4, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...

If Mary is not the Mother of God, then that goes against the idea of Jesus being God. Jesus has two natures, divine and human, as one; Mary is the mother of his divine and human natures, because she is the mother of His person, not a part of His person. A parent doesn't claim parentage to only the body of his or her children. Therefore, it's only logic that Mary is the mother of God; she was the mother of Jesus, who was God.

del_button November 13, 2008 at 8:35 AM
Anonymous said...

Hi LisaO

Just going thru your posting i could tell you are such a staunch protestant.To be precise you are a seventh day adventist because they are the ones who are anti Mary right up to their death beds.There are loads of sites on the internet where you can post your anti catholic rethoric.Since you are a "bible only" christian,i'm quite sure you will show us the respect by just moving away from this site and leave us catholics carry on doing the business of venerating mother Mary

del_button October 7, 2015 at 9:57 AM
Anonymous said...

Hi LisaO, Jesus must have loved His mother more than the apostles...afterall, he spent 30 years with her and only 3 with them.

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