Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Explanation of the Hail Mary

There is a prayer which Catholics recite more often than any other. It is the most familiar of all the prayers used by the Church to honor the Blessed Virgin. It forms the greatest part of the Rosary, a devotion that is practiced at least occasionally by all Catholics and very frequently by the more fervent among them. It is recited at morning, noon and night, in the Angelus.

It is a prayer which owes its origin to inspiration from God, manifested through one of His Angels, one of His Saints, and His holy Church. It is one of the most complete and perfect of all prayers, expressing in a few words salutation, praise, congratulation, thanksgiving, and petition. This prayer is the Hail Mary.

It consists of three parts. The first is the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, into which the Church has inserted her name: "Hail (Mary), full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women." The second part is composed of the words of Elizabeth to our Lady: "Blessed is the fruit of thy womb," to which is annexed the sacred name of Jesus. And the third part is a beautiful petition added by the Church of God, giving expression to the feeling with which we Catholics regard the Mother of God, and declaring our confidence in her intercession: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."