Practically all the following thoughts are from others. Very few are my own. Who spoke to the Blessed Mother? The words in the first part of the “Hail Mary” are spoken by the Archangel Gabriel (who was speaking for God) to the Blessed Mother and by God the Holy Spirit to her cousin Elizabeth. “Hail” is a simple, straightforward salutation. In Luke, Gabriel does not say, “Hail Mary”, but rather the angel simply says “Hail” then follows with “Full of Grace”. “Full of Grace” – as simple as these three words are, they are filled with profound meanings leading to a fundamental dogma of our faith. Mary is filled with God’s grace, not a little bit, not half, but rather filled. If she is filled with His grace, there is no room for sin. The logical conclusion is Mary had no sin in her, including no original sin. This leads to our faith’s dogma of the Immaculate Conception – Mary conceived without the stain of Original Sin. “The Lord is with thee” - At this point, neither Mary nor the rest of the world had any concept of “Jesus”. Who, then, did she think Gabriel meant when he said, “The Lord”? In the Jewish faith, there is only one entity known as The Lord. The entity is God. Therefore, Gabriel meant God. This also leads to another fundamental dogma of our faith – Mary is the Mother of God. “Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus” – Elizabeth shouts this as Mary approached her. Elizabeth’s child in her womb jumped for joy. This is notification to Humanity that God the Son has been conceived, has become God and Man – Christ has come as Savior of Humanity. “Holy Mary, Mother of God” - Elizabeth, as inspired by God the Holy Spirit, recognizes Mary as the Mother of God. While people may argue that is impossible or not logical, those people forget God is Creator and as such, can command the cancellation of any natural process. The mere fact that Christ - God the Son - was incarnate within Mary by God the Holy Spirit is proof God can do anything whether it fits our logic or not. “Pray for us sinners” – We present our petition to the Blessed Mother. But even this straightforward statement is a doorway to a deeper meaning. It lays the foundation for our belief that Mary, due to her special relationship with Jesus, God the Son, acts as a Mediatrix intercession with her son on our behalf. “now and the hour of our death. Amen” – One of the aspects of human life that plays a small role in our lives is emphasized in the final words of the “Hail Mary”. Ask yourself, “When was the last time you thought of the Final Perseverance?” This part of our petition asks the Blessed Mother to pray for us, to be with us, not only at this moment but also during the Final Perseverance. What is the Final Perseverance? There are many interpretations amongst people about what it is. I believe it is that instant just before death when we are most vulnerable to the evil one’s influence. Remember, the evil one knows everything ungodly that we have done in our lives and it will use that knowledge at the instant of death to tempt us away from God’s salvation. With the final line of the “Hail Mary”, we appeal to our Blessed Mother to be with us at the end to help us pass through the last temptation, to everlasting life with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
