HAIL MARY Pondering the Mysteries of Love
e co-authors are grateful to Father Sebastian White, . ., for serving as the censor librorum of this book, and to Father Allen Moran, . ., Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, for granting us his imprimi potest. We are also grateful to Samuel Wigutow and Father Jonah Teller, . ., for copyediting and proofreading, and we thank the entire M team for their work on this book. Imprimi potest Very Rev. Allen Moran, . ., Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Joseph Nihil obstat Rev. Sebastian White, . ., Censor librorum Father Andrew Hofer, O.P. • Father Philip Nolan, O.P. Paris • New York • Oxford • Madrid Publisher: Romain Lizé Editor: Gabrielle Charaudeau Graphic design: Gauthier Delauné Layout: Nicolas Chevalier (Studiolivre) Iconography: Isabelle Mascaras Editorial assistant: Lou Trullard Proofreading: Samuel Wigutow Production: ierry Dubus and Manon Sagot Photo-engraving: Les Caméléons Copyright © 2026 by Magni cat Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in November 2025 by Drukarnia Dimograf, Poland. First edition: February 2026 Edition number: 26L0141 ISBN: 978-1-63967-213-4 No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For more information, write to Magni cat, PO Box 834, Yonkers, NY 10702. www.magni cat.com MAGNIFICAT® HAIL MARY Pondering the Mysteries of Love
Dedicated to Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary INTRODUCTION: Pondering the Mysteries of Love................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: Hail, Mary, full of grace...........................................................................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 2: The Lord is with thee...................................................................................................................................................................29 CHAPTER 3: Blessed art thou among women. ...................................................................................................................................45 CHAPTER 4: And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus...................................................................................................61 CHAPTER 5: Holy Mary, Mother of God..................................................................................................................................................77 CHAPTER 6: Pray for us sinners...........................................................................................................................................................................91 CHAPTER 7: Now.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 105 CHAPTER 8: And at the hour of our death..........................................................................................................................................119 CONCLUSION: Amen.......................................................................................................................................................................................................133 CREDITS. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 140 TABLE OF CONTENTS
It might surprise us that a saint as great as Thérèse of Lisieux had difficulty praying. After all, the Little Flower, a contemplative Carmelite nun, was acclaimed by Saint Pius X as “the greatest saint of modern times.”1 Furthermore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers her definition of prayer as a teaching for us all: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”2 So it might seem that when Saint Thérèse prayed, she effortlessly raised her mind and heart to God and her soul was filled with love. But in her Story of a Soul, Saint Thérèse speaks of troubles in prayer and of what helps her. “Sometimes,” she admits, “when my mind is in such a great aridity that it is impossible to draw forth one single thought to unite me with God, I very slowly recite an ‘Our Father’ and then the angelic salutation [the Hail Mary]; then these prayers give me great delight.” These simple prayers have great power. Saint Thérèse continues: “If some disturbance overtakes me, some embarrassment, I turn very quickly to [the Blessed Virgin] and as the most tender of Mothers she always takes care of my interests.”3 In fact, everyone who prays experiences troubles in prayer. Like us, Saint Thérèse sometimes could not summon a single good thought, and she struggled to stay focused. She discovered, however, that “very slowly” praying the Our Father and the Hail Mary led her out of the dryness, out of her state of misery, and brought her “great delight.” Saint Thérèse found refuge in the love of God accessed through simple prayer, in particular the two prayers most frequently on the lips of Catholics: the Our Father and the Hail Mary. PONDERING THE MYSTERIES OF LOVE Introduction Madonna of the Rosary, Giovanni Battista Paggi (1554–1627) 8
Our Father: Our Prayer of Hope was published by Magnificat in 2025. The book you now hold in your hands turns to the second prayer Saint Thérèse recommends. It offers retreat-style meditations on the words of the Hail Mary with the assistance of sacred art. The purpose of the book is to deepen our love in union with the Mother of God and her Son. Our guides here are Sacred Scripture, the liturgy of the Church (especially the Holy Mass), the Church’s Magisterium, the saints, and the realities of our daily life. We want to go deep into the saving mysteries that God has given us. We especially highlight the mysteries of the Rosary, where the joys, lights, sorrows, and glories of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, are offered to us for meditation. Joyful Mysteries 1. The Annunciation 2. The Visitation 3. The Birth of the Lord 4. The Presentation of the Lord 5. The Finding of the Lord in the Temple Luminous Mysteries 1. The Baptism of the Lord 2. The Miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana 3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom and Call to Conversion 4. The Transfiguration of the Lord 5. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist Sorrowful Mysteries 1. The Agony in the Garden 2. The Scourging at the Pillar 3. The Crowning with Thorns 4. The Carrying of the Cross 5. The Crucifixion of the Lord Glorious Mysteries 1. The Resurrection of the Lord 2. The Ascension of the Lord 3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit 4. The Assumption of Our Lady 5. The Coronation of Our Lady Whether joyful, luminous, sorrowful, or glorious, every mystery of the Rosary is a mystery of love. Through her slow and simple prayer, Saint Thérèse received a share in God’s love. She pondered the words of our foundational prayers, and through that practice God led her out of herself and into him. The same possibility remains open to us today. Those who ponder these prayers with love will find a way deeper into the love of God. “Love” has so many meanings. On the one hand, according to Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, love is the most basic passion of our hearts.4 All our other feelings, emotions, and passions are in a sense derived from love. For example, we experience joy when we are in the presence of someone we love. A mother rejoices to hold her newborn. A groom is filled with joy when he sees his bride coming down the aisle on their wedding day. On the other hand, we experience sorrow when we are separated from someone we love, or when we see that someone we love is suffering. If we didn’t love someone, his absence wouldn’t cause sadness, and his suffering wouldn’t keep us up at night. Passions such as joy and sorrow ultimately are based upon love, because love is the most basic passion of our hearts. On the other hand, in its deepest sense love is of course much more than a mere feeling or passion. God is love, after all (1 Jn 4:8). And God, who is beyond all the fickleness of fleeting emotions, wants his own stable, permanent, and powerful love to be at work in our hearts. Hope does not disappoint, says the Apostle Paul, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us (Rom 5:5). To live a life of prayer in the Church is like standing 10 9 INTRODUCTION
under a torrent of God’s love—he is constantly pouring his love upon us. And when God pours his love into us, we are led, like Saint Thérèse, out of ourselves and into God’s life of love. God loves us, and he both commands and empowers us to love in return. He created us to receive love and to give love. God’s own love poured into our hearts is the theological virtue of charity, a love that far exceeds any mere human passion. That love opens us and impels us to follow Christ wherever he leads. As we live in his love, we come to understand that our lives are entwined with the mysteries of love revealed in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Their lives reveal the love of God. As we ponder their lives, especially by praying the Rosary, we become united to the mysteries that marked the lives of the Virgin Mary and her Son, whether of joy, light, sorrow, or glory. From the love seen at the joy of the Annunciation to the love revealed in the crowning of Mary our Mother as Queen of heaven and earth, we ponder God’s love shared with us in Jesus Christ. There is not a creature in heaven or on earth who knows the love of God better than Mary, the Mother of Jesus. One of the best ways for us to grow in the awareness and acceptance of God’s love is to meditate with her. In a Votive Mass in honor of Mary the “Mother of Fairest Love,” the Church prays: Lord God, your lowly handmaid, the Virgin Mary, is resplendent in your presence with the glory of her Son and the beauty of holiness; grant that like her we may seek only what is true and just and so come before you, the origin of all beauty and the author of purest love. As the two of us, your authors, are Dominican priests, we have a special devotion to Our Lady. We pray for you, our readers, that you may confidently go to Mary, God’s lowly handmaid. She is now resplendent in God’s presence because on earth she was filled with the mysteries of love. Whatever she was experiencing in her life, Mary raised her heart to God and pondered his mysterious plans, purposes, and love. Saint Luke tells us, Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart (Lk 2:19; cf. Lk 2:51). She is our perfect model of prayer. With her intercession, the Lord always triumphs. Remembering in contemplation When we do not have even a single good thought, we can pray the Hail Mary slowly with love. Our love can be fickle and imperfect. But the Father pours his love into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit given to us, and brings us to love as God loves. God’s love transforms us in Christ. Mary lives in God’s love in a preeminent way. She remained full of love on earth in times of joy, light, and sorrow, and now rejoices forever in the glory of God’s love. If we wish to receive God’s love and to learn to love in return, we can do no better than to pray to her with the simple words taught to Catholic children: 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 our death. Amen. 11 12 INTRODUCTION
Virgin Annunciate (between 1450 and 1455), Fra Angelico (c. 1400–1455) Hail, Mary, full of grace In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:26-28 Chapter 1 REJOICING IN LOVE The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you. (2 Cor 13:13) - 14 -
even if we know what to say, it doesn’t always work out here on earth. We long to speak with someone, but he’s on the opposite side of the globe. We need to have a conversation with someone, but she’s unavailable. The problem of communication would seem to be even greater when we try to address someone who’s no longer simply a woman on earth, but celestial royalty. You and I, however, have the perfect words to address the Queen of Heaven. We have the words of an angel: Hail, full of grace. What’s more, Gabriel’s words still have the power to bridge heaven and earth. Just as he came down from heaven to speak to Mary on earth, now his words rise from our lips on earth to address Mary in heaven. Yes, we are in contact with Mary! We are not mumbling to ourselves. We are not stuck in silence. Just as God’s love enabled Gabriel to speak with her, God’s love enables us to speak with her. What is Mary doing when we approach her now, praying, “Hail, Mary, full of grace”? She is now in heaven, where she sees, loves, and praises God, and she knows us in him. She loves us in him. That is what she is doing. For her, there are no more puzzling prophecies, no more veils. She hears us, even “our mourning and weeping in this valley of tears,” as we pray in the Hail Holy Queen. She hears our greeting, and she will answer us in our need. Speaking to Mary What was Mary doing when the angel Gabriel approached her? Some traditions state that she was meditating on Sacred Scripture. Artists commonly depict her meditating on the Prophet Isaiah, since Saint Matthew explicitly recalls Isaiah 7:14: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel (Mt 1:23). Perhaps Mary was pondering the prophecies of the Old Testament that would be fulfilled in her life. Other traditions speculate that she was working on the Temple veil. Eastern icons portray the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary while she spins a roll of thread. Perhaps Mary was ornamenting the veil for the Temple in Jerusalem, because when Christ became incarnate in her womb, his flesh became a sort of veil of his divinity. The Letter to the Hebrews says that through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil, that is, his flesh (Heb 10:19-20). For centuries, artists have contemplated Mary’s preparation to receive Gabriel’s greeting through meditation and work. While we don’t know exactly what she was doing when Gabriel came, we do know that he traveled all the way from heaven to earth to speak to her. And we know how he began: Hail, full of grace. As we shall see, his words are laden with beauty and meaning. On earth, all sorts of issues arise when we try to communicate with each other, and we often need guidance. Parents instruct their children on how to address others. Teachers help their students learn how to be respectful. When people are to meet dignitaries, they receive briefings about what to say. And despite our best preparation, sometimes just as we open our mouths the right words slip away and we’re stuck in an awkward silence. And 15 CHAPTER 1 HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE 16
Rejoice! We don’t usually use the word “Hail” outside of the Hail Mary or the Hail Holy Queen. The Greek word used in Luke’s account of the Gospel, chaire, literally means “rejoice.” Although it became a common greeting with a more generic meaning, in its root sense this greeting bid the hearer rejoice. Thus, when we say, “Hail, Mary,” we are effectively saying, “Rejoice, Mary!” The first joyful mystery of the Rosary, the Annunciation, begins with that greeting of joy: “Hail, Mary” or “Rejoice, Mary!” Saint John Paul II wrote, “The whole of salvation history, in some sense the entire history of the world, has led up to this greeting.”5 When we come to Mary, we echo the angel’s joyful words, and in so doing ponder her joy at realizing the world’s salvation had finally come. We can ponder the joy she experienced when she conceived Christ, as well as the joy she now experiences with him in heaven. Eastern Christians, in the hymn called the Akathistos or Akathist, greet Mary with an abundance of titles. Mary’s joy is incalculable. We can ponder her many glorious attributes, knowing that we will never run out. Even this excerpt from the Akathistos can bring us to rapt attention as we reflect on Mary’s many reasons for joy: Rejoice, you through whom joy shall shine forth. Rejoice, you through whom the curse will cease. Rejoice, the restoration of fallen Adam. Rejoice, the redemption of the tears of Eve. Rejoice, O height beyond human logic. Rejoice, O depth invisible even to the eyes of angels. Rejoice, for you are the King’s throne. Rejoice, you bear him who bears the universe. Rejoice, O star revealing the Sun. Rejoice, O womb of divine Incarnation. Rejoice, you through whom creation is renewed. Rejoice, you through whom the Creator is born a Babe. Rejoice, O bride ever-virgin. Mary loves to hear the greeting of joy. By greeting her in joy, we remember the moment a humble maiden welcomed the world’s salvation into her womb. It’s as if, every time we say, “Hail, Mary,” we echo the jubilance expressed in those Christmas carols that bid the whole world rejoice at the coming of Christ: “Joy to the world, the Savior reigns;/ Let men their songs employ,/ While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,/ Repeat the sounding joy.” Rejoice, Mary! That greeting of joy forms the basis of the Rosary in all its mysteries. Joy supports the entirety of life in Christ. We recall that first joyful greeting not only in praying the joyful mysteries, but also in the luminous mysteries that reveal Christ in his public ministry, the sorrowful mysteries that show the saving mystery 17 CHAPTER 1 HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE 18
of Christ’s suffering, and the glorious mysteries that reveal the victory won by Christ’s death. Christ longed to share this joy: I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete (Jn 15:11). When we see the constant joy in the life of Christ, we can begin to understand the Apostle Paul’s words: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: Rejoice! (Phil 4:4). Saint Paul really meant those words: Rejoice in the Lord not just sometimes— always. These words can help us grow to spiritual maturity. Saint Thomas Aquinas comments: “Anyone who desires to make progress must have spiritual joy.”6 We grow in holiness as we learn to rejoice in Christ. The world cannot understand spiritual joy, and those corrupted by evil mock it. When Christ was crowned with thorns, the Roman soldiers torture him while saying, Hail [Rejoice], King of the Jews (Jn 19:3). The joyful salutation at the beginning of the Gospel has been cruelly perverted. But even here, true joy triumphs over its perversion. Christ came into this world for our salvation, and he rejoiced to do the will of his Father by loving us to the end. On the night before he died, Jesus said to his disciples, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Lk 22:15). His joy didn’t disappear even as he faced death. Only joy in the Lord can prompt us to undertake the difficult sufferings demanded by the cross. Mary knows this. The joy of her motherhood sustained her before the cross of her Son, even as she received into her own heart a share in his sufferings like no other. When we pray the fifth sorrowful mystery, meditating on the crucifixion and death of the Lord, in a sense we come close to her ear and remind her of that first joyful mystery when she became his mother—Hail, Mary, rejoice, Mary—over and over again. As we greet her with the angel’s words, we share in her own mix of joys and sorrows—because we share in the love she has for her Son. Mary The angel Gabriel did not use Mary’s name in greeting her, but the Church adds that name as a reminder to us. She is Mary. We call her by name. People debate what the name literally means. Some trace Mary’s name to the word for “bitter.” In the Book of Ruth, Naomi, who lost her husband and her two sons to death, complains: Do not call me Naomi [“Sweet”]. Call me Mara [“Bitter”], for the Almighty has made my life very bitter (Ru 1:20). Mary underwent the most bitter of sufferings as the Mother of Sorrows. Still others relate Mary’s name to a word for the sea. Saint Catherine of Siena calls out to Mary: “O Mary, peaceful sea! Mary, giver of peace!”7 Saint Bernard imagines Mary shining like a star over the rough ocean of this world, guiding us as we sail towards our heavenly port: 19 CHAPTER 1 HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE 20
Previous pages The Annunciation (1650), Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664 She is indeed that noble star risen out of Jacob whose beam enlightens this earthly globe. She it is whose brightness both twinkles in the highest heaven and pierces the pit of hell, and is shed upon earth, warming our hearts far more than our bodies, fostering virtue and cauterizing vice. She, I tell you, is that splendid and wondrous star suspended as by necessity over this great wide sea, radiant with merit and brilliant in example.8 Saint Dominic loved to sing the Ave Maris Stella, “Hail Star of the Sea,” when he would travel to preach the Gospel. Yet some scholars speculate that “Mary” may have an association with an Egyptian word that means “beloved,” as they point to the name of Miriam, Moses’ sister, who was born during the time of Israel’s slavery in Egypt. Many Christians look to the Blessed Virgin Mary and indeed think of love. Saint Josemaría Escrivá writes, “The holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Fair Love, will bring relief to your heart, when it feels as if it’s made of flesh, if you have recourse to her with confidence.”9 In sum, whatever the background of Mary’s name, it has a depth and a power flowing from her identity as the Mother of God and her role in the salvation of the world. The Church honors Mary’s Most Holy Name with a feast day—September 12. The entrance antiphon of the Mass on that day paraphrases Judith 13:18-19 to honor Mary’s name: Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, by the Lord God Most High, above all women on the earth; for he has so exalted your name, that your praise shall be undying on our lips. Mary’s name is indeed exalted all over the earth—just think about how many people there are who bear some version of the name “Mary”! Mary herself knew that God’s love for her would make her known and praised all over the earth. As she proclaimed to her cousin Elizabeth, From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name (Lk 1:48-49). Mary’s name is praised because she, more than anyone else, knew the holiness of God’s Name. We greet Mary by name with both familiarity and reverence. Saint Alphonsus Liguori knew, for example, that Mary’s name was in a sense too holy for him to utter: O great Mother of God and my Mother Mary, it is true that I am unworthy to name you: but you, who love me and desire my salvation, must, notwithstanding the impurity of my tongue, grant that I may always invoke your most holy and powerful name in my aid, for your name is the support of the living and the salvation of the dying. Ah, most pure Mary, most sweet Mary, grant that henceforth your name may be the breath of my life.10 We greet Mary by name not because we are worthy, but because she is our loving Mother. When we speak to her by name, little by little she changes us, purifying our lips so that our praise for her is undying. 23 CHAPTER 1 HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE 24
Full of grace Mary’s greatness is due to God’s gift of grace—a gift that makes us share in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). What does it mean that we can receive the gift of grace? Among all God’s creation, human beings are unique. Our nature is not only bodily: our bodies have immaterial, immortal souls. We are made to God’s image in our souls, and so we can think and love—and this is what makes us capable of receiving grace. But grace is part of a larger story. God created us with a nature, a nature that can exist without grace. Furthermore, God created us not simply for grace, but for glory. So our creation, as God designed it, is threefold: nature, grace, glory. We begin with the end: glory. Glory is our goal. Glory is the radiance of everlasting life in heaven, where the saints see God as he is, face to face. How did the saints receive glory? By living on earth with grace until the last moment of their lives. Grace, then, is God’s gift to those creatures destined to become sharers in his divine nature. Rocks, trees, and squirrels are creatures, but they are not capable of receiving grace. We, on the other hand, can receive grace, and in turn, can enter glory. Because grace is a prelude to glory, a soul that has received the gift of grace has tremendous dignity. Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches: “The good of grace in one is greater than the good of nature in the whole universe.”11 Scientists now think that the known universe has hundreds of billions or even a couple trillion galaxies. Our Milky Way galaxy alone has over 100 billion stars. Again, a single soul in grace is greater than the whole universe. We should not underestimate grace. Grace is how God recreates us to be like him. Why do we receive grace? Is it because we are good? No—we receive grace because God is good. He has lavished his goodness on us through his Son, who suffered, died, and rose for us sinners. The Apostle Paul says to us: By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). Saint Patrick, who knew himself to be a lowly sinner, was dumbfounded by God’s generosity to him. He prays in his Confession: “I am greatly in debt to God. He gave me such great grace.”12 Grace is a gift. God gives us grace through the Church’s sacramental life. The sacraments cause grace in our souls. For example, when Christ was baptized, he purified the waters and instituted baptism— the first sacrament we receive. Baptism removes original sin, all actual sins, and all punishments due to sin because of the powerful grace at work within it. Baptism raises us one step closer to glory. In fact, all the sacraments are meant to confer graces, graces that are proper to the purpose of each sacrament. We who are sinners are made holy by the grace of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church. When the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary, he saw that her soul, more than that of any other creature, was “full of grace.” Mary never sinned. In fact, she did not come into this world with original sin. By a singular privilege, she was immaculately conceived. In 1858, Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes, France. When Saint Bernadette asked her what her name was on March 25 of that year, Our Lady proclaimed to her: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Writing about that proclamation much later, Saint Bernadette reflects, “At the time, I did not know what this meant. I had never heard those words before. Since that time, when meditating on this, I have often said to myself: how good the Most Holy Virgin is.”13 Mary is the Immaculate Conception. Her whole life is showing what God has done in creating her without sin. 25 CHAPTER 1 HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE 26
On December 8, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. In the Mass that day, the Church prays: O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son, grant, we pray, that, as you preserved her from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence. On account of her Son, who came into the world full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14) and whose Passion is the singular font of grace for all ages, Mary received the greatest share of his grace given to the Church. She was indeed “full of grace” from the moment of birth. Mary’s unique holiness, which astounded the Angel Gabriel, tells us of the mystery of the Church in heaven—what we are meant to be. Saints on earth are those who become so “full of grace” that they are ready for glory. The Apostle Paul describes how the Lord desires to fill us with grace: Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph 5:25-27). Mary reveals to us the heights to which God wishes to bring us. Grace is, as Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches, the “beginning of glory.”14 When we pray the Hail Mary, we the baptized join the Angel Gabriel in proclaiming the immaculate Virgin Mary “full of grace.” In her, we can see something of the mystery to which God, by his grace, calls us. In the glory of heaven, we too are to shine forth “holy and without blemish.” Remembering in contemplation Mary received Gabriel’s greeting and was filled with joy. This joy, whose source was her Son, marked her life even in the darkest moments, for spiritual joy rises above earthly sadness. When we say her name, we too begin to share in her joy. She who knows the love of God and the sorrows of the cross now, like a star, leads us towards our heavenly home. Prepared for her role as Mother of God by divine foresight, she now lives in glory. As we greet her, we beg that she will bring us from grace to glory and to a share in God’s eternal life. 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 our death. Amen. 27 CHAPTER 1 HAIL, MARY, FULL OF GRACE 28
www.magni cat.com The Hail Mary, so often taught to young children, has helped even the great saints. It rises from the lips of Catholics around the world. But what is so special about this prayer? How can we pray the Hail Mary with greater understanding and love? Hail Mary: Pondering the Mysteries of Love makes available the bounty of this prayer by drawing on Scripture, the liturgy, the Magisterium, the lives of the saints, and insights from everyday life. Envisioned as a personal retreat, this book ponders the depths of the prayer. At the heart of the Hail Mary, we discover the love of God as revealed in the life of our Blessed Mother and her Incarnate Son. This prayer opens a path into the mysteries of God’s love, for the Mother of God leads us to the fruit of her womb, Jesus. Saint Luke tells us that Mary pondered God’s works in her heart. She is our perfect model of prayer. Immersing ourselves in the words of the Hail Mary, we encounter the mysteries of God’s love! HAIL MARY Pondering the Mysteries of Love
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