PrayU | The Holy Rosary | Joyful Mysteries | Sacred Heart Theme

The Hail Mary is in the Bible, and it is plain to recognize the eternal, Scriptural significance of the one woman God chose to bear his Son.

When the angel Gabriel is sent to Mary by the Father, he greets her with the words, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women" (Lk 1:28). When Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaims, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Luke 1:41-42). So here we have the first part of the Hail Mary. St. Bernardine added the name of Jesus, clarifying who the fruit of her womb is.

The second part is in response to the first, asking Mary to pray for us and addressing her as the mother of God. Of course, Elizabeth addressed her in much the same way: “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk 1:43), which is similar to David's response to God in 2 Samuel 6:9, "How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?" If one studies intently the words used to describe both the Ark and what is inside it, he will find striking similarities to how exactly Scripture describes Mary and who is inside her womb.

Since Gabriel’s words were at the request of God, those words were actually God’s words. So we are honored to repeat them. What's more, we should take note of the fact that God himself wanted to elevate Mary--precisely because of her humility. Here is her response to Elizabeth in Luke 1:46-55:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

Mary is the representation of Israel. Mary's humility in accepting God's will and his seed crushes the prideful, "mighty," "exalted" head of Satan. Mary's seed fulfills the promise of God to Abraham.

It is Christ that fulfills this through Mary, not some political thing that just occurred in 1948.

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