Hail Mary

Components of the Prayer

The Angelic Salutation

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28).

χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ.

Using the verse from Luke's gospel as a form of devotion began in the middle of the twelfth century.

Zephaniah 3:14,17.

Shout for joy, daughter Zion!

sing joyfully, Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart,

daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior,

Who will rejoice over you with gladness,

and renew you in his love,

Who will sing joyfully because of you.

Elizabeth's Greeting

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

The Name of the Lord

I haven't found an indication of when the Holy Name of Jesus was added to the Angelic Salutation.

Pray for us sinners

• "The fervent prayer of a righteous man is very powerful" (James 5:16).
• Jesus rewarded the faith of those who lowered the paralytic through the roof (Mk 2:5): "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Child, your sins are forgiven.'"
• God forgives sins in answer to our prayers (1 Jn 5:14-17):

¹⁴ And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.

¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

"St. Peter Canisius published an applied Mariology for preachers, in which Mary is described in tender and warm words. He actively promoted the Sodalities of our Lady and the Rosary associations. He is credited with adding to the Hail Mary the sentence, 'Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.' This sentence appeared for he first time in his catechism of 1555. It was eleven years later included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566."