Pat Arensberg: Hail Mary

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb,…”  -Luke 1:40

Did you know that virtually the entire first half of the “Hail Mary” is taken directly from Scripture and part of it is ascribed directly to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?

When the Gabriel appeared to her he said, “Hail (Mary) favored one.”  This can also be translated as full of grace.  He continues, “the Lord is with you.”  So, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you” is simply Luke 1:28 with Mary’s name inserted so we know who we are talking about.

After the encounter with Gabriel, Mary goes to visit her relative, Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth hears Mary’s greeting the infant leaps in the womb.  John the Baptist, who is the last and greatest prophet is already at work proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  And isn’t it interesting that it he recognized the Incarnate Word through the voice of Mary.  But I digress….

Luke tells us that Elizabeth was filled with the holy Spirit (1:41) and she cried out in a loud voice “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:42)  We add the name of that fruit, “Jesus” to the prayer.  So, the entire first half of the “Hail Mary” is just a meditation on Luke chapter 1.  The second half of the prayer reminds us that Mary is the mother of the divine person of Jesus, and thus the mother of God himself.  It then asks her to pray for us to her son.

It is also interesting to note that when we pray the rosary we meditate on the life of Jesus Christ and those things that relate to our salvation.  While we meditate on that we repeat Scripture over and over and over in the form of the Hail Mary and in the form of the Our Father.  

About Pat Arensberg Patrick Arensberg is the Director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Mobile. Previously, he taught for 17 years at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, where he served as Chairman of the Theology Department. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome and holds an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He is married to Connie and they live in Mobile with their 5 children.