Hail Mary Prayer

The organization I volunteer for, Mission of Mercy, is a Catholic outreach program and at lunch after we eat together we also share a prayer. This is the first time that I have really heard the Hail Mary prayer and thought about it. Growing up I was always under the influence that this and other Catholic prayers were being prayed to that person, or Saint, instead of going straight to God with your prayers. But if you actually listen to the Hail Mary, they are not praying to her but rather asking her for intecessory prayer. Just like you would ask someone to pray for you, this is what they are doing with the Hail Mary. This just really stuck out to me because for so long I was under the wrong impression of the purpose of the Hail Mary. Now, will I be praying the Hail Mary in my daily life, no; but I feel like I have a better understanding of it than I did before because of the lunches at Mission of Mercy.


Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst 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.